Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race [Hardcover]

Jeff Smith (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

The cornerstone of GRAPHIX, our new graphic novel imprint, BONE is the incredible comic book saga of an unlikely hero who must save an idyllic valley from the forces of evil.

In THE GREAT COW RACE, volume 2 of this 9-book epic, Fone Bone and his cousins plan to return home after visiting the village of Barrelhaven with Thorn and Gran'ma Ben. But Phoney risks everything on one last get-rich-quick scheme for the town's annual Great Cow Race. As usual, Phoney's plans go disastrously awry, and Boneville seems further away than ever. Meanwhile, ominous signs indicate that a war is brewing, and Fone finds himself helping his friends defend their valley from a formidable enemy.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up–The strange-looking Bone cousins visit Barrelhaven with their friends Thorn and Granma Ben. Phoney Bone, who usually causes trouble, does so again in these six chapters. He tries to swindle the villagers by fixing the annual Great Cow Race. While the race is underway, Fone Bone, who has wandered off to the woods, is chased by two giant rat creatures that have been after the Bones since their arrival in the valley, but they dont know why. Granma Ben knows something, though, and makes ominous references to a past war with the rat creatures and a treaty that is being tested. In addition to the comic elements, there are the usual fantasy elements of the fight between good and evil. Exciting and fun, the full-color art moves the story along at a rapid pace. The vocabulary is not difficult and the illustrations are clear. On one level, the book will appeal to fourth or fifth graders. However, it has a darker side that will appeal to teens. The writing flows gracefully, especially for a graphic novel. This book will be well received in both public and school libraries.–Ronnie Gordon, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jeff Smith was born and raised in the American Midwest and learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and TV animation. He launched the comic book Bone in 1991.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: GRAPHIX (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439706246
• ISBN-13: 978-0439706247
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After four years of drawing comic strips for Ohio State University's student newspaper, Jeff Smith launched the comic book Bone in 1991. Between Bone and his other comic book projects, he now spends much of his time on the international guest circuit, promoting comics and the art of graphic novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Color Volume is Even Better than the Last!, November 6, 2005

By 

D. G. D. Davidson "www.scificatholic.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Cow Race (Bone, Volume 2) (Paperback)

At long last! Jeff Smith's epic high fantasy comic masterpiece is being produced in color.

Fans of Bone will be pleased with Steve Hamaker's crisp coloration, which frequently adds shadow and texture without overloading the panels and really brings out the details of the art. Fans familiar with the one-volume addition will also be glad to see additional artwork filling the space between chapters, as artwork in the original black and white nine-volume series has been reintroduced, including the 'Possum kids' goofy poem and the two-page spread of Thorn frolicking with the Bones. These new color volumes also reveal more of Smith's (or his editor's) endless fiddling. The dialogue in the one-volume edition had been altered, sometimes significantly, and very minor changes have been made again. Most noticeably, the misspelling of "Kewpie doll" has at last been corrected.

The quality is much higher than in Volume One: Out from Boneville. The pixelation that some panels suffered in Volume One is gone. The printing is crisp and even the colors seem brighter. However, as in the last volume, the panels have been shrunk. The one-volume edition was smaller than the original nine volumes and the new color volumes have been shrunk again. Surprisingly little detail is lost, considering the intricacy of Smith's art, due no doubt to the high-quality printing. Hamaker and Scholastic are doing a great job and are truly bringing Bone to life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, June 26, 2005

By 

C. Raybould (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Cow Race (Bone, Volume 2) (Paperback)

This is one of the best Bone book's in the series. The colour version is just amazing. It totally blows the first Colour volume away in quality. EVERY page is full of detailed colour and it really just puts this book over the top. I wasent very impressed with The colour version of out from boneville. The quality wasent very consistant. Some pages almost seemed pixelated. This isnt the case in this second book.
I totally recommend this. Bone is going to blow up. By next school year when all the kids get back in school, it is going to be the new craze.

>>> The release date says August 1st, but it's in bookstores already, so I don't know what's up with that.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best edition of Bone ever, September 13, 2005

By 

Randall R. Worley (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race (Hardcover)

I have read Bone from back when it first came out in individual comic issues. I must say, this color edition, especially the hardcover one, is the nicest one yet. The black-and-white original always felt a bit sparse for the tone and humor of the story. The beautiful coloring in this edition is perfect. I've bought the two that have come out, and can't wait for the remaining 7. Great job, Scholastic!