The Stonekeeper (Amulet)

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.

I read Amulet: The Stonekeeper with my class, and the students couldn’t get enough of it! The artwork is absolutely stunning, and the story grabbed their attention right away. Even reluctant readers were eager to see what happened next. The mix of fantasy, adventure, and relatable characters makes it the perfect series to hook middle-grade readers. As soon as we finished, they were already asking for the next book in the series!

The Stonekeeper is the first volume in Kazu Kibuishi's graphic novel series. Although aimed at middle school, it is good for upper elementary school children, and is enjoyable for adults as well. 2 years after the death of Emily and Navin's father in a tragic car crash, Karen moves her children to the family's old house in a dense forest. Built by Karen's grandfather Silas who then disappeared, it has been abandoned for years. During the first night, they hear a strange noise, and Karen is captured by an Arachnopod, a creature from a parallel world, Alledia. Emily and Navin follow their mother into the parallel world where they find their ailing great-grandfather Silas. He tells Emily about the power of the amulet she found in his house. It is the key to ruling Alledia. Silas expires, but not before instructing his robot and animal minions to aid Emily and Navin. This first volume, besides setting the story arc, narrates the rescue of Karen. Unfortunately, she is poisoned setting up the next volume for finding the antidote. Besides an engaging story with compelling characters, Kibuishi is a fantastic illustrator. As with many exemplar graphic novels the spare text is amplified and much of the story told through his illustrations. The creatures of Alledia are strange enough to pique our imagination, but not so much that they are totally alien in form. After reading Stonekeeper, I am eager to see what happens next with Emily and Navin, and their company.

This was my first foray into graphic novels and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Two children move to an old family home where they discover a mysterious world underneath. Our protagonist, Emily, is given an amulet that gives her exceptional powers in this world. Soon, the two children are forced to use these powers to rescue their mother who is kidnapped by a frightening creature. The art in the book is beautiful. Frequently I stopped just to take it all in and to take in how the panels came together on a single page. The writing is sparse but that doesn’t stop the story from being very engaging. The vibe I got was modern-day Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe. My only critique is that I would have preferred if they had fleshed out the Elf King’s son a little more as a character. Since this is a serial, however, it’s possible that will come in later books. I would definitely recommend this for reluctant readers or kids whose IQs outstrip their reading abilities.

This is exactly the kind of graphic novel I was looking for. Full of sweetness with a little bit of bite. Reminds me of the great comic series bone. Great story, great art, I can’t wait to get into the next chapter.

My son really likes this book. He usually doesn’t enjoy reading much, but this one caught his interest right away. The illustrations are great, and the story is engaging too. He finished the book in just two days! I already bought the second one and am thinking about getting the whole series. The only thing I didn’t like was the size of the letters. It wasn’t very easy for my 9-year-old to read on his own, and sometimes I had to help him.

My daughter came home from the school library raving over this book and said she couldn't wait to finish dinner so she could go read more. A few days later she was depressed because there was a wait list for book 2. I made a deal with her that I would buy her book 2 if she did something for me. She did such a good job I bought her book 2 that same week. She finished it so quickly and couldn't stop talking about it that I decided to see if there were more books in the series. I found out there were 5 with a 6th one in the works! Right then I decided to buy the other books. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find them all but it was worth the effort! I ended up ordering the entire series including Book 1. Even though she had already read it she wanted to take her time and re-read it. WOW that says it all! Worth every penny. She loved all of them!! It had her from the first word of Book 1 to the end of Book 5. Waiting for Book 6 to be released. I highly recommend this series.

Although I wasn't expecting to love this graphic novel, that's exactly what I did. The book starts on a tragic note with a dramatic car accident and death of Emily's father. Years later Emily's mother moves Emily and her younger brother Navin to an old family home which is filled with secrets none of them expected. When their mother is abducted by a strange tentacled creature in the basement, Emily--armed with the aid of a disembodied voice coming from an amulet she found--and Navin follow the creature into a strange world where they hope to rescue their mother. The story is your typical fantasy hero quest with a few shakes of steampunk. The illustrations were a pleasant blend of East and West, almost like anime with soft edges. And the coloring was arresting. The mood of the scene was perfectly set with the colors. For instance, in the beginning when the accident occurred, deep blues and greys dominated which offered a very stark, cold mood. Then when the family is making their move to the new home, the colors were more autumnal and warm which offered a strange sense of hope mixed with nostalgia. Not only is the artwork beautiful, but it's creative. Some of the creatures were truly creepy and others were downright adorable. A couple of the characters felt stiff, such as the children's mother and their great-uncle Silas; a couple characters had clearly delineated personalities, such as Misket and Cogsley; and the two primary characters, Emily and Navin, drifted somewhere in the middle. Overall, I'm willing to forgive the inconsistent character development because it is the first volume in a series and it excelled in other areas. One problem I come across more often than not in graphic novels is poor editing--inconsistent picture panels, poor grammar, etc.--but I didn't encounter those problems with The Stonekeeper. The writing was well done, the characters and story were creative, and the artistry is excellent. It all came together for one cohesive graphic novel.

Bought it for my 11yo son. He loved it and asked for the rest of the series.

Good

It is a good book with great graphics by KAZU KIBUISHI. The graphics quality for the pics in this book is great. It can be read in 30 mins as it contains more images than text yet,it is an excellent book to read. It is my first time reading this book. I would suggest to read it in moderation for example 5 to 7 pages per day as then it will take more time to finish it.

Really lovely book. It was a present for a 11 year old boy and he seemed very pleased when he received his gift. I had no issues with delivery and so that’s why I’ve given 5 stars as quality and delivery was fantastic. Thanks.

Came really fast and I absolutely loved reading this book and it just brings back so many memories and is actually more mature then I thought for a kids book. 👍🏻😎