THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

a. Bibliographic data: Gaiman, Neil. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN 9780060530938.

b. Plot summary:

         Bod (short for Nobody Owens) is raised by ghosts in a graveyard that he calls home. At the age of two, he wandered up the hill to the graveyard, leaving his murdered family behind and the murderer in pursuit of him. He is given freedom of the Graveyard, which means Bod can hide from humans and have almost all of the powers that ghosts can have. As Bod grows, he faces many of the normal everyday challenges that boys his age will face, but handles them by taking advice from ghosts who are hundreds of years old. He learns to read, write, and gains knowledge of the outside world. Among those in the graveyard that he trusts deeply, besides his adopted mom and dad, is his guardian Silas, who is neither dead nor alive. This book is full of mysteries, excitement, tears, and very much worth the adventures. Bad guys are demolished and the hero is revealed! Will Bod live in the graveyard forever?...

c. Critical Analysis:

         The Graveyard book is one of the most exciting books I have read in a while. I admit… I was hooked from the very first page when a man named Jack murders a young, innocent 2-year-old’s mom, dad, and young sister. As this young boy, soon named Nobody Owens by his new graveyard family, lives life; the reader gets to live it with him. Although narrated in third person, the reader is still given enough insight into the child’s life that they can feel what Bod feels. The relationship between Bod and his many “family members” allows the reader to grow an attachment, especially with his protective guardian, Silas. This book is not for young children!

         There are so many running themes throughout this book, many of which involve family, friends, free will, young love, trust, and the search for one’s identity in life. Bod grows up in the graveyard, receiving instruction from all walks of life, yet never gaining any real world experience at all.

         As a normal young boy, his curiosity overrides the rules and he goes out to experience things on his own. As I read these parts of the book, I felt alone and lost when Bod would travel outside and felt so victorious and loved when he was rescued by those who care so greatly for him.

         The plot begins with Jack, the murderer, and brings us through Bod’s life of escaping his killer’s efforts to finish the job. As the curious boy grows, he gets to know every inch of that graveyard, all of which come in handy for him when he eventually has to fight for his life against the evil Jack of all Trades group out to kill him. We find out later in the book that the boy named Bod is actually a very important piece to this puzzle of mysteries. If he is killed, the Jacks shall live on. If he is not, the Jacks will see their end. In between all of the crazy mess, he meets a young girl (who thinks he is make believe at first) that he thinks about very often. The book shows Scarlett as a good girl that follows most of the rules of her mother. Later in the story when she comes back, she is shown again as somewhat ignorant for believing Jack’s lies and a scaredy-cat for being terrified of Bod after his brave acts. The other main girl characters are seen as strong and brave though, such as one of Bod’s “babysitters” who is actually a large Hound of God and fights to the death for Bod.

         The setting in this book is my absolute favorite part of it all. If I were put in the town where this book takes place, I believe I would be able to find my way around. From the hill to the graveyard to the bench and the chapel, there is not one detail left out. I listened to the audiobook for this and the accents made a world of difference (as well as some mild sound effects). I also rented the book, which was equally as enjoyable to read because of the style of the author and the descriptions on every page. The illustrations are few and far between and are not needed to add meaning to the book but still give the reader insight into the setting. They are not so detailed that it ruins the reader’s chance to design their own setting based on the words of the book. The illustrations are appropriately grim and colorless, using only black to characterize the chapters.    

         At the beginning of the book, Scarlett mentions to Bod, “Well, you can’t stay here all your life. Can you? One day you’ll grow up and then you will have to go and live in the world outside” (p. 60) I think this helped the reader prepare for what was to come, which still was a surprise to me when it happened. Bod eventually lost his “freedom of the graveyard” and was quickly removed from what he called home into a world of unknown. Did I cry? Absolutely, but I still cannot wait to recommend this book to someone!

d. Reviews:

Childhood fears take solid shape in the nursery-rhyme–inspired villains, while heroism is its own, often bitter, reward. Closer in tone to AMERICAN GODS than to CORALINE, but permeated with Bod’s innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.” –Kirkus Reviews

Washington Post

“Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.”- Washington Post

 “The Graveyard Book, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment.”- New York Times Book Review

 “The Graveyard Book confirms what I’ve always thought: Neil Gaiman is a literary genius!”- James Herbert

 “It’s hard to think of a more delightful and scary place to spend 300 pages.”

-The Guardian

“The Graveyard Book feels like the careful work of an old craftsman.” - Newsday

Awards/Honors:

John Newberry Medal 2009

Carnegie Medal 2010

Hugo Award for Best Novel 2009

Locus Award for Best Young-Adult Book 2009

Cybils Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction 2008

SFX Award for Best Novel 2010

Hornbook Fanfare 2008

VOYA Best Science Fiction

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

ALA Best Books for Young Adults

e. Connections:

In the acknowledgements, Gaiman mentions that his favorite book that greatly inspired this one was THE JUNGLE BOOK. I think it would be great for students to make a deep comparison of the two books. They could even discuss why THE GRAVEYARD BOOK would be born from reading THE JUNGLE BOOK. (Gaiman admits he was actually raised by librarians, which also might be an interesting way to go with this).

Students can talk about how they would feel if they were raised by ghosts. What would they do?

Students can view this book trailer narrated by Neil Gaiman himself and try to recreate their own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UUVwTaemk#t=14

Students can choose people from certain time periods discussed in the book and give a synopsis of what a day would be like for them in their time. For example, what would a day look like for Mr. and Mrs. Owens when they were alive over 100 years ago? What would they have seen? What would they have done?

Students can learn how to take a rubbing of some other objects, just as they did with the gravestone in the book.

It would be fun to have students make their own gravestones for people they are researching. What would it say? How would you sum up their life into one line? Years alive? Etc.