Reading The Multimodal Narrative

    In Jeff Smith's graphic novel,  "Out of Boneville," he continues his series about Fone Bone and his cousins. As the story begins, the three cousins are in the desert because they were chased out of Boneville. The author shows the personality of each cousin with a focus on the main character Fone. The other two cousins have important roles. Phony causes all the trouble. Smiley gives comic relief. The cousins are split up by a locust swarm. This leaves Fone by himself try to find his cousins and his way to Boneville. The author's voice is shown through the actions and dialogue of Fone as he goes on his adventure.

    The illustration and most of the scenes use simple drawings with few lines and little shading. He is not trying to make a realistic world. His color scheme is bold, contrasting colors that match the mood of the scene. However, even in the scary parts, he does not make it scary.

    The writing gives us a look at the person behind Fone. The dialogue is appropriate for kids and adults. He loves to use words like "Whump" to create mental picture and sound. Fone meets a lot of characters on his adventure. Sometimes he is scared but trying to be brave. He is always kind and helpful and he is even patient with his cousins. One of his best qualities is that he never gives up. I wonder if Jeff Smith is as nice of a guy as the character he created in Fone.