The Graveyard Book
Gaiman, N. (2003). The graveyard book. New York, NY: Harper.
The
Graveyard Book is a magical, ethereal book about a boy named Nobody “Bod” Owens
whose entire family is murdered when he was just a baby. He somehow managed to crawl
away before being killed like his family and finds refuge in a nearby
graveyard. This is where the story gets really interesting. An odd assortment
of characters (all dead!) agree to take care of him, with a dark and mysterious
creature of the night named Silas agreeing to be his guardian. Bod is the only
living being in the graveyard and learns haunting practices to keep from being
seen and evade his killer for many years. Once he comes of age, he learns the
truth of his childhood and wants to leave the graveyard to learn more and find
his family’s killer. Against the advice of his dead adoptive family of the
graveyard, he attends a school and begins to get into trouble with the living.
He befriends a young girl and together they uncover more secrets of his past.
Due
to some of the dark and violent elements in this story, I would recommend this book
for older students. Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller and does a wonderful
job exploring the themes of death and good vs. evil. It would appeal to anyone
who loves a story with otherworldly adventure and mystery. It’s also great for fans
of Tim Burton movies and/or Neil Gaiman’s other book (also a movie) Coraline.
Excellent
site for incorporating The Graveyard Book into lessons:
Book
trailer narrated by Neil Gaiman:
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