Bone Handbook

Are you a fan of BONE or new to the comics? Either way, there will be something in BONE HANDBOOK that will be of interest to you. If you are just starting with Book 1 of the series, the BONE HANDBOOK gives readers a brief background of the story and how it evolves. It explains how Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone get run out of Boneville and wind up on their various adventures. If you have been into the series from the beginning, it gives more explanations on the extended characters and how the Bones interact with them all. With lots of colorful artwork, and an interview with the creator, Jeff Smith, there is so much to absorb in the BONE HANDBOOK. To properly digest everything, the reader needs to set aside some quiet time and curl up with this book. If you were like me, prior to reading the BONE HANDBOOK, I could pick out the characters in a line-up but was unfamiliar with the background or storyline of Fone Bone and gang. Now, after reading this enjoyable handbook, I am eager to pick up Book 1 in the series and see the adventures that they get into. As an added treat to this book, there is a brief comic included in three parts, THE KITE. If this is a taste of the rest of the series, I know I will enjoy the humor of Mr. Smith. Reviewed by: Jaglvr

I am a huge Bone fan and collector so of course I had to have this as well. It is similar to The "Bone Sourcebook", but in a book form and printed by Scholastic. The book is about the same size and style as the other softcover Scholastic printings of the Bone comics, so overall it is good quality. The information inside covers a wide range of topics, from a good overview of the story, the history of Jeff Smith, the fictional history of the valley, some fun facts, and a few rarely seen comic pages with little side stories. With this full-color book you also get a cardboard foldy pop-out thing of one of the stupid rat creatures that is also a little fun in its own way. If you are new you Bone, this is a good place to start. If you are a Bone veteran, you can pass as you are probably not missing anything that you have never seen before. If you do not plan on reading Bone but want to be prepared for when the movie comes out (in the works right now), this might also work for you in that regard. Overall, a quality product, but a lot of Bone fans can skip it.

Hi everyone! WOW! I am so excited to see this product!!! Thank you SO SO SO much to Jeff Smith and Scholastic for supporting contemporary reading teachers in their quest to continue to bring new, 21st century literacies into the classroom!!! Dr. Katie Monnin