Jeff Smith. Bone #1: Out from Boneville
Scholastic $12.99  ISBN 0-439-70640-8  138 pg.
Reviewed by Melissa, Age 13

Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, are three cousins. Just recently they had been run out of their hometown, Boneville. When things seemed at their absolute worst, things got really ugly when the three are separated.

They soon find themselves, even though they are apart, in a new place. It is better, compared to the desert they had just been lost in. The valley that they are in is full and green, with creatures good and bad. Out in the open, or lurking in the shadows. Either way, they reach a farming range, where Gran’ma Ben and her beautiful daughter Thorn live. Things start to get scary when they meet with a fire breathing dragon, and a series of giant rat-monsters! A conspiracy is brewing, as are smaller plans of making money.

Easily adorable, the characters are the cutest things! Not to get mushy on you. They are quite appealing to the eye and their modest way of speaking is considerably charming as well. They meld together in a loveable comic that I think readers from ages ten and up should be able to read. The content is harmless, and the story line is capturing. Myself at thirteen years can still see great potential in the pages behind the cover. The whole story always has its own angles and turns. I love it, and I can’t wait for others to find out about the mysteries of the Bone cousins, and their adventures. This highly recommended book is only one of an entire saga.

Five stars. Okay, okay, the glossy pictures seem to jump and grab my interest. Guilty. It’s a good book, and I can’t help but express as much in my review.