Graphic Novel - Amulet

My son is very into graphic novels, comics and the like. Many parents don't like their kids to read comic books and graphic novels. I think the perception is that they are all full of violence and superheroes. That's not the case. Graphic novels are my favorite vehicle for story telling and the scope of the topics are endless. There are even graphic novels for children younger than my son.

This graphic novel, Amulet: Book One, The Stonekeeper is written by Kazu Kibuishi (co-creator of the Flight graphic anthology, a must read!). We checked Book One out from the library. I was a little hesitant to let him read it at first, because the mother gets swallowed by this creature (but is still alive, but in a weird place). But we talked about it at first and I felt he understood it, and it wouldn't affect him too badly - but be warned: if your child is very sensitive to scary images, then this book may need to wait until they 9-10. But I've it seems boys like monsters and superheroes, so ...

Here is how Scholastic describes it on their webpage:
"After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids´ mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.

Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves."

There are some very mature themes here - eg, the death of the father, the deceased great-grandfather who is very much a part of the story, and obviously, the monster swallowing the mom. However, the cool things about this book are 1) the hero is a girl. She finds an amulet which she must learn to use responsibly (a common theme among talisman-oriented stories) 2) it's a fantastically imaginative world they go into which I think is great for kids to explore and 3) it was a great vehicle for talking to my son about scary things. The cliffhanger at the end will make your reader rush to the library for the next one! The illustrations are really nice - not too busy and not too overdone (which sometimes happens in graphic novels with really complex stories). You can check out a sample of the prologue and pages here.

This is a graphic novel that I think my son will come back to in the years to come and get more out of. That's my memory of many of the books I read as a kid - re reading them and finding out that my perspective had changed between readings. This is Book One. Book Two (The Stonekeeper's curse) came out in September 2009. We're waiting for the library to get it in stock and then I'll do a review once I've read it. I will also remind myself to do a review of some of the graphic novels we've read that are more appropriate for the 6-7 year age range (there are lots!)