The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1) [Paperback]

Kazu Kibuishi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 310L (What's this?)

Graphic novel star Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a talking fox, a giant robot---and two ordinary children on a mission.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Almost too clever and poignant, Amulet is, on the surface, about navigating the murky waters of adolescence and, beneath that, an exploration of abandonment and survival. Emily and Navin are lost children, literally lost in a dark, new world and struggling to save their mother, who has been kidnapped by a drooling, tentacled beast. With stellar artwork, imaginative character design, moody color and consistent pacing, this first volume's weakness lies in its largely disjointed storytelling. There is the strong, young, heroine; cute, furry, sidekicks; scary monsters—all extraordinary components, but pieced together in a patchwork manner. There is little hope in his dark world as Kibuishi removes Emily and Navin's frame of safety. Their hopes rest in a magic amulet that seems to be working in the interest of the children—until it suddenly isn't. The most frightening element of Amulet is the sense of insecurity we feel for Emily, fighting her way through uncharted terrain with no guide and no support system. This first volume of Amulet isn't a disappointment, but it does feel like a warmup to the main event. If anything, it's a clear indication that Kibuishi has just begun skimming the surface of his own talent. (Jan.)
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Review

Praise for Amulet

New York Times Bestseller

"Five—no, three pages into Amulet and you'll be hooked." — Jeff Smith, creator of BONE

"[The] action-packed adventure sequences move at an exciting clip . . . Part fantasy . . . and part manga, this volume has much to appeal to readers." — Booklist

"A richly drawn graphic-fantasy series following in the footsteps of BONE and a must for all fantasy fans." — Kirkus Reviews

"Stellar artwork, imaginative character design, moody color and consistent pacing." — PW Comics Week

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: GRAPHIX; First Edition edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439846811
• ISBN-13: 978-0439846813
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Spine-Chilling Horror
  • #48 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Comics & Graphic Novels

More About the Author

Kazu Kibuishi is the writer and artist of the New York Times Bestselling AMULET graphic novel series, published by Scholastic. He is also the editor/art director/cover artist of the EXPLORER and FLIGHT Comic Anthologies. His debut graphic novel, Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, won a YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Award.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Kazu moved to the U.S. with his mother and brother when he was a child. He graduated from Film Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2000, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. He currently works as a full-time graphic novelist. Kazu lives in Alhambra, California, with his wife, fellow author Amy Kim Kibuishi, and their children, Juni and Sophie.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My students love it March 5, 2008

By K. Parmenter

Format:Hardcover

I'm a third grade teacher, and on a whim I picked up this book for my classroom library. I'm so glad I did! Not only did I love the book, my students have gone wild over it. Every student who has picked it up has been drawn into the story almost instantly. There have been actual fights over who gets to read it next, and they are always disappointed to hear that there's no second book as of yet. I haven't had a book go over this well in a long time!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done but seems familiar March 13, 2008

By Derek Litton

Format:Hardcover

First off, I really liked the book and highly recommend it. As I read it however, I kept thinking that Hayao Miyazaki was a major influence is this work. The Amulet from Laputa, the walking house from Howls Moving Castle, the creatures that trapped their mother from Nausicaa to name a few. While this is not necessarily a bad thing as it is a very enjoyable read and beautiful to look it I am surprised no one has noticed any similarities to Miyazaki's works. I am looking forward to the next volume.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars High Quality Full Color Illustrated Fast-Paced, High Adventure Fantasy Story March 23, 2011

By christinemm - The Thinking Mother TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

I am a homeschooling mother with an interest in graphic books, both fiction and nonfiction, for adult or child readers. I just finished reading this book. However my first encounter with it was when it was released three years ago (2008) and my then-ten year old son saw it in the library and borrowed it. He loved the book. Since then two others in the series have been released. In the last month my older son, now 13, re-read or read all three (to find out what happened since he last read the first book) as did my younger son who is ten years old. The Amulet series is a hit with my sons. I also enjoyed the story.

Emily is a human girl on a hero's journey aided by her younger brother, to save their mother's life. This is a fantasy story involving magic powers. It starts on Earth but has a gate to another world, a mysterious land which looks wild and medieval in its natural state and filled with walking and talking animals and weird monsters, living "stuffed animals" and robots, but which has modern technology such as flying ships and a house that looks like a Transformer robot that walks and has a defense weaponry.

One of the first things noticed about the book is its high quality full color illustrations which makes it more visually appealing than some other graphic books for children on the market. The pages are high quality glossy paper.

This is a high action story that involves brushes with death, escapes and fighting. It's well written in that it is a solid hero's journey story which being done well, draws the reader in immediately, and makes us root for the hero from the start. We want to find out what happens next and we want the good guys to win....

The book ends with a cliff-hanger so this is not a complete story in one volume; the series must be read to find out what happens next.

Highly recommended for a tween or young teen who enjoys graphic novels, or for reluctant readers about fantasy, adventure and the battle of good against evil.

One word of caution for parents, there is an emotional scene at the beginning that some sensitive young readers (possibly drawn to the book since it's an easy to read graphic format book) may find disturbing but it's no different than the typical "child's parent dies by violent sudden death" that is in so many Disney animated children's movies. I've got no problem with it, I'm just mentioning it just in case it's an issue for some young readers. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic series by a creative artist April 6, 2011

By Andy Shuping

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Amulet, a graphic novel by Kazu Kibuishi (Flight, Volume One, Daisy Kutter: The Last Train), is geared towards the 9-12 age group. However, the novel will captivate anyone that begins to read it as they are swept along a moving story with beautiful illustrations.

Our young heroine Emily witnesses the death of her father in the opening pages of this novel. Emily, her mother, and her brother Nevin move into the home of their missing great grandfather. There are secrets lurking within the house, one that soon ensnares Emily's mom. She's dragged from the basement by a tentacle through an open door and Emily and Nevin must go on a rescue mission to another world.

This story captivates the reader from the beginning. The reader is compelled to feel for the characters of the story, from Emily witnessing the death of her father to watching her mom being dragged away by some unknown creature. Although this is only the first part of the series the reader gets a true sense of the characters, their feelings, and their emotions and is left hanging at the end of this book and wanting more.

What really sells the story are the illustrations as they capture and convey the moods of the characters and their surroundings. The drawings have a light airy quality to them, with a simple, but moody, color palette to show off the extensive use of shadows to convey emotions of the character in graphic detail.... The reader is never left wanting or wondering what the characters are thinking, the colors clearly display what they feel--the age of the great-grandfather is written into the lines on his face, the fear and courage of Emily as she seeks to save her what's left of her family. As the story progresses a darker palette is used and we are left wanting the lighter colors to return. Something unique about the drawings is that when the story first begins the characters almost look undefined. While we can read their emotions they are merely shapes on a page. However, as the story progresses they gain more depth and emotion.

This novel is a must read. A strong young heroine, with monsters and robots as well, enough to keep any crowd entertained. The moving illustrations and compelling story make this a great read and the book is highly recommended for all ages. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great fantasy graphic novel for both kids and adults December 2, 2010

By Karissa Eckert

Format:Paperback

I picked this up at the library as I was perusing through graphic novels appropriate for kids. This one looked neat, had great artwork, and didn't seem too complicated for a young child. We ended up not reading it together because it got a bit too scary for my son, but I read it on my own and really enjoyed it!

Emily and Navin are moving into their mother's old childhood house; after the death of their father in a car accident their mother can't afford their old house and they are being forced to move. In this house Emily finds a mysterious Amulet. There are also dark things in this house and Emily, Navin, and their mom accidentally find themselves thrust into a paralell world. When their mother is captured by a monster it is up to Emily and Navin to save her; the Amulet proves itself to be a great tool...but it also seems to have motives of its own.

I tried reading this graphic novel with my four year old son and he was enchanted by the drawings and the story; unfortunately with parents getting hurt/killed and monsters creeping through dark house it just got too scary for him. He is very into some of the Leap Frog Tag books that are graphic novels and so I thought this would be a neat book for him; but I would recommend this to kids in the 7 or older age range. It's just a bit too scary for younger kids and some of the concepts underlying the story flew right over my son's head.

The art in this graphic novel is well done; the characters are a bit sketchier than I am used to seeing but the color is done really well and the environments are beautiful. The story is definitely of the dark fantasy variety. You have creepy houses, mysterious monsters, and kids fighting to survive....

I enjoyed the fantasy and adventure elements; kids journeying to another world and questing to save their mother. I also enjoyed the added complexity of the Amulet and how it seemed to have a personality of its own. Emily and Nevin are great characters; they each have their own strengths and bring good things to the story. Emily has a lot of adolescent issues she is working through; she feels displaced and abandoned because of the move and her father dying. The story gets increasingly complex and has enough subtle undertones to keep me interested as an adult. The pace was wonderful, there were no slow parts here.

This book ties up the main story but starts up another story that will continue on in the next book. I thought the drawing of the characters could have been a bit better but was very impressed by the backgrounds. There are some creative ideas here and some we have seen before.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I will definitely be reading the next one. I think this would be appropriate for ages 7 and up; it is a bit too scary for younger kids. Reading this book has made me take a look at other of Kibuishi's works; I would like to read his Flight, Volume One series at some point too. Fans of adventure and fantasy will find a lot here to love. This book had a dark fairy tale quality to it that keeps the reader engaged and wondering. Read more ›