Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race (Paperback)

by Jeff Smith (Author)

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: GRAPHIX (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439706394
• ISBN-13: 978-0439706391
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,864 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 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

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, June 27, 2005

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

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 Cow Racing, December 23, 2005

A Kid's Review

Fone, Phony and Smiley Bones adventures continue in Pt. II The Great Cow Race. While Grandma Ben prepares for the big upcoming cow race which she'll race every cow in the valley Phony and Smiley have been devising a plan. They will spread a rumor of Grandma being to old to race this year and then of a Mystery Cow a truly monstrous beast that is bound to defeat Grandma (especially since it's Smiley in a Cow suit!) But through a combination of Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures, Granma's dtermination to unmask the "mystery cow," and pure rotten luck their plans goup in smoke. This book has more humor and that feeling that makes you want to say "OOOH No" between fits of laughter. Bone: The Great Cow Race is a worthy addition to anyone's Graphic novel collection.