Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse

Title: The Stonekeeper's Curse
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Genre: Graphic Novel
Page Count: 217
Why I read it: graphic novel challenge
Grade: B

Synopsis:
In this thrilling sequel to AMULET #1: THE STONEKEEPER, Emily and her brother Navin head for Kanalis, a beautiful and mysterious city of waterfalls, where they hope to find the antidote for the poison that felled their mother. That cure lies in the eggs of a giant serpent atop Demon's Head Mountain, but the kids' archenemy, Trellis, is headed for the peak, too. A battle that will engulf all of Kanalis is looming. It's up to Em to triumph over evil while controlling the amulet's power . . . without losing herself!


My review:
I think this one was a bit of an improvement over the first book.  It seems like the story is settling in a little bit, and things are getting more interesting.  It's still a fairly simple story, but the artwork is good, and there are fun things going on.

There really isn't a whole lot to say about this one.  Like the first book, it would be a fun one to read with your kids.

Amulet Book One: The Stonekeeper

Title: Amulet Book One: The Stonekeeper
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Genre: graphic novel
Page Count: 187
Why I read it: graphic novel challenge
Grade: C+/A (round it to a B)

Synopsis:
After a family tragedy, Emily, Navin, and their mother move to an old ancestral home to start a new life. On the family's very first night in the mysterious house, a strange noise lures them into the basement, where Em and Navin's mom is kidnapped by a humongous, tentacled creature and dragged down behind the basement door.
The kids give chase down a twisty spiral stairway and find themselves in a strange and magical world below. Most surprising of all, it seems that their great-grandfather, who was an inventor and puzzle maker, was there before them – and he's left some unfinished business.
Now it's up to Em and Navin to figure out how to set things right and save their mother's life!


My review:
Amulet was a very cute graphic novel.  Perhaps it was too cute.  To be fair, this is a children's graphic novel, aimed towards kids, so for that I think it hit the spot completely.  There are all kinds of cute, fun characters, from a bunny rabbit to robots.  And the main characters are children, too.

So, for me, this wasn't quite to my taste (C+)--it was a little too simplistic.  But for it's intended purposes, for children, I think it's perfect (A).  Which would round it out to a B grade.  The story was just scary enough to keep the pages turning, but it's lightened with some really fun characters.  I could actually see this more as a kid's movie than a graphic novel, but it works here too, I guess.

I would recommend this if you like to read graphic novels to or with your children.  They would probably love it.