Novel Ideas By Bill Love

Amulet Book One: Stonekeeper
Graphix/Scholastic Books 2008

Writer/Artist ... Kazu Kibuishi
Adventure/All-ages | 187 pgs Color

HC $21.99 ... ISBN - 13: 978-0-439-84680-6

SC $9.99 ... ISBN - 13: 978-0439846813

My first review was for Sight Unseen, a masterpiece of horror and suspense. For my second review I thought I would pick a kid-friendly, all-ages book. You know, for a sense of balance and to show my range. So on page 52, Emily finds out that the monster has swallowed her mother and is soon to witness her little brother suffering the same fate. And later, as she faces the rakers, which are basically large masses of tentacles and teeth… wait a minute! This is starting to sound scarier than the adult horror book. Is Amulet really a kid-friendly book? Actually it is. It just isn’t the kind that talks down to kids and treats them like babies.

Amulet opens with an all too normal human tragedy that Emily, her little brother Navin and their mother survive, but not without consequences. We then move to the classic but beautifully realized old ancestral home, where the family soon discovers a strange new world behind a basement door. While none of this sounds particularly original for a children’s book… it doesn’t have to be. It is the skill in the storytelling shown by writer/artist Kazu Kibuishi that is so much more important. Up till now he has been best known as the editor of the popular comics anthology series Flight. His first graphic novel, Daisy Kutter, was listed as one of the Best Books for Young Adults in 2006. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a repeat performance for Amulet.

The full color artwork is a joy, but the quality of the art is ably matched by the story. Yes, every adult will see the themes of abandonment and being forced to deal with adult issues too soon in life. The important part is that kids will see an adventure story with characters they immediately care about. Kazu Kibuishi gives us a delightful fantasy blend of monsters, robots and the supernatural in an anything-can-happen fashion. Emily’s attempts to rescue her mother propel the action at a breakneck pace. The book is over far too soon, and we see the real adventure is only starting. This book is only the first installment in a series and it has already been optioned for a movie.

Kids will find Amulet to be an exciting story with great art; a story that, while not too violent or graphic, doesn’t talk down to them and doesn’t let them down. Smart adults will find the same.

Novel Ideas - Bill Love, Senior Editor of Graphic Novel Scene Magazine, looks at comics that never saw a staple. Many creators bypass the magazine format and publish original graphic novels. Novel Ideas spotlights the best, both old and new.