Out from Boneville

Out from Boneville
By Jeff Smith
Cartoon Books, 1995. 142 pgs. Young Adult

Fone Bone and his cousins Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone have been run out of Boneville, due to Phoney's crooked business dealings and in their attempt to get back they get separated from each other. As Fone tries to find his cousins, winter sets in and he is stuck in a forest. There he encounters a new friend in Thorn, a human girl, enemies in the form of giant rat creatures and an ally that no one else seems to believe exists--a red, cigar-smoking dragon.

This adventurous tale leaves lots of questions to be answered in subsequent books in the series, but it's fun and Fone Bone is a cute character. This series is wildly popular with children, teens and adults and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to this lovable bone and his not-so-lovable cousins.

AE