So, I am a lifelong geek… and like all good geeks I do like to share my geekdom with all my friends and family. But there is one group of people in particular that more than others I want to instill a love of storytelling, great characters and a wild sense of humor… and they are of course, my children! With this in mind, I have spent years finding and collecting age appropriate comics / stories that are quality tales, age appropriate and enjoyable for me to read next to my kids. While there are a world of great yarns out there, most might not be appropriate for the 10 or 12 year old and thus, don’t fit the criteria.

What I want to clarify here is that I am not talking about censorship; I’m talking about being a proactive parent. Some of my favorite stories ever (Kingdom Come, Hamlet, anything by Neil Gaimen just to name a few) are fantastic and I highly recommend them, but it doesn’t mean they were constructed for or would be appreciated by the teen or pre-teen individual.  I am fairly sure that most authors would agree with me on this point… not all stories are meant for all ages.

What I would like to do here at the pullbox is have an ongoing column dealing with fantastic stories that the family can enjoy together… not dumbed down versions of stories that I love (sorry Marvel Age), but honest to goodness quality stories for all to be a part of.  It is also my belief that a good story (in comic form or not) can lend itself to opening the doors to conversations about all sorts of things (character, personal choices, belief systems, etc.) that are all part of the parenting schema.  Please fell free to comment and throw out suggestions and recommendations.

As I thought about this, there are two books that jump out at me to start this (hopeful) dialogue with.

The first one is a book that I have been talking about for a while is David Petersen’s Mouse Guard.  This a great book to enjoy with your kids and it can lead into all sorts of discussion about history, friendships, politics… you name it.  The Mouse Guard books are a great lead into fantasy and classic literature (Dumas).  I don’t want to beat a dead crab so here is my previous post on it.

The second book that immediately jumps into my mind on this subject is Jeff Smith’s Bone.  Bone slips by most people because it seems like a modern simplistic rip-off of Walt Kelly’s classic character Pogo… or it seems like the smooth line drawings, goofy names and basic story approach wouldn’t appeal to anyone over the age of twelve.  All of these assumptions would be wrong.  Jeff Smith’s epic fantasy tale basically consists of the adventures and wanderings of three cousins: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone.  Smith expertly explores the meaning of friendship, family, honor, love and staying true to your convictions while entertaining all the way through.  Comedy, adventure and a wonderfully thought-out story is seen througout the entire series of Bone without exception.  The summer of 2005 my wife, my two oldest daughters and I consumed all nine volumes of Bone from our local library.  We had a blast comparing notes and discussing the plot, character flaws and predicting where we thought the cousins were headed.  Check out Vol 1 “Out of Boneville” from your local library… you will be hooked.

Series grade: A+