Module 13: Amulet

SLIS 5420/ Module 13/ April 15- April 21
Amulet
By: Kazu Kibuishi

Bibliography: Kibuishi, K. (2008). Amulet. New York, NY: Graphix.

Summary:

Amulet is the story of a girl, named Emily,  and the extraordinary adventure that she embarks upon. After Emily's father is killed in a car crash, Emily's mother moves the family to their ancestral home in Norlen. The house is big, old, and needs a lot of TLC. When the family arrives and begins to clean it, Emily stumbles upon a stone amulet in one of the rooms. Before the family can enjoy even one night in their new home Emily's mother is abducted by a creature and carted off to a mysterious land that can be reached by a mysterious door in the basement of the house. Emily and her brother David enter the alternate land in order to find their mother, but what they find is more than they could imagine.

Impressions:
I really enjoyed reading Amulet. I think that it is a good example of a juvenile graphic novel the writing was sophisticated and not condescending. The art while less stylized than many adult graphic novels was not cutesy or overtly childish. This book has a lot of potential and I was glad to see that there are a whole series that go along with it. It is also nice to see a juvenile graphic novel that stars an intelligent and capable girl as the main protagonist. So often in comics and graphic novels the female characters are stuck playing second fiddle, the girlfriend or the damsel-in-distress, to the male characters. Emily and David both seem like real kids who just happen to be set in extraordinary circumstances. I would definitely recommend the Amulet series to library readers, for its narrative and visuals.

Review:
Kirkus Reviews
With many a SZZT! SZRAK! FWOOM! and SKREE!, young Emily learns to use an energy-bolt-shooting amulet against an array of menaces to rescue her captured Mom in this graphic-novel series opener. When a scuttling “arachnopod” sucks down their widowed parent, Emily and younger sib Navin pursue through a door in the basement and into the alternate-Earth land of Alledia. Finding unexpected allies in rabbit-like Miskit, grumpy Cogsley and other robots created by their mysterious great-grandfather, the children weather attacks from huge, tentacled Rakers, a pointy eared elf prince with shark-like teeth and other adversaries to get her back—only to discover that she’s in a coma, poisoned. Off to Episode Two, and the distant city of Kanalis, for a cure. The mid-sized, squared-off panels are sometimes a little small to portray action sequences clearly, but the quickly paced plot is easy enough to follow, and Kibuishi is a dab hand at portraying freaky monsters. Fans of Jeff Smith’s Bone will happily fret with the good guys and hiss at the baddies. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)

Library Setting:
This would be a fun book to include in a book talk. It is an excellent example of an appropriate and fun graphic novel for kids. This talk could also be specifically targeted to young girls since the main character, Emily, is an empowered youth trying to save her family. Other books that could be included in the talk Nancy Drew, Sisters Grimm, Ramona, and Matilda.

Review Reference:
Kirkus, R. (2010, May 20). The stonekeeper. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/Kazu-Kibuishi-77820/the-stonekeeper/
Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7Y_4q2V3aU40LZKvMojcNMXXgaLl_V6VbL8CfquSY4xG07Seidd1tlc1rsQw_2ozgEnGlYjbeNJbyJ9ioALoYFraZPxi0jt8VSH-3gbzUO_V-FtjUPtcukC97Yy8A_1VKRpg8OCxE0Y/s1600/Autumn_Leaves.jpg