Spooky, not scary, with great examples of friendship.

Bonaparte is a little skeleton boy with a BIG problem. He is falling to pieces. Every time he does anything, his bones fall off or roll away. He can't play catch or ride his bike without losing a piece of himself. How will he ever go to school?

His friends try glue, webbing, and mummy wrappings, but nothing works. What's a skeleton to do? Things look hopeless until Bonaparte makes a new friend with a clever idea. Will they figure out how to hold Bonaparte together in time for the first day of school? Visit your local library and check this book out to find out!

The Bottom Line: Adorable illustrations with a muted palette feature kid-friendly monsters and a few hidden gems. Highly recommended read-aloud choice for kids anxious about the first day of school.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

A ridiculously fun read PERFECT for the season. It's filled with creepy, spooky goodness but told in a relatable story that will make these Halloween characters your new every day best friends. The helpful tips and tricks Bonaparte's cohorts come up with range from practical to absurd, but their hearts are in the right place and by book's end, those well-intentioned tries turn into something that works for everyone, giving Bonaparte less to worry about on the first day of school AND another to call "friend". If the story doesn't warm your heart and tickle your funny bone, the illustrations will as they are not only seasonally fit, but adorably rendered...and how often can you say that about members of the monster family?


**copy received for review ( )

The book "Bonaparte Falls Apart" is about a little skeleton boy named Bonaparte. Bonaparte was having trouble doing his day to day activities because his bones kept falling apart. Bonaparte was very nervous about going to school and his bones possibly falling right off of his body. Bonaparte and his other monster friends come up with ideas such as gluing and screwing his bones together but he could not move. After trying many new solutions, nothing seems to work. Bonaparte is getting more and more nervous about school starting that his head actually pops off. Bonaparte's friends help me but his bones keep falling off his body. A dog runs by and takes one of Bonaparte's bones. They chase after the dog and eventually train the dog to fetch Bonaparte's bones when they fall off. They name the dog Mandible and even though Bonaparte was still nervous about school, his dog comforted him and became a huge sensation at school. Bonaparte was no longer nervous at school. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, i think that it would be good for third grade and bellow. This book's overall message is about self acceptance. I think that this book would be great right around Halloween as the "monsters" give it a holiday vibe while learning about a powerful message that the class can all talk about and share a time where they felt a little nervous or insecure. ( )

OMG this was the cutest!! I loved the story and the illustrations.

It would be great for a Halloween storytime! ( )