Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 9780060530921
Reading Level: Grades 5-8
Interest Age: Grades 5-12
Genre: Paranormal and Horror--Ghosts
Reader’s Annotation: A toddler narrowly escapes death when the rest of his family is murdered and finds a new home among the ghosts in a graveyard.
Plot Summary
The Graveyard Book begins with the murder of a family. The man Jack kills the parents and little girl with his knife, but the toddler escapes, having gotten out of his crib and set off on an adventure. The boy wanders into a nearby graveyard, where a kindly ghost named Mrs. Owens lobbies to hide him. After some discussion, the ghosts agree to give the boy “the Freedom of the Graveyard” and it is decided that Mr. and Mrs. Owens will raise him. He’s given a name, Nobody Owens (or Bod for short), and a guardian, Silas, a vampire who can come and go from the graveyard at will. Silas supplies Bod’s human needs—food, clothing, and school supplies. Silas also becomes one of his teachers, along with the Owenses, a werewolf named Miss Lupescu, the ghost of a witch, and another ghost named Mr. Pennyworth. Along with the usual things children learn at school, they teach him ghostly skills like Fading, Haunting, and Dream Walking. The plot proceeds primarily in discrete episodes from Bod’s life (like The Jungle Book, on which it is loosely modeled), such as his trip into an alternate world through the Ghoul Gate and his encounter with an ancient creature called the Sleer. When after many years the man Jack finally hunts him down, Bod must call on everything he’s learned from his life in the graveyard.
Critical Evaluation
Gaiman’s writing has a mysterious, dreamlike quality. (“At the best of times his face was unreadable. Now his face was a book written in a language long forgotten, in an alphabet unimagined. Silas wrapped the shadows around him like a blanket, and stared after the way the boy had gone, and did not move to follow.”) Nevertheless, there is a lot of humor here, as well. (“Silas ate only one food...and it was not bananas.”) Many quirky characters live in the graveyard, some of whom get their own episodes to tell their stories and make their particular ghostly complaints. (“There’s not much that happens here to make one day unlike the next. The seasons change. The ivy grows. Stones fall over.”) But along with great warmth there are some genuinely scary moments. (“The knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.”) Gaiman is very successful at bringing the world of the graveyard to life. Indeed, he makes it seem like a great place to grow up.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas
Read the chilling first chapter.
Describe some of the humorous characters in the graveyard.
Challenge Issues: Mild violence
In the defense file, I will include my library's selection policy, ALA's Library Bill of Rights, ALA's guidelines on free access to libraries for minors (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/freeaccesslibraries.cfm), and ALA's strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips/index.cfm). I will also include my library's reconsideration form, in case challenges to this book cannot be defused with "tea and sympathy." I'll include positive reviews from (among many other possibilities) School Library Journal, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, Kirkus Reviews, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, and VOYA.
About the Author
Neil Gaiman was born in Hampshire, UK, and now lives in the United States near Minneapolis. As a child he discovered his love of books, reading, and stories, devouring the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Branch Cabell, Edgar Allan Poe, Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolfe, and G.K. Chesterton. A self-described “feral child who was raised in libraries,” Gaiman credits librarians with fostering a life-long love of reading.
Neil Gaiman is credited with being one of the creators of modern comics, as well as an author whose work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.
Gaiman’s books are genre works that refuse to remain true to their genres. Gothic horror was out of fashion in the early 1990s when Gaiman started work on ‘Coraline’ (2002). Originally considered too frightening for children, ‘Coraline’ went on to win the British Science Fiction Award, the Hugo, the Nebula, the Bram Stoker, and the American Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla award.
Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels ‘Neverwhere’ (1995), ‘Stardust’ (1999), the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning ‘American Gods’ (2001), ‘Anansi Boys’ (2005), and ‘Good Omens’ (with Terry Pratchett, 1990).
Gaiman wrote the screenplay for the original BBC TV series of ‘Neverwhere’ (1996); Dave McKean’s first feature film, ‘Mirrormask’ (2005), for the Jim Henson Company; and cowrote the script to Robert Zemeckis’s ‘Beowulf.’ He produced ‘Stardust,’ Matthew Vaughn’s film based on Gaiman’s book by the same name.
He has written and directed two films: ‘A Short Film About John Bolton’ (2002) and Sky Television’s ‘Statuesque’ (2009) starring Bill Nighy and Amanda Palmer.
An animated feature film based on Gaiman’s ‘Coraline,’ directed by Henry Selick and released in early 2009, secured a BAFTA for Best Animated Film and was nominated for an Oscar in the same category. The film adaptation of ‘The Graveyard Book’ is in production.
http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/About_Neil/Biography
Why is this title included?
Though aimed at a younger audience, this enjoyable read will appeal to teens of all ages (especially as Gaiman already has many fans among their ranks). It's received many honors, including the 2009 Newbery Medal and selection for YALSA's Teens' Top Ten, 2009.