Sunday, July 6, 2008

INDIANA JONES ADVENTURES: Volume 1




AUTHOR: Philip Gelatt
ILLUSTRATOR: Ethen Beavers
COLORS: Ronda Pattison
LETTERING: Michael Heisler
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Books
GENRE: Adventure

FORMAT: Paperback digest
VOLUME: 1
PAGES: 80
COLOR: Full color
ISBN-10: 1-59307-905-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-905-5


STORY SYNOPSIS
From the website:
“In the deep winter of Northern Europe, Dr. Henry Jones Jr. is about to undergo one of the most harrowing archaeological digs of his career! Amidst a deadly blizzard, he must find an ancient monument and unlock its secrets before someone with much darker intentions gets there first! Yet there are trials awaiting any who would lay claim to the artifacts of mysterious warriors from long ago.”


STORY REVIEW
This Indy book is for kids and it is a wonderful rendition of the popular story. It may be for children, but it is not overly simplified and it does not strip away the things that make Indy great, just because it is for children. Oh no, we have fight scenes, and Nazis, and philosophical debates about archaeological ethics. The story moves fast, but takes small breaks to address the history, the culture, and the reason behind the interest in the particular find. This time, the story centers on Nordic war culture and the god, Odin.


ART REVIEW
The art is brilliant. Indy does not look exactly like Harrison Ford, which is a good thing. Instead, Beavers’ Indiana Jones has an iconic feel representative of the soul of Indy, giving our imagination a bit of freedom. When I first saw the book, I immediately pictured throngs of kids sitting around reading about the adventures of everyone’s favorite archaeologist. Honestly, I could not stand it. I had to sit down and read it right away, all because the art made me feel like a kid again.


Page 1


Page 2


Page 3

AGE RECOMMENDATION
My Rating: Ages 8 and older
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 8 and older

Any kid interested in Indy will love these books.


BE AWARE
Besides the fight scenes and the dancing girls, I cannot imagine anything that would bother anyone.


IN THE CLASSROOM
Think about connections and the broadening of interests. That is to say, children who find myth interesting will find the story of Odin and the Nordic cultures engaging and may lead children to look for new material on the subject.

Of course, the interest will really be there, considering the movie, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL came out earlier this summer. This coming school year would be the perfect time to introduce it to a classroom.


OTHER INFORMATION
Dark Horse Books has an entire line of Indiana Jones comics. They also have an omnibus series that collects all the Indy stories.


MY RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended
INDIANA JONES ADVENTURES volume 1 is an exciting, fun, and historically interesting story that is suitable for kids. It is not too long, but is full of action and facts. I cannot wait to introduce it to my students.

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