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Cardboard
When cardboard creatures come magically to life, a boy must save his town from disaster. Cam's down-and-out father gives him a cardboard box for his birthday and he knows it's the worst present ever. So to make the best of a bad situation, they bend the cardboard into a man-and to their astonishment, it comes magically to life. But the neighborhood bully, Marcus, warps the powerful cardboard into his own evil creations that threaten to destroy them all!
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
280 people are currently reading
7511 people want to read
About the author
Doug TenNapel
54 books501 followersDoug TenNapel is the Eisner Award winning writer/artist of over sixteen graphic novels. He is published by Image Comics and Scholastic/Graphics.
He's been married for 27 years to the love of his life and has four book-loving kids.
Doug's favorite authors include G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. He reads mostly philosophy but tends to get his fiction from audio-books.
His performs live art demonstrations on his Facebook page, and has animated using pixel art for clients like BlueSky software and Electronic Arts. He also regularly posts on his Youtube channel.
Doug tries to write and draw something every day as a discipline that also happens to be a career.
He currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee.
He's been married for 27 years to the love of his life and has four book-loving kids.
Doug's favorite authors include G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. He reads mostly philosophy but tends to get his fiction from audio-books.
His performs live art demonstrations on his Facebook page, and has animated using pixel art for clients like BlueSky software and Electronic Arts. He also regularly posts on his Youtube channel.
Doug tries to write and draw something every day as a discipline that also happens to be a career.
He currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,175 reviews
June 17, 2022
Cardboard feels like a nice mashup of Toy Story, Fairly Odd Parents and a little bit of Invader Zim. It captures the vibe of a classic Pixar film with a touching story of family bonding through hard times and a good bully redemption story in the midst of self-made conflict.
Cam’s struggling dad who works as a carpenter brings a cardboard box home for his birthday because he couldn’t afford anything of value, definitely not the birthday present he was expecting. This is no ordinary cardboard box, however. It’s a magic box that creates life from whatever shape you mold from its pieces. Cam entertains himself by building a legion of quirky cardboard friends that talk to him and join him on adventures, but when the neighborhood bully Marcus catches wind of the magical box, he schemes up more malicious purposes for what the box could be used for.
This was a good and imaginative story, but it all felt very straightforward and by the numbers. It follows a lot of familiar tropes and some of the characters fall short, most notably the love interest of Cam's dad and some of the supporting cast. The father-son bond that Cam shares with his dad and the unraveling backstory of Marcus were the highlights of the narrative for me. Everything else played out like a standard children’s animated movie.
Even with its flaws, I enjoyed the 90's/early 2000's animated nostalgia vibe it delivered. Traditional stories that pay homage to the past without changing much can be enjoyable in their own right.
Cardboard
My Rating: 3.2/5
***
If you're looking for ambient music that's perfect for reading fantasy, horror, sci-fi, comics, manga and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
Cam’s struggling dad who works as a carpenter brings a cardboard box home for his birthday because he couldn’t afford anything of value, definitely not the birthday present he was expecting. This is no ordinary cardboard box, however. It’s a magic box that creates life from whatever shape you mold from its pieces. Cam entertains himself by building a legion of quirky cardboard friends that talk to him and join him on adventures, but when the neighborhood bully Marcus catches wind of the magical box, he schemes up more malicious purposes for what the box could be used for.
This was a good and imaginative story, but it all felt very straightforward and by the numbers. It follows a lot of familiar tropes and some of the characters fall short, most notably the love interest of Cam's dad and some of the supporting cast. The father-son bond that Cam shares with his dad and the unraveling backstory of Marcus were the highlights of the narrative for me. Everything else played out like a standard children’s animated movie.
Even with its flaws, I enjoyed the 90's/early 2000's animated nostalgia vibe it delivered. Traditional stories that pay homage to the past without changing much can be enjoyable in their own right.
Cardboard
My Rating: 3.2/5
***
If you're looking for ambient music that's perfect for reading fantasy, horror, sci-fi, comics, manga and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
November 6, 2023
Really unique story about 'magik' cardboard that can give life to anything made from it. Elements from Pinocchio make this a very interesting story. Mike is trying to find a cheap birthday present for his son Cam - he is struggling to find work and money is tight. Mike buys a cardboard box from a very strange old man - he is going to try to make something nice for Cam. They make a boxer named Bill - and that is when everything starts to go wrong! Bill comes to life! Original with really nice art.
July 18, 2016
5 stars! It was great. I loved pretty much everything about it.
Cardboard is about a down in luck dad named Mike. His wife has passed away and he is trying to raise is son Cam all alone. He is also between jobs and no one is hiring. A sad start to any story. It's his sons birthday and he wants to buy him something great but he can't afford anything. Mike sees a stand on the side of the road selling cheap toys. The man, Mr. Gideon, learns that Mike's son Cam is a really good boy and so he sells Mike a cardboard box for 78 cents. This box, Mr. Gideon says, can be made into anything as long as you use your imagination.
It turns out Cam is a really good kid and when Mike comes home with the box Cam is excited. They build a boxer out of the box and the box boxer comes to life! They name the boxer Bill and the story goes from there.
I would say this graphic novel is kind of a Pinocchio re-telling and you'll know what I mean at the end. Great story about father and son. Friendship. Helping others even though you don't believe they deserve it. Working together. Magic! Loved it all around.
Cardboard is about a down in luck dad named Mike. His wife has passed away and he is trying to raise is son Cam all alone. He is also between jobs and no one is hiring. A sad start to any story. It's his sons birthday and he wants to buy him something great but he can't afford anything. Mike sees a stand on the side of the road selling cheap toys. The man, Mr. Gideon, learns that Mike's son Cam is a really good boy and so he sells Mike a cardboard box for 78 cents. This box, Mr. Gideon says, can be made into anything as long as you use your imagination.
It turns out Cam is a really good kid and when Mike comes home with the box Cam is excited. They build a boxer out of the box and the box boxer comes to life! They name the boxer Bill and the story goes from there.
I would say this graphic novel is kind of a Pinocchio re-telling and you'll know what I mean at the end. Great story about father and son. Friendship. Helping others even though you don't believe they deserve it. Working together. Magic! Loved it all around.
November 28, 2012
Every page in Doug TenNapel’s Cardboard pops to life with color, action, imagination, and heart!
Cam and his Dad are going through a rough time. Both trying to find a way to live without Cam’s mother. Loneliness, grief, and fear show up throughout the story in heartbreaking quiet ways and not so subtle ways. Add no job, financial woes, bully troubles, and a birthday—well these guys have their hands full! Cam’s father needs a miracle or a bit of magic to afford a gift for his son’s birthday. And magic is just what he finds in a cardboard box. Magic and trouble! Father and son twist, bend, and build people out of the cardboard. People that come to life. And that’s where the trouble begins…
Strong father and son messages color and fill these pages. Fathers trying to find a way to communicate and bond with their sons. I loved Cam and his father’s banter and relationship, but about half way through, the story seemed to shift more towards understanding Marcus—the neighborhood bully. To be honest, I really didn’t like Marcus. His eyes gave me the creeps. Huge pools of creepiness! I realize that isn’t the greatest reason to dislike a character, but it’s the truth. Haha…Plus I may have overdosed on the sad, misunderstood bully characters and tales lately. I wished the focus and spotlight had remained on Cam and his Dad.
This comic book is built around a brilliant idea! Cardboard people and monsters that come to life! Love it! But it had a few bumps for me. We never truly learn why or how the cardboard comes to life or any concrete reasoning behind the rules of the box. I’m all for mystery and magic--sometimes not knowing fills a story with wonder and power. But here it just felt a bit lazy leaving so many unanswered questions.
A fun adventure packed with action that will find an audience. But for me, this tale lost its bite and magic about half way through.
I will be on the lookout for more from Mr. TenNapel though. I highly recommend his Bad Island.
June 10, 2013
It's hard to review this book. The adventure part of the story was fine, and it was kind of interesting to read a comic with so many super-conservative messages in it. It was your typical set-up of a Really Good Guy just trying to Provide For His Family. The first thing you learn about the RGG is that he's too--I don't know--Republican or something to accept much-needed welfare to feed his son during the Hard Times (mancession?). Of course, there's some Marilyn Manson-loving freak who, in a completely realistic reflection of teenage social dynamics, is bullying RGG's Totally Normal Son. This is because the freak's Overly Liberal Daddy doesn't take time to man-bond with his son and teach him traditional values--like, that only girls wear their hair long and such.
I think I was emitting a quiet, elongated moan of disdain during the entire story, even though it was on the surface a fun enough adventure story. There was just so much ick behind it all for me, personally, but it's cool to know that there's a comic for everyone! Now I know what to recommend to neocon parents who come to the library looking forhandouts books for their kids sons.
In my own personal collection, this book would get 1 star, but I feel oddly compelled to give it 2 stars here just for being a well produced piece of conservative American culture in a genre that is--ah, let's be honest--a slightly different mix of conservative American culture most of the time anyway.
Recommended for parents who still feel angsty about the cancelation of Orson Scott Card's Superman, or who feel nostalgic about the last century's Archie comics. And, really, kids will read it and they'll like it well enough if they're not at the stage where they start thinking critically about white middle American culture.
I think I was emitting a quiet, elongated moan of disdain during the entire story, even though it was on the surface a fun enough adventure story. There was just so much ick behind it all for me, personally, but it's cool to know that there's a comic for everyone! Now I know what to recommend to neocon parents who come to the library looking for
In my own personal collection, this book would get 1 star, but I feel oddly compelled to give it 2 stars here just for being a well produced piece of conservative American culture in a genre that is--ah, let's be honest--a slightly different mix of conservative American culture most of the time anyway.
Recommended for parents who still feel angsty about the cancelation of Orson Scott Card's Superman, or who feel nostalgic about the last century's Archie comics. And, really, kids will read it and they'll like it well enough if they're not at the stage where they start thinking critically about white middle American culture.
May 24, 2021
I loved it!!
The story was cute and entertaining and the graphic was amazing :)
The story was cute and entertaining and the graphic was amazing :)
January 9, 2018
I'd say Doug TenNapel is a sure bet: everything I've read by him (admittedly only a sliver of everything he's done) is smart, brisk, accessible, and graced with enticing high concepts and obvious emotional hooks. He cartoons with brio, he's prolific and seemingly always on full boil (what, about a graphic novel a year?), and so I have to believe he loves his work. Cardboard, a broad, eager, winning fantasy, is his latest, and takes off like a rocket from a simple, tantalizing premise: a widower and his young son stumble on some magical cardboard that can be used to bring to life creatures of their own making; chaos results! I had fun reading it.
As I read Cardboard, I thought, "This could be a Pixar movie. Or Laika." That's what it reads like, and almost everything filmmakers would need script-wise is already here: every major character has a problem or want and gets to exhibit change (i.e. everybody's got an arc); the initial premise spirals out of control into a series of set pieces that look good on paper and could look great on screen; the plot forks into alternating character bits that could be cross-cut in a movie for maximum suspense's sake; and there's a tender father/son pairing at the heart of it. Plus the grieving widower whose inability to move on in life calls to mind Finding Nemo. Characters that seem broadly drawn at first, such as a truly dislikable neighborhood punk, get peeled back, softened up, and rounded, yet TenNapel doesn't get so sentimental that he forgets to keep on delivering little narrative shocks right up to the end (his inventiveness is in high gear). And reading the book is a breeze: varied layouts and elastic pacing carry the story effortlessly, and, man, TenNapel really cracks the whip.
So, a charming gust of a book, whirlwind-quick, and eager to please: an impressive workout with craft to spare. Yet I find myself wishing that TenNapel's character arcs and themes weren't so obvious. There's something programmed about them, like the over-familiar dramatic riffs in so many movies. You know, stuff that sounds as if it were dreamed up around a conference table: this character will undergo a big Change and resolve his Issues, et cetera. It all reeks of Screenwriting 101.
On the other hand, it does work. I mean, TenNapel does follow through; he doesn't forget his characters or shortchange them; he seeks to deliver a Well-Wrought Tale where nothing is wasted. And he does.
The book's best scene, for my money, is when Bill the Boxer (the first of the many cardboard critters brought to life in the story) wonders aloud about what part of him is cardboard and what part isn't, and whether he has a spirit that sets him apart from other, unliving cardboard things. This scene is basically about the question of soul versus body, and may be a hint of TenNapel's religious convictions, which do crop up in his work. I liked the way it worked here, lending heft and sweetness to a goofy idea.
As I read Cardboard, I thought, "This could be a Pixar movie. Or Laika." That's what it reads like, and almost everything filmmakers would need script-wise is already here: every major character has a problem or want and gets to exhibit change (i.e. everybody's got an arc); the initial premise spirals out of control into a series of set pieces that look good on paper and could look great on screen; the plot forks into alternating character bits that could be cross-cut in a movie for maximum suspense's sake; and there's a tender father/son pairing at the heart of it. Plus the grieving widower whose inability to move on in life calls to mind Finding Nemo. Characters that seem broadly drawn at first, such as a truly dislikable neighborhood punk, get peeled back, softened up, and rounded, yet TenNapel doesn't get so sentimental that he forgets to keep on delivering little narrative shocks right up to the end (his inventiveness is in high gear). And reading the book is a breeze: varied layouts and elastic pacing carry the story effortlessly, and, man, TenNapel really cracks the whip.
So, a charming gust of a book, whirlwind-quick, and eager to please: an impressive workout with craft to spare. Yet I find myself wishing that TenNapel's character arcs and themes weren't so obvious. There's something programmed about them, like the over-familiar dramatic riffs in so many movies. You know, stuff that sounds as if it were dreamed up around a conference table: this character will undergo a big Change and resolve his Issues, et cetera. It all reeks of Screenwriting 101.
On the other hand, it does work. I mean, TenNapel does follow through; he doesn't forget his characters or shortchange them; he seeks to deliver a Well-Wrought Tale where nothing is wasted. And he does.
The book's best scene, for my money, is when Bill the Boxer (the first of the many cardboard critters brought to life in the story) wonders aloud about what part of him is cardboard and what part isn't, and whether he has a spirit that sets him apart from other, unliving cardboard things. This scene is basically about the question of soul versus body, and may be a hint of TenNapel's religious convictions, which do crop up in his work. I liked the way it worked here, lending heft and sweetness to a goofy idea.
December 14, 2017
I personally enjoyed the concept a lot in this book. It is a very good concept like how you can make things with cardboard that are alive. But the characters were awful. There was character development at all. Also it would take random skips in time. Then there was also the weakness for cardboard. Which is literally everywhere so it could have been a really quick ending but it was not.
I would not recommend it to an older audience. The reason it is so high in the star rating is because I really liked it when I read it. But now it seems quite cheesy. Maybe some people would like it but I would doubt it. It was a quick read but it was to quick of a read now that I look back at it.
I would not recommend it to an older audience. The reason it is so high in the star rating is because I really liked it when I read it. But now it seems quite cheesy. Maybe some people would like it but I would doubt it. It was a quick read but it was to quick of a read now that I look back at it.
October 20, 2016
The book is great because I really liked how is written and the conflict that was made by the author.I really like how the dad got him a box and the son was fine with it and they made it into a boxer,after they slept the card board became alive and it was mesmerizing that he became alive i would recommend this to 8 graders and below because is a picture book and I don't think every one likes it.
October 30, 2014
This book is about a carpenter and father, raising his young boy by himself, and struggling to provide for the both of them. He's looking for a birthday gift for his son and finds a man selling toys on the side of the road. He doesn't have much money, and buys a cardboard box, what the seller says is a great father-and-son project... but, there are two rules that come with buying this box. He has to give the scraps back and he can't ask for more.
So with the box, he and his son crafts a boxer, who the son names Bill. His son, Cam, is an imaginative boy who enjoys creating things. But then Bill comes to life, making their neighbor's rich and spoiled son, Marcus, jealous. Marcus steals some cardboard and creates some monsters who make more monsters and transform the house (and attempt to transform the earth) into a giant Cardboard world, conquering it and making it theirs.
The artwork and writing is both amazing. The characters are great and transform a lot over the course of the story. I found Cam relatable and the whole story amazing. This is definitely a book you should read.
So with the box, he and his son crafts a boxer, who the son names Bill. His son, Cam, is an imaginative boy who enjoys creating things. But then Bill comes to life, making their neighbor's rich and spoiled son, Marcus, jealous. Marcus steals some cardboard and creates some monsters who make more monsters and transform the house (and attempt to transform the earth) into a giant Cardboard world, conquering it and making it theirs.
The artwork and writing is both amazing. The characters are great and transform a lot over the course of the story. I found Cam relatable and the whole story amazing. This is definitely a book you should read.
June 28, 2019
Doamne, n am mai citit o carte de benzi desenate de cand eram mica... Acu m am lăsat prinsă de fimiu si am citit o împreună. Mi a plăcut. Mi a amintit de Rahan si aventurile lui. A fost drăguță si se citeste super usor. Grafica e amuzantă. Nu stiu cum sa o notez pt ca nu se încadrează la genul de cărți pe care obișnuiesc să le citesc, dar bănuiesc ca merita 4 stele. Simpatica cartea... numa buna de citit împreună cu copiii... acum in vacanta .
June 23, 2017
Entertaining and creatively illustrated graphic novel of magic cardboard creations come to life—and the consequences of failing to comply with the seemingly inconsequential conditions of magic.
The story begins when a mysterious street vendor sells a cardboard box to a lonely, unemployed father for his son's birthday—on the one condition that every scrap of cardboard that is left over be returned. Failing to keep his promise to do this, the father and son see all kinds of magic cardboard havoc break loose as a result, and they must set to work repairing the damage.
It's a strange premise for a story, but I noticed that TenNapel dedicated the book "to the Chestertonians," which, I think, is actually the key to understanding the crisis of the plot.
G.K. Chesterton had a lot to say about the ethics of fairyland, and how it is the believers in fairyland, and not the secular "realists" who understand reality best:
The story begins when a mysterious street vendor sells a cardboard box to a lonely, unemployed father for his son's birthday—on the one condition that every scrap of cardboard that is left over be returned. Failing to keep his promise to do this, the father and son see all kinds of magic cardboard havoc break loose as a result, and they must set to work repairing the damage.
It's a strange premise for a story, but I noticed that TenNapel dedicated the book "to the Chestertonians," which, I think, is actually the key to understanding the crisis of the plot.
G.K. Chesterton had a lot to say about the ethics of fairyland, and how it is the believers in fairyland, and not the secular "realists" who understand reality best:
"If you really read the fairy-tales, you will observe that one idea runs from one end of them to the other – the idea that peace and happiness can only exist on some condition. This idea, which is the core of ethics, is the core of the nursery-tales. The whole happiness of fairyland hangs upon a thread, upon one thread. Cinderella may have a dress woven on supernatural looms and blazing with unearthly brilliance; but she must be back when the clock strikes twelve. The king may invite fairies to the christening, but he must invite all the fairies or frightful results will follow. Bluebeard’s wife may open all doors but one. A promise is broken to a cat, and the whole world goes wrong. A promise is broken to a yellow dwarf, and the whole world goes wrong. A girl may be the bride of the God of Love himself if she never tries to see him; she sees him, and he vanishes away. A girl is given a box on condition she does not open it; she opens it, and all the evils of this world rush out at her. A man and woman are put in a garden on condition that they do not eat one fruit: they eat it, and lose their joy in all the fruits of the earth.
This great idea, then, is the backbone of all folk-lore–the idea that all happiness hangs on one thin veto; all positive joy depends on one negative.
...This is the profound morality of fairy-tales; which, so far from being lawless, go to the root of all law.
... Not only can these fairy-tales be enjoyed because they are moral, but morality can be enjoyed because it puts us in fairyland, in a world at once of wonder and of war."
—G.K. Chesterton
It's definitely a fun read (all five of my boys loved the imaginative story and brilliant drawings), but it also has more depth than your average comic novel and is an engaging book for adults as well.
March 5, 2013
Mike is an out-of-work carpenter and a widower with a young teen son, Cam. When Mike can’t afford a birthday present for Cam, he encounters a strange toy salesman who offers him a cardboard box for under a dollar. The man gives Mike some rules: he has to return any unused cardboard and he can’t have more.
Mike and Cam make a boxer out of the cardboard, and the boxer comes to life. “Bill” and Cam are fast friends, but when Cam’s wealthy and mean-spirited neighbor Marcus decides he wants magic cardboard, too, things quickly get out of control.
Cardboard is visually appealing with Tennapel’s unique style and bright colors. Aimed at the middle grades, there are strong themes of right/wrong and decision making, but they were obvious and direct. While it’s good for a younger audience, it could annoy older readers. I liked Mike—he’s a strong father figure, which is rare in stories for younger people. He’s not perfect, and he has his own issues to deal with, but he puts his son first.
The story switches focus halfway through—it’s no longer about Cam and his dad, but about Marcus and why he’s such a bully. It was here that the obvious moralizing got to be too much for me. I also felt that the characters were stereotypical—evil Marcus is a long-haired Marilyn Manson lookalike, honest Mike is a muscular, good-looking guy, etc. The overall story actually reminded me of the “Goofus and Gallant” cartoons in Boy’s Life.
• No language or sexual issues
• Marcus has a pet rat that he is constantly putting in harm’s way. I felt like I was supposed to be mildly amused by these scenes. The rat, Fang, always comes out unscathed, and Marcus’s obliviousness to the well-being of his pet characterizes him as a callous jerk. However, this problematic behavior doesn’t change.
• There’s some gross-factor to this book. Marcus has a friend named Pink Eye whose eyes are red and infected.
• The violence in the story involves cardboard people and monsters. Although they’re made out of cardboard, the reader will empathize with cardboard Bill—if he’s sentient, then aren’t the others? So while the war is against “cardboard,” it’s hard to separate the “what’s alive?” element.
• There are fist fights and weapons. The weapons are made out of the magic cardboard and only injure cardboard creatures.
Mike and Cam make a boxer out of the cardboard, and the boxer comes to life. “Bill” and Cam are fast friends, but when Cam’s wealthy and mean-spirited neighbor Marcus decides he wants magic cardboard, too, things quickly get out of control.
Cardboard is visually appealing with Tennapel’s unique style and bright colors. Aimed at the middle grades, there are strong themes of right/wrong and decision making, but they were obvious and direct. While it’s good for a younger audience, it could annoy older readers. I liked Mike—he’s a strong father figure, which is rare in stories for younger people. He’s not perfect, and he has his own issues to deal with, but he puts his son first.
The story switches focus halfway through—it’s no longer about Cam and his dad, but about Marcus and why he’s such a bully. It was here that the obvious moralizing got to be too much for me. I also felt that the characters were stereotypical—evil Marcus is a long-haired Marilyn Manson lookalike, honest Mike is a muscular, good-looking guy, etc. The overall story actually reminded me of the “Goofus and Gallant” cartoons in Boy’s Life.
• No language or sexual issues
• Marcus has a pet rat that he is constantly putting in harm’s way. I felt like I was supposed to be mildly amused by these scenes. The rat, Fang, always comes out unscathed, and Marcus’s obliviousness to the well-being of his pet characterizes him as a callous jerk. However, this problematic behavior doesn’t change.
• There’s some gross-factor to this book. Marcus has a friend named Pink Eye whose eyes are red and infected.
• The violence in the story involves cardboard people and monsters. Although they’re made out of cardboard, the reader will empathize with cardboard Bill—if he’s sentient, then aren’t the others? So while the war is against “cardboard,” it’s hard to separate the “what’s alive?” element.
• There are fist fights and weapons. The weapons are made out of the magic cardboard and only injure cardboard creatures.
January 16, 2022
"Cardboard" isn't bad, nor great, but straightforward and decent, hitting the same beats you might have seen hit a hundred times before.
It's a Pinocchio-esque story in which a poor carpenter creates a doll that comes to life; but whereas Geppetto had no children of his own, Mike has a son, Cam, for whom he creates Bill the Boxer, using special cardboard gotten from a shady salesman (aliens might be involved).
Shenanigans happen, lessons are learned by both Mike and the kid next door, Marcus, there's a bit of an adventure in cardboard-land... but somehow I felt like all this might have been better. That the characters could have been slightly more... fleshed out.
It's a Pinocchio-esque story in which a poor carpenter creates a doll that comes to life; but whereas Geppetto had no children of his own, Mike has a son, Cam, for whom he creates Bill the Boxer, using special cardboard gotten from a shady salesman (aliens might be involved).
Shenanigans happen, lessons are learned by both Mike and the kid next door, Marcus, there's a bit of an adventure in cardboard-land... but somehow I felt like all this might have been better. That the characters could have been slightly more... fleshed out.
October 27, 2017
Perfect gift for my 11 year old son. He read it in a day! Then my 5 year old son wanted me to read it to him -- and right after we finished it, he asked me to read it to him again.
This book addresses so many issues, and naturally. Nothing seemed pushed or hurried. A very fun read that manages to introduce some basic philosophical questions.
I took a gamble and bought this book online, solely based on its good reviews. I'm so glad I did! I'd highly recommend it. This could be the book that gets kids into reading.
This book addresses so many issues, and naturally. Nothing seemed pushed or hurried. A very fun read that manages to introduce some basic philosophical questions.
I took a gamble and bought this book online, solely based on its good reviews. I'm so glad I did! I'd highly recommend it. This could be the book that gets kids into reading.
June 7, 2017
Imaginative idea about a widower and his son and how their lives are changed with magical cardboard that comes to life. The pages are filled with grief, moving on, action, adventure and bold colors. The story is unique and truly creative.
August 17, 2017
Doug always has great characters, interesting and deep themes to discover, complex problems to solve, and evil to be defeated and redeemed... All with incredible artwork. Another great graphic novel!
December 20, 2016
I liked it, it wasn't the best book I've read, but it was good. I have definitely read better Graphic Novels.
November 1, 2012
From my ComicMix review:
I find Doug TenNapel a maddeningly inconsistent storyteller. He goes from the wonderful Ghostopolis to the disappointing Bad Island while delivering inventive graphics aided with strong color. Now we have Cardboard, which starts off with such promise and right around the halfway mark things spiral entirely out of control and become way too over the top.
Mike is an independent carpenter who recently lost his wife and the sour economy means he’s inching towards bankruptcy. We open on his son Cam’s birthday as Mike, with a mere seventy-eight cents to his name, desperately seeks work to afford a present. Despondently he heads home until he encounters Gideon, a roadside huckster who sells him a cardboard box for exactly seventy-eight cents. When Mike complains it’s empty, Gideon screams, “Empty? It’s full! Full of ideas…projects…adventure!” But of course, it comes with rules which will later drive the story.
The box is at first skeptically received until the two take tools to it and suddenly it is transformed into a boxer that magically comes to life. Bill the boxer comes complete with a rudimentary vocabulary and intelligence making his a step above an adorable puppy. He follows orders and is out mowing the grass before you know it, earning Cam the enmity of his spoiled goth-inspired friend Marcus, accompanied by his sidekick Pink Eye. A squirt of water soaks the cardboard man and brings him near death until Mike uses the scraps to build a device that emits fresh cardboard, which is then shaped to replacement parts and Bill lives.
But Marcus wants the device and his own cardboard man and from there we begin the slippery slope down to lunacy. Marcus of course gets the device and uses it without understanding the rules and just like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, one becomes many and all set to work. Given their intelligence, they decide to rule the world and the neighborhood is taken over by the growing numbers of cardboard simulacrums of people.
Of course, a garden hose would have nipped this in the bud at the outset but Mike and Cam appear to have lost their logical thought processes by this point. And this sort of lack in internal logic, which doomed the previous outing, also comes to haunt this work which showed such lovely potential at the outset.
Mike is despondent over his dead wife, feeling like a failure in raising Cam and is totally oblivious to the mutual attraction he has with his next door neighbor, the single Tina. We’re told how broke he is early on – not enough money to buy food let alone a present, but that thread is instantly dropped until the happy ending. The growing intelligence and development of Bill the Boxer as a character started off well but got shoved to side for the kinetic action that overwhelms the narrative. Mike, Cam and Bill are the most rounded characters while Marcus, hid Dad, and Tina are as two-dimensional as the cardboard that starts this off.
Just how did the cardboard become infused with magic? Gideon gives an incomplete answer first saying it is a result of alien or alien magicians that also can understand quantum particle physics. We never quite know or how Gideon obtained this wondrous object. In the grand scheme of things, its largely inconsequential to the overblown action.
TenNapel’s artwork is quite good and he tells his stories well, aided with superb color from Der-Shing Helmer. He acknowledges the editorial contributions that he felt made the book work but frankly, it needed serious editorial guidance to retain the emotional core which was sacrificed for too much cardboard plotting.
I find Doug TenNapel a maddeningly inconsistent storyteller. He goes from the wonderful Ghostopolis to the disappointing Bad Island while delivering inventive graphics aided with strong color. Now we have Cardboard, which starts off with such promise and right around the halfway mark things spiral entirely out of control and become way too over the top.
Mike is an independent carpenter who recently lost his wife and the sour economy means he’s inching towards bankruptcy. We open on his son Cam’s birthday as Mike, with a mere seventy-eight cents to his name, desperately seeks work to afford a present. Despondently he heads home until he encounters Gideon, a roadside huckster who sells him a cardboard box for exactly seventy-eight cents. When Mike complains it’s empty, Gideon screams, “Empty? It’s full! Full of ideas…projects…adventure!” But of course, it comes with rules which will later drive the story.
The box is at first skeptically received until the two take tools to it and suddenly it is transformed into a boxer that magically comes to life. Bill the boxer comes complete with a rudimentary vocabulary and intelligence making his a step above an adorable puppy. He follows orders and is out mowing the grass before you know it, earning Cam the enmity of his spoiled goth-inspired friend Marcus, accompanied by his sidekick Pink Eye. A squirt of water soaks the cardboard man and brings him near death until Mike uses the scraps to build a device that emits fresh cardboard, which is then shaped to replacement parts and Bill lives.
But Marcus wants the device and his own cardboard man and from there we begin the slippery slope down to lunacy. Marcus of course gets the device and uses it without understanding the rules and just like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, one becomes many and all set to work. Given their intelligence, they decide to rule the world and the neighborhood is taken over by the growing numbers of cardboard simulacrums of people.
Of course, a garden hose would have nipped this in the bud at the outset but Mike and Cam appear to have lost their logical thought processes by this point. And this sort of lack in internal logic, which doomed the previous outing, also comes to haunt this work which showed such lovely potential at the outset.
Mike is despondent over his dead wife, feeling like a failure in raising Cam and is totally oblivious to the mutual attraction he has with his next door neighbor, the single Tina. We’re told how broke he is early on – not enough money to buy food let alone a present, but that thread is instantly dropped until the happy ending. The growing intelligence and development of Bill the Boxer as a character started off well but got shoved to side for the kinetic action that overwhelms the narrative. Mike, Cam and Bill are the most rounded characters while Marcus, hid Dad, and Tina are as two-dimensional as the cardboard that starts this off.
Just how did the cardboard become infused with magic? Gideon gives an incomplete answer first saying it is a result of alien or alien magicians that also can understand quantum particle physics. We never quite know or how Gideon obtained this wondrous object. In the grand scheme of things, its largely inconsequential to the overblown action.
TenNapel’s artwork is quite good and he tells his stories well, aided with superb color from Der-Shing Helmer. He acknowledges the editorial contributions that he felt made the book work but frankly, it needed serious editorial guidance to retain the emotional core which was sacrificed for too much cardboard plotting.
November 29, 2016
Some people from our community think that not getting an item of clothing is hard, but for other people getting a meal is difficult at best. That is the life of the two main characters in the book Cardboard. The father, Mike, is working his hardest to find a job while his town is going through a poor time. On the same day, it is his son's birthday. When Mike can't find a present for his son, Cam, he goes to a stand that was advertising free toys. The man there sells him cardboard but Mike soon finds thinks that anything this man says is crazy. Mike disregards everything he was told and builds a boxer out of the cardboard with Cam. When they wake up, the cardboard is alive and tries to find out what was going on. Cam takes out the cardboard and tries to teach it how to be a person. As the duo goes on, they find the neighborhood bully with a water gun. The cardboard man gets sprayed and the family tries to find a way to fix it. Though the crazy man said not to make more, they do this and fix the cardboard man. The neighborhood bully, Marcus, begins to envy Cam and tries to steal the cardboard maker. Cam and Marcus had a conflict with each other due to the sides they were on. Cam was more of a kind person while Marcus tried to make everything revolve around him. Marcus makes off with it and begins to make his own army of cardboard creatures. These creatures soon gain a self-awareness and overrule Marcus. Cam and his family find a way to deffest these creatures, but not without losing their cardboard man. A main theme of the story is that even the most heroic of people give things up despite the fact that they're trying to help. Nonetheless, they find in the end that everything would work out.
The title of this book could never fully capture the beauty of this book. I believe this because there are so many themes and meanings to the book that it would be impossible to describe the book in one word. For example, even though Cam and his father are poor, Cam still makes the best out of everything and help out his father. Another example could be how Mike had to get over the death of his wife so he could let someone else into his life. Both of these themes could teach anyone a lesson who is going through a hard time or trying to get over someone they love. The villain in the story, Marcus, had a conflict with himself too. He never really liked how he was but when Cam and Marcus got close he got better at accepting himself. This could show some readers that everyone could use a friend to talk to or even just say hi to, or that it doesn't take much to help someone feel better.
The author of Cardboard described many different relationships. This is important in a book but so is describing the classes the author properly instead of focusing on romantic relationships or friendships. The reader is most likely looking for an accurate description of the classes if they are often used. Also, cramming so many themes may be more confusing to a younger reader. Overall, there's plenty of imagination but depicting it may be a tad tiresome for some readers.
This book is a 3, as it had many interesting themes, though they were buried a little too deep in the plot. I would recommend this book to readers that try to dissect every book and find ways to compare them to very interesting things. I would also recommend this book to people that know how hard things can be in the world. This book is filled with imagination, many opportunities for comparisons, will leave you thinking about how you handle your situations, and what is important to you.
The title of this book could never fully capture the beauty of this book. I believe this because there are so many themes and meanings to the book that it would be impossible to describe the book in one word. For example, even though Cam and his father are poor, Cam still makes the best out of everything and help out his father. Another example could be how Mike had to get over the death of his wife so he could let someone else into his life. Both of these themes could teach anyone a lesson who is going through a hard time or trying to get over someone they love. The villain in the story, Marcus, had a conflict with himself too. He never really liked how he was but when Cam and Marcus got close he got better at accepting himself. This could show some readers that everyone could use a friend to talk to or even just say hi to, or that it doesn't take much to help someone feel better.
The author of Cardboard described many different relationships. This is important in a book but so is describing the classes the author properly instead of focusing on romantic relationships or friendships. The reader is most likely looking for an accurate description of the classes if they are often used. Also, cramming so many themes may be more confusing to a younger reader. Overall, there's plenty of imagination but depicting it may be a tad tiresome for some readers.
This book is a 3, as it had many interesting themes, though they were buried a little too deep in the plot. I would recommend this book to readers that try to dissect every book and find ways to compare them to very interesting things. I would also recommend this book to people that know how hard things can be in the world. This book is filled with imagination, many opportunities for comparisons, will leave you thinking about how you handle your situations, and what is important to you.
March 23, 2015
This is a graphic novel I've owned for a fair while but only just got around to reading and thus I didn't know exactly what to expect when I went into it. I also got this as a present so I didn't even know anything about what would be inside.
First off the art style of this book is not my favourite to begin with because there's a lot of very over exaggerated features and expressions. Whilst this has the effect of bringing to life the characters of the story and making it exciting and dynamic I felt that it was rather over the top and some scenes could have done with a softer technique.
However as the story progressed and the cardboard became a far more prominent feature I felt that the drawing became more interesting and the style fit really well with the cardboard creatures. Also the colour scheme was a lot more sinister and awesome as the story went on so it was certainly a good development.
This is the story of a father and son who are struggling for money and when it's Cam (the son) birthday his dad doesn't know how he's going to get him a good present. The story really takes off when a cardboard box becomes Cam's present and a whole realm of possibilities for creativity and fun are explored by Cam, his dad, and some other characters in the book.
There's a lot that can be imagined from a simple box and this book certainly plays upon that theme. However it also has other focuses such as the economic struggles of the day, dealing with loss and grief, and ensuring you look out for others. There are some wonderful moments of teaching children the ways to cope in certain situations, and yet these are well integrated into the story and don't feel difficult or clunky.
There's also a whole load of fun and action and I found myself racing through this book in a very short amount of time as although there's a fair bit of text and some of it is more complicated than I expected the story is good fun and it's an original idea.
On the whole I'd say this is a successful and imaginative children's graphic novel and certainly there are some good guys and bad guys that you want to read about. I loved the inventive nature and the fast pacing, and I look forward to checking out more of TenNapel's work! A good 4* read :)
First off the art style of this book is not my favourite to begin with because there's a lot of very over exaggerated features and expressions. Whilst this has the effect of bringing to life the characters of the story and making it exciting and dynamic I felt that it was rather over the top and some scenes could have done with a softer technique.
However as the story progressed and the cardboard became a far more prominent feature I felt that the drawing became more interesting and the style fit really well with the cardboard creatures. Also the colour scheme was a lot more sinister and awesome as the story went on so it was certainly a good development.
This is the story of a father and son who are struggling for money and when it's Cam (the son) birthday his dad doesn't know how he's going to get him a good present. The story really takes off when a cardboard box becomes Cam's present and a whole realm of possibilities for creativity and fun are explored by Cam, his dad, and some other characters in the book.
There's a lot that can be imagined from a simple box and this book certainly plays upon that theme. However it also has other focuses such as the economic struggles of the day, dealing with loss and grief, and ensuring you look out for others. There are some wonderful moments of teaching children the ways to cope in certain situations, and yet these are well integrated into the story and don't feel difficult or clunky.
There's also a whole load of fun and action and I found myself racing through this book in a very short amount of time as although there's a fair bit of text and some of it is more complicated than I expected the story is good fun and it's an original idea.
On the whole I'd say this is a successful and imaginative children's graphic novel and certainly there are some good guys and bad guys that you want to read about. I loved the inventive nature and the fast pacing, and I look forward to checking out more of TenNapel's work! A good 4* read :)
June 7, 2015
Booklist
( March 15, 2012; 9780545418720 )
With Ghostopolis (2010), Bad Island (2011), and the very recent Ratfist (2011) still practically hot out of the oven, TenNapel has hit a prolific stride, turning out stories featuring whacked-out science, organic weirdness, and a hefty emotional heart. Here a jobless father gives his son the only birthday gift he can afford in this crushing economy: a cardboard box. However, the two make a cardboard figure (of a boxer, naturally) and find themselves with a brand-new, living, breathing, cardboard friend. Unfortunately, when the petulant and jealous kid next door sees what's going on and steals some of the cardboard, the entire neighborhood is soon threatened by an invasion of handmade monstrosities. TenNapel's cartoon-gritty linework and off-kilter faces offer strangeness that is by turns endearing and disconcerting. His writing, meanwhile, hits some emotionally facile notes and fails to deliver on a few portentous plot points. But he also provides moments of great sweetness and heaps and heaps of bizarre fun, a quality that has become his veritable trademark.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
I fully agree with the statement that this story conveys bizarre fun in the sense that it makes the "toy" of a cardboard box come to life and seem exciting by giving it a true life of it's own. It comes with unexpected turns, such as small cardboard characters who tell jokes.
I was surprised to read that it fails to deliver on a few plot points, but when I thought back, I could immediately come up with 2 points that were not finished in delivery including a failure to follow through on the rules or assign consequences for the use of the cardboard and the disappearance of a few minor characters without comment.
( March 15, 2012; 9780545418720 )
With Ghostopolis (2010), Bad Island (2011), and the very recent Ratfist (2011) still practically hot out of the oven, TenNapel has hit a prolific stride, turning out stories featuring whacked-out science, organic weirdness, and a hefty emotional heart. Here a jobless father gives his son the only birthday gift he can afford in this crushing economy: a cardboard box. However, the two make a cardboard figure (of a boxer, naturally) and find themselves with a brand-new, living, breathing, cardboard friend. Unfortunately, when the petulant and jealous kid next door sees what's going on and steals some of the cardboard, the entire neighborhood is soon threatened by an invasion of handmade monstrosities. TenNapel's cartoon-gritty linework and off-kilter faces offer strangeness that is by turns endearing and disconcerting. His writing, meanwhile, hits some emotionally facile notes and fails to deliver on a few portentous plot points. But he also provides moments of great sweetness and heaps and heaps of bizarre fun, a quality that has become his veritable trademark.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
I fully agree with the statement that this story conveys bizarre fun in the sense that it makes the "toy" of a cardboard box come to life and seem exciting by giving it a true life of it's own. It comes with unexpected turns, such as small cardboard characters who tell jokes.
I was surprised to read that it fails to deliver on a few plot points, but when I thought back, I could immediately come up with 2 points that were not finished in delivery including a failure to follow through on the rules or assign consequences for the use of the cardboard and the disappearance of a few minor characters without comment.
January 7, 2013
Cardboard is one of those books which will probably divide readers (particularly adult readers) in the same way that evolving language divides linguists into prescriptivists and descriptivists. Sure, it's not my cup of tea (after one image early in the book, I will do my best to never, ever, ever get pink eye ... and quite possibly to stop reading while eating), and I felt some of the Life Lessons of the book were simultaneously too heavy-handed and too blithe. Yet that first complaint is irrelevant when it is exactly the book's selling point for a lot of readers, and the second complaint means it kept me interested enough to argue with the author in my head. I can think of a dozen students who would stay awake too late reading this book, another dozen who would never trust me again if I recommended it to them, and very few who would not care one way or the other. That alone makes this a book worth having on my shelf.
May 7, 2018
Another foray into the middle grades graphic novel genre for me! After a 4th grade student came in and said she loved this book (we had just put it on the shelves), I decided to make this the next graphic novel to read. After waiting a few weeks since a few kids had it on hold, I brought it home and read it quickly. I liked the beginning as Cam's father gives him a box for his birthday and they come to find out that it has magical powers. I could feel the relationship between them was one of love, but an uncertainty of how to talk and relate to each other. Where things broke down for me was about 1/2 way through when the neighborhood bad kid steals the cardboard maker and begins to create an army of creatures that eventually try to take over. The narrative started to fall apart a bit at this point. I did, however, appreciate the beautiful graphics on each and every page!
September 1, 2012
Cardboard
Doug TenNapel
I enjoyed Cardboard for two reasons. It was face-paced (as any graphic novel, I suppose) and creative. I usually do not like graphic novels, but this one was okay. It was extremely creative and was fun to read. It encourages imagination and has a good "moral to the story."
The protagonist, Cam, is a young boy who receives from his father the worst birthday present. Together father and son create something out of nothing and go on an extraordinary adventure.
There are also some underlying themes such as, the dad and the neighbour girl, and Marcus' internal conflicts and family issues.
"Where's Cam?"
"He's inside."
FWOOOOSH!
"He's outside"
Doug TenNapel
I enjoyed Cardboard for two reasons. It was face-paced (as any graphic novel, I suppose) and creative. I usually do not like graphic novels, but this one was okay. It was extremely creative and was fun to read. It encourages imagination and has a good "moral to the story."
The protagonist, Cam, is a young boy who receives from his father the worst birthday present. Together father and son create something out of nothing and go on an extraordinary adventure.
There are also some underlying themes such as, the dad and the neighbour girl, and Marcus' internal conflicts and family issues.
"Where's Cam?"
"He's inside."
FWOOOOSH!
"He's outside"
May 24, 2015
I don't typically read graphic-novels. My fourth graders love them, but it's not my favorite style.
I recently got a set of TenNapel's books from Scholastic and randomly picked this one up last night. I was in the mood for something quick.
The story was creative. A dad is out of work and has no money for his son's birthday. He brings him home a cardboard box and discovers that anything made with the cardboard can come to life.
A bad kid in the neighborhood gets a hold of the cardboard and creates a monster army.
There are a lot of great themes in here about forgiveness, letting go, family, and friendships. I know my students will love it.
I recently got a set of TenNapel's books from Scholastic and randomly picked this one up last night. I was in the mood for something quick.
The story was creative. A dad is out of work and has no money for his son's birthday. He brings him home a cardboard box and discovers that anything made with the cardboard can come to life.
A bad kid in the neighborhood gets a hold of the cardboard and creates a monster army.
There are a lot of great themes in here about forgiveness, letting go, family, and friendships. I know my students will love it.
July 20, 2015
My 10 year old daughter sits on my lap and tells me that I have to read this book. So, I start reading it out loud in a bad Australian accent (one of the first lines was someone saying "hello, Mike" and when I read it out-loud it sounded like hello, Mate. Then I couldn't stop, I recommend this reading method). I didn't know she had already read it, and she didn't care. We read the entire book in two sittings and it was great. Definitely something you should read, a modern fairy tale that would make Bettelheim proud. If you don't know who that is, he has defined what makes a fairy tale. I can't tell you what it is about, just read it.
November 30, 2016
Not great, not amazing, but overall a decent book. I liked the book "Cardboard" even though it was a bit strange. When cardboard people come to life a boy has to save his town from disaster. This book was just really weird and the author must have had a very large imagination to think of this bizarre story. The reason I didn't really love this graphic novel was because it was a graphic novel. I don't enjoy graphic novels like I do with traditional books. I can't always find my way around in the right order in graphic novels and this book made it even harder. If you like graphic novels though, you might want to give "Cardboard" a try.
December 23, 2019
When I finished this book, I expected that I would rate it two stars for its chaotic story, poorly explained elements, and over-the-top depiction of a goth bully, but I've decided to be generous and give it three stars for its sensitive portrayal of its main character, a father who has lost his wife, can't get a job during the Recession, and is struggling to provide for his son. The father/son bond was meaningful despite this book's other flaws, and since I can't think of any other kid's graphic novel with such a strong, positive father figure, it seems fair to give this an extra star in appreciation.
January 12, 2022
I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. I wasn't really sure if I was going to like it because of the graphic novel format and the plot, but you know what they say! Don't judge a book by its cover! That statement is definitely true in this case, I just couldn't put this book down! It was humous and had a great sense of adventure in it! I high recommend this book to anyone that wants a quick fun read! :)
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