The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard. HarperCollins: 2008. ISBN: 0060530928.

Plot

Nobody "Bod "Owens, is a young boy whose parents were murdered when he was a baby and was raised by inhabitants of a graveyard. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Owens who are ghost that raise him to be the brave boy he grows up to be. Silas, his guardian, keeps Bod safe from those that want to kill him. Bod is able to go from the dead to the living; as he grows up he discovers powers that he never knew he had. Bod is constantly surrounded by death but he craves to live outside of the gates, he wants to discover the world and create friendships. Bod wants to break loose from the cemetery and experience life with others that are alive.

Critical Evaluation

Bod has both human qualities and those beyond the grave but his emotions are those of your average teen. Though Bod is in situations that real life people will never experience his emotions remain the same. He still feels the same way a boy feels when he gets close to a girl or when he feels that people do not like him at school. He feels the loneliness and sadness of not having friends. Using both fantasy with human qualities Neil creates a character than many can relate to.

Reader's Annotation

Bod, is a boy, whose parents were murdered when he was a baby and was raised in a cemetery by all types of ghoulish things. Bod is able to be in between the dead and living but would rather be with the living but will he live to experience it?

Information about the Author

The Graveyard Book is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers. Gaiman first had the idea for the story in 1985 after seeing his then two year-old son Mike pedaling his tricycle around a graveyard their family lived across from. Recalling how at home his son looked there, Gaiman thought he could write something a lot like The Jungle Book and set it in a graveyard.

Genre

Fantasy

Curriculum Ties

English

Booktalking Ideas

1) Read excerpt from book when Bod is in the crypt with Scarlett when he is five

2) Discuss Bod's situation: parents murdered, ghost parents, Silas, etc

Reading Level/Interest Age

9 - 12

Challenge Issues and Defense

Might be to scary for some children since it does deal with the issue of death.

Defense: Won 2009 Hugo and Newbery Award

Why included in selection?

Mandatory reading that I enjoyed.