The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman, N. (2008). The graveyard book (1st ed.). New York: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780060530921

Plot
When a toddler's family is murdered by a mysterious, knife wielding stranger named Jack, he wanders off into a graveyard where he is adopted by the ghostly denizens there. The kindly Owens couple give him his name: Nobody Owens. Bod has to learn how to navigate his environment as a living person. He meets a living girl named Scarlett when he is 4 and she is 5. They visit the tomb of the ancients and encounter the frightening Sleer. Scarlett moves away. His guardian, Silas (a wise vampire-like creature), leaves him at 6 in the care of a woman named Miss Lupescu who later proves to be a werewolf and saves him from the underworld of ghouls. He develops a crush on a ghost in potter's field named Liza when he is 8. He ventures into the living town to sell a broach stolen from the ancient tomb to purchase a proper gravestone for her. There he encounters evil and barely escapes. He is sent back out into the world at 13 to attend school. But he uses his graveyard skills to right injustices there and exposes himself as dangerously different and strange. He returns to the graveyard and continues his education there until Scarlett returns one day. She begins to piece together the mystery of what happened to his family. Scarlett and Bod are confronted by Jack and his evil cohorts from a secret society named the "Jack of All Trades." They run to the graveyard, where Bod must try to outsmart the Jacks to save Scarlett and himself. In the process, he will lose something he never knew he needed.

Critical Evaluation

The Graveyard Book is truly scary novel. It is beautifully written. It is, at heart, a coming-of-age story, where the protagonist has to go through painful trials to grow into a man. Beyond that, it is just a great story. It is suspenseful, inventive, creepy, exciting and funny all at once. Gaiman is a masterful storyteller. This book is written at a level appropiate for tweens. It is very scary, however, so it is not for everyone. This story won the Newbery Medal in 2008.

Readers Annotation

Except for the fact that he is being raised by ghosts in a graveyard and that his family was murdered by a heinous slasher and that his life is in danger from the same man and that his name is Nobody, Bod is a normal boy. This is the supernatural, mysterious, scary and, sometimes, humorous telling of his journey through this strange upbringing to his emergence in the equally scary living world. This book is a suspense-filled thrill ride.

About the Author

Neil Gaiman was born in England in 1960 and raised in West Sussex. As a young person he read C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Edgar Allen Poe, among others. His writing career began as a journalist. He then moved on to graphic novels and produced the popular and award winning Sandman series. His books for children include the New York Times bestselling Coraline. He currently resides in Minneapolis and is a divorced father of three.

Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction, Horror

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts

Booktalk Ideas: Facing fears

Reading Level: Grade 5+
Interest Level: Grade 5+
Challenge Issues: The Supernatural, Murder. I would defend this book on the basis that the ghosts represent something more than just manifestations of supernatural beings. The depiction of the murder is probably not something I would want anyone under the age of 13 or so reading. But, it is beautifully written and it is the Newbery Medal winner.

This book is included because it is a great, scary story that just happened to win the Newbery Medal.