The Graveyard Book

Bibliography: The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, Neil. 2010. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by: Dave McKean. HarperCollins. ISBN: 006053094

Summary:

The Graveyard Book has sold more than a million copies and has won multiple awards. The book is about Bod who is an unusual boy who is living in an unusual place. He is the only living resident among the ghosts in the graveyard. Raised from a baby by ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery entities. He learns to fad like a ghost can and he learns so many unique things from ghosts who have lived from a variety of periods. Will he be able to live in both worlds?

Critical Analysis:

 This fantasy starts with the death of the baby’s entire family, and he makes it to the cemetery while trying to escape the murderer.  A ghost couple takes in the baby so that they can save him from the murderer. This book was not what I expected, it is dark and brings you into a unique world. Bod has a friend who he isn’t truly sure is living or dead and he knows that he has secrets. There is so much he doesn’t understand about this world he is living in especially the living world and what all is in the darkness.

 This book’s setting is very detailed, and you really can imagine and feel what it must be like for this boy. It is full of well-crafted characters and the plot that weaves together throughout the book leads to the final climatic moments. From his ghostly friends to those who aren’t quite dead and even the living, he meets along the way provokes your imagination, and Gaiman’s writing is done well.  He befriends a girl when he is younger, and she returns later with a historian who chases him down and shocking events follow. In the end his trusty guardian Silas sends Bod off into the living world and he embarks on the rest of his life. I can’t wait till he writes the other characters' stories like he has mentioned on his website.

Review Awards and Excerpt(s):

• Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award (Vermont)
• New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age
• Hugo Award
• ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
• New York Public Library's “One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing”
• Horn Book Fanfare
• ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
• Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book
• Newbery Medal
• Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice
• ALA Notable Children’s Book

“Wistful, witty, wise―and creepy. This needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life-affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal. ” — Booklist (starred review)

“Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.” — Horn Book (starred review)

Connections:

-          Look into the many themes this book discusses such as community, family, fate, morality, and forgiveness. Prestwickhouse shares a variety of books that match each of them and you could use those books for a book study.

-          You could check out Neil Gaiman reading the entire book on YouTube or just a few chapters to see how he reads the story.

-          You could have students pick another character from the book and have them write a story from their viewpoint of how they feel about Bod since the book is largely written from how Bod feels.

-          You could also have students discuss or write what they think happens to Bod after leaving the cemetery.