Amulet Book #1: The Stonekeeper

Amulet #1

by Kazu Kibuishi

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!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Kazu Kibuishi (born 1978) is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for being the creator and editor of the comic anthology Flight and for creating the webcomic Copper. He has also written (drawn) the Amulet series. The webcomic artist and noted critic Scott McCloud has said that some of Kazu Kibuishi's work is so beautifully drawn that "it hurts my hands when I look at it".

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun graphic novel. It's probably YA, or middle grade. But I still enjoyed it pretty well.

My main gripe? This first story starts out with the death of a parent. Like, in the first four pages. That's heavy-handed storytelling, and this book is better than that. In the same way that you don't have someone kill a kid as a cheap way to establish a villain, you shouldn't have to kill a kid's parent to provide characterization and motivation for the young protagonist.

It says a lot that after that start, this still ranks 4 stars. That's because the storytelling is strong. The action is dynamic, and the world and the mysteries it holds are compelling.

[Jesse (JesseTheReader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting to like this graphic novel as much as I did! It's darker than I had expected it to be. I'm pumped to continue on with this series!

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as the first time I read it!!

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, so I had planned to pick up one of the three books I'm currently reading tonight, but instead my 6 year old begged me to read this. Being that she has read all 8 installments (at the time of this writing) roughly 8 billion times, I decided to humor her. She told me to let her know how many stars this one gets in the morning when she wakes up, and I'm excited that we've found a series to fangirl over together. I promised my little folk that I would read more graphic novels this year, and it appears I've started right out the gate with a storyline that is of the highest quality!

[human · Rating 3 out of 5]

miskit's expressions in this book >>>
case in point:


~~~~~~~~

(3.5/5)

This book serves as a good introduction to the rest of the series, explaining the situation and the main characters. I do believe that things become more action-heavy in the following books, but for now, there's some insight as to the world and characters.

I love the art, and there's something extremely, effortlessly enjoyable about the way that the story plays out. It's surprisingly immersive, to the point where you don't expect the book to end when it does.

I'm glad I liked this, but at least now we know that 8-9-year-old me wasn't completely hopeless in her taste in books.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.89676

I really really really really enjoyed this! Much darker than what I was expecting but amazing nonetheless. Also, this just reminded me so much of a Miyazaki film that I just couldn't stop smiling! I NEED THE NEXT ONES!

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little graphic novel! My favorite is the pink bunny named Miskit :-)

So Emily's dad dies in a car wreck, Emily and her mom were in the car with him. The book jumps ahead 2 years and Emily's mom takes her and her brother Navin and moves to and old family home out in the middle of no where.



When they are all cleaning the house, Emily finds this amulet. She decides to keep it and it talks to her, I want one!



All kinds of things happen and Emily and Navin are on a search for their mom, which leads them to a home in the middle of another nowhere place. In this home are some really cool creatures AND their great grandfather.





Emily has to decide if she wants to be the new stone keeper after her great grandfather passes away and it's a no brainer for her. They go on some adventures and then we have to find out what happens in the next book...



I thought this was a great graphic novel and now I want to buy them all! :-)

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amulet’s story is about a young girl named Emily (“Em”) and her younger brother, Navin. Two years after Emily’s father dies in a car accident, she moves with her mother, Karen, and Navin to a house that has been in the family for years. The locals believe that the house is haunted, yet Karen chooses to ignore the rumors. And soon, the family discovers a small door in the basement of the house leading to an alternate version of earth known as "Alledia".



Emily has to decide if she wants to be the new stonekeeper after her great-grandfather passes away, and she agrees to take on her new responsibility.

I found this story to be an overall exciting and exhilarating adventure, And I'm really interested to find out more about this world.

I haven't been able to focus on any new books this week while waiting for The Raven King, so I'm glad that I took a leap and picked this up because the artwork within was great with relatable interactions between the mother and daughter.



*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The Stonekeeper, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*


This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not very many novels, let alone a graphic novel, stir up a visible emotional response from me (for example: something might be funny but I'll rarely laugh out loud.) This book, however, made me cry within the first 15 pages. Now, that's an accomplishment! I'll admit though, I'm a bit of a softy when it comes to moms or husbands dying, so your mileage may vary with that.

The story is a familiar one; a magical object passed down in the family contains enough power to save the world, and a young girl is now tasked with making the right decisions to save those she loves. There is still plenty of originality intermixed that I didn't feel like I was reading the same old, same old. I liked the combination of steampunk-style additions, (robots, spaceships, rayguns and gadgets,) with classic fantasy characters, (like elves and other monsters.) That's something I haven't seen that often in middle grade books.

Some of the character designs are odd; I don't understand why the mother's head is so long and skinny, but the full-color illustrations and backgrounds are gorgeous. I love the bunny robot character and I didn't find either child protagonist annoying or too whiny.

Because of the beginning, I wouldn't recommend this for really young readers; there's a particularly harrowing scene that includes blood and death. I think this would be a good segue if you're someone who's never read manga before, since this didn't feel wholly Japanese, but it also didn't feel completely Westernized either.

This first volume was a really great setup for the series and it gave me just enough of a taste of things to come that I put the rest on hold at the library right after I finished. I look forward to continuing this story.

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK #2 READ FOR BELIEVATHON ROUND 2.

representation: asian american author

[trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers]

★★★★.5

THIS WAS SO GOOD. It's such an imaginative story with incredible illustrations. I can't wait to read more!

trigger warnings: car accident, death of loved ones, creepy illustrations.

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A single mother struggling with magic

And some science fantasy
Ok, just robots in this case, but maybe there is more open potential for that in the following parts, let´s see. In this first one, meanwhile, there is a combination of magic, childhood trauma, artifacts, and fantasy worlds that

Slowly escalate towards even more tragedy
As if the setting at the beginning wasn´t already disturbing enough, the plot doesn´t really offer much hope or happy events. It´s a bit as if the darker, adult graphic novels had, of course totally asexually, created something that isn´t too disturbing for younger audiences, but still pretty downing. But what I´m especially looking forward to

Where the series will go
Return to pure fantasy, go more steampunky, or even full science fantasy with more tech tropes and settings? A little bit of cyberpunk dystopia could fit into the mix of options too. Expanding the endless potential of fused science fiction and fantasy power with grains of horror, thriller, crime, and conspiracy is something underrepresented in kids and YA literature, that generally tries to be a safe sell bet by breeding pure, generic genre works.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this series for my Niece on her 9th birthday. She's absolutely loving it! At her request, I'm going to read the series too. And after reading this first volume, it certainly won't feel like a chore.

This is fun stuff which is odd to say because it starts with Em and Navin's father dying, then just a few pages later their mother is kidnapped by monsters. It's pretty dark and morbid at times, but the whole thing is a big fast-paced adventure. It's like Bone meets Coraline.

Great pick for the younger kids to get them into comics (and reading for pleasure in general).

My niece's elementary school teacher despises comics. Blows my mind.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this series of awesome kids graphic novels almost by accident in a bookstore during a trip to the US. And what a series! It is for kids every bit as exciting as Saga is for us adults. Wonderful creatures and devices, a very adorable family thrust into the story of their grandfather's mysterious past into a world of magic and evil but with lots of friends along the way and the mystery of the Storekeepers. This first volume was gorgeous in terms of art and spell-binding in the text. My kid was blown away and begged me to get all the other volumes. This one is highly addictive so beware (or make sure your local library or bookstore has the other 5 extant volumes (of a projected 7 or 8) before you start! You and your kids will LOVE it!

[Rachel L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I am currently enrolled in a class for my library science program, and it's titled Materials for Tweens. I was assigned to the graphic novels group project. Because of this, you guys will see me reading a lot of children's/middle grade books in the future. I picked up Amulet because it's a popular children's graphic novel and came highly recommended to me by children and adult librarians.

Two years after the tragic death of her father, Emily moves with her mother and younger brother into an abandoned family home. Many years ago her great grandfather went missing and no one knows if he is dead or alive. After discovering an amulet among the belongings, Emily's mother is abducted by a creature with tentacles and it's up to her and her brother to save her from a universe parallel to our own.

I really enjoyed this book, it took me all of 30-45 minutes to read. I feel like this is a great book to help reluctant readers discover or adventure into the world of reading. The artwork was absolutely gorgeous, Kibuishi is a very talented artist.



I also have a fondness for mushrooms, I think they're cute. So I was pretty darn happy that the kiddies were using them to fly around.


The middle of the book was where the story lost a bit of its wow factor. The introduction of the pink bunny creature just made this book a little too much for kids only. Like adding a pink bunny would somehow make it more relatable to the kids. Oh well, I otherwise enjoyed this book very much. If you have an 8-12 year old at home I would highly recommend giving this to them.

[Brian Yahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amulet is possibly the single most creative story I've ever read.

The plot itself is a pretty typical portal-to-another-world tale. But everything about the world is so unique. The setup before they get to the other world, the actual portal, the characters inside the world. Even simple things you take for granted, like getting from Point A to Point B -- in Amulet it's always a unique and fun experience.

If the rest of the series is like book one, this may end up being my favorite series of all time.

I'm pretty new to graphic novels, used to think that someone this was a lesser medium, but Amulet is changing that.

[kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5* this is what I imagine the outcome of a brilliant studio ghibli brainstorming session would be like if someone said “what if we went for a whole, spiderwick chronicles, meets stranger things, meets a series of unfortunate events kinda vibe?” and what’s not to love about that?

this was adorable and I’m super excited to carry on with the series, I just wish it had been longer as I felt a little cheated with it having finished without any kind of closure. hats of to you kazu kibuishi, you left me with no choice but to order book two asap, this was far too fab not to...

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story creates a mood. It is creepy. This is crazy cool. The art is pretty amazing and the world Kazu makes up is astonishing. A family moves into a house knowing nothing about it's past. Their first night there they hear noises that eventually lead them to another world. The amulet is their guide and protector. Imagination, wow. This is some imagination. I really enjoyed this little book. I will be continuing with this series. I have to know what happens.

[Scarlett Readz and Runz....Through Novel Time & Distance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever graphic novel set in a parallel Earth, guaranteed to delight young readers with a sense of adventure. On the helm in this novel are Emily and her brother Navin who survived a tragic accident and who are catapulted through circumstance into this exciting adventure after Emily finds a magical amulet in the attic of their new home.

The graphics here are beautiful as well as very colorful, which adds to the mesmerizing tale that is both touching and exciting to read. Off to a great start into this series, I think it will delight young and old. It is a short read worth wile and entertaining. I'd recommend it and hope to get my hands on to the next volume.

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice enjoyable story. Felt like there was something lacking plot wise but the art work helped make up for it. It was kind of cool seeing the kids meet their great grandfather but also lack luster since it was only a few minutes for them. There are 8 volumes in the series so far and things might get more interesting the more I read. I might continue the series but don’t feel a strong urge to do so right now.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

Every story, whether it's being told orally, as a book, as a graphic novel, or in a kind of performance is allowed to reuse old tropes. Particularly when the story being told is appropriate for kids, there's a talent in figuring out how to use familiar images and objects in new and exciting ways. It's what distinguishes the good writing from the knock-offs. The storyline that involves a hero who finds a powerful object of some sort that could be good or could be bad is one pretty classic example. Everything from The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter brings it up, and so when I saw that Amulet (Book One: Stonekeeper), a new graphic novel series by Kazu Kibuishi also worked the idea in, that was pretty cool. Sadly the book ultimately disappointed me in terms of its storytelling and original content. It's not a bad graphic novel by any means, but if you're looking for a title about kids on a quest, there are certainly others I would recommend instead.

Emily and Navin's life has taken a turn for the better, or worse, depending on whom you talk to. Emily, for example, is not too thrilled that their mom has moved them into a new old house in some town called Norlen. Their mom, however, is determined to make the best of it. Ever since their father died in a car crash the kids have found money exceedingly tight and it's time for a fresh start. That fresh start, however, is complicated when Emily finds a mysterious hidden amulet in her great-grandpa's library and a big octopus-looking thing in the basement kidnaps her mom. Wait . . . what? It seems that things in this house are not what they seem, and before they know it Emily and Navin discover that they have a quest on their hands. Somebody wants their amulet. Someone else wants them to harness its power for good. Now with the help of a troop of small robots, these kids are ready to do whatever it takes to bring their family together once again.

A feeling of familiarity is usually noticed more by adult reviewers than by kid readers, but there's no avoiding the sense of déjà vu in some scenes within this book. For example, Spiderwick fans will recognize the idea of kids moving into a creepy old mansion with their mother (a mansion that used to belong to an old male relative with odd otherworldly interests). Which is not to say that there aren't new ideas as well. I don't remember ever having seen a disgusting octopus-like creature that holds living prey in its belly in a book before. And a robot rabbit. . . it sounds familiar but not so much that I can identify the source. The plot itself is a small series of adventures, one by one, like different levels. The video game elements of such a tale do come naturally out of the storytelling, but they're such static, predictable moments that it's hard not to feel like the book is just an excuse for an Xbox game or upcoming action film.

I dunno, maybe I'm being too harsh on it. There are some pretty amusing moments, after all. For example, when Navin gets to fly a plane the view of the steering wheel is quite clearly Nintendo-inspired. That's probably going to be a joke kids get more often than adults (which I appreciate). I liked the repeated images of hand clasping and then consciously letting go. The art is fine, though I think I liked the book a lot more when I read it in full-color (as hand-painted by Kibuishi's wife Amy). Generally though this isn't the strongest comic you'll find on the market for kids today. Serviceable, if not extraordinary.

Ages 8-12

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily and Navin lose their father in an accident and two years later they move into an old family house with their mother. Emily and Navin start to go through things and they come upon an amulet that Emily wears around her neck and then strange things start to happen. Their mother gets kidnapped up by octopus lookalike monster and the amulet starts to guide Emily to rescue her.

They find out that their great grandfather, Silas is still alive and he was the stonekeeper that Emily is wearing around her neck. With his last breath Silas tells Emily to master it's powers and use it for the good. Silas has also built some robots to help the kids and they go to save their mother. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure keeps following Emily and Navin and it turns out that the figure is after Emily as he wants to use Emily and the stone's powers to destroy his father.

It started out really weak and predictable much like a lot of other YA and children fantasy stories with dead parent and moving into an old family house and all but it turned out to be pretty good by the end of it. I suspect the amulet is a lot more than it seems to be so far, maybe even evil.

4 stars

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your typical children's fare set in a magical fantasy world like Narnia or Oz. Like those stories, the book has a sense of menace as loved ones are put in harm's way (and sometimes worse). I liked the inventive world and vivid artwork and colors. This was really good for readers of all ages. I'll be continuing on with the series.

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It just felt too rushed for me, but I do plan on continuing the series. I liked it other than that

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO MUCH FUN to read! The artwork was incredible and the story was so interesting. Can't wait to carry on with this series!

[McKenzie (taken🤭) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated the artwork, the dialog was boring, the plot felt like it didn’t come naturally (lmk if I need to explain better). I would write more but I genuinely don’t care abt the book enough

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this children's/tween graphic novel (first volume) about four years ago, and I liked it quite a bit. My whole household has read all of the volumes now and so I thought I should also read everything, and to do that I had to start over from the beginning.

I liked it quite a bit, though it is not surprising in almost any way. There's a tragic death of the father really on, the mother and two kids move to a sort of haunted house where they find an amulet, wear it and enter a parallel (to Earth) universe, and have access to Great Power. Adventure ensues, with various good and (slightly) scary creatures. The art and the spare dialogue is what I like in this. Engaging and sharp action cartooning. We don't know enough to care about these characters, but it's just the beginning.

When I first read this, I gave it four stars. At that point I had read almost nothing in kid comics. I knew this was popular, I like Miyazaki films, I thought this was very good. Now for years later I think it is a little bland compared to other work I have read, but I did like it. I might rate it 3.5, maybe, rounding up because the kids (now 9-11) all think of this as five star material, and who speaks for them on Goodreads? The book is in their wheelhouse, intended for kids their age, and they dig it! When volume 7 came in this house it was devoured in a matter of hours but everyone by me. So on to volume 2!

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amulet es una novela gráfica que nos cuenta la historia de dos chicos, Emily y Navin, que pierden a su padre y se mudan con su madre a la casa de su bisabuelo fallecido. Sin embargo, desde que llegan a ese lugar hay algo que no se siente bien. Llega un día en el que una criatura horrible se lleva a la madre de los niños a un submundo extraño al que se accede a través del sótano. Es una nueva dimensión llena de monstruos, peligros y robots. Desesperados por rescatar a su madre, los niños se alían con unos seres muy peculiares y se apoyan en la magia de un artefacto que Emily encontró en aquella casa.

Esta fue una novela gráfica que tuvo muchísimo hype en booktube en cierto momento, pero la verdad es que no me pareció impresionante. Es decir, sí, el arte es precioso y está muy bien cuidado, pero la historia es, definitivamente, demasiado middlegrade para mí en este instante, así que no la disfruté mucho. Eso sí, el giro que le dieron al artefacto que se encuentra Emily es algo que le da un poco más de fuerza a la trama, aunque no es un plot twist innovador.

Si no estoy mal, toda esta saga de Amulet tiene como nueve volúmenes, pero no creo que siga leyéndola.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my 9 year old. We both enjoyed it and look forward to book 2!

[Roya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the first four in this series years ago and decided to revisit the world. The seventh book comes out next week, so the timing is good. I'm at the bank and read this on the ComiXology app on my phone to quell my boredom. It was okay. I think I liked it more when I first read it, but tastes change. It's still a decent start. The amulet concept is reminiscent of Lord of The Rings. Will be reading more of these shortly.

[Nusrat Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's dark and beautiful. the artwork is enchanting, so is the story. highly recommend to anybody who loves graphic novels.

কবে যে আমাদের দেশে এমন রঙের খেলার বই আসবে। হচ্ছে যে না একদম তা না, কিন্তু ডার্ক ফ্যান্টাসির সাথে এমন কালার, আর্ট, গ্রাফিক্সের কাজ দেখলে কলিজা টা জুড়ায় যায়। ই কপি পড়েই এই অবস্থা। হার্ডকপি হাতে পাইলে ফিট খেয়ে পরে থাকতাম নিশ্চিত।