TALL TALES
From the Bone series, volume 11
by Jeff Smith & Thomas E. Sniegoski & illustrated by Jeff Smith
Bone is arguably one of the most revered graphic-novel series of recent times. This companion volume collects stories from the previously self-published Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails (1999) and adds new material. On a Bone Scout camping trip, Smiley Bone spins campfire yarns to a crew of young scouts, telling them a short story about his infamous cousins and about the history of Big Johnson Bone, the founder of Boneville. In proper tall-tale fashion, Johnson Bone heroically battles Old Man Winter just minutes after being born. From there, he fights and defeats a monstrous tornado with only his bare hands and his simian companion. Following these adventures, the last and longest tale concentrates on Johnson and a menagerie of young forest creatures who must combat the rat creatures who intend to dine on them. Bone is loved for its creativity and ingenuity and for bringing the graphic-novel format into the libraries of many young readers; this volume keeps an easy pace with its predecessors. Lushly colored, brilliantly imagined—a must for every Bone fan. (Graphic fiction. 9 & up)