The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrations by Dave McKeanISBN 978-0-06-053092
New York: Harper Collins Publishers
Newberry Award 2009
Hugo Award for Best Novel 2009
Fantasy
An orphan baby arrives in a graveyard on the day his family was killed. The graveyard residents, who are ghosts, agree to let him stay. The Owens adopt him and name him Nobody,"Bod", Owens. Silas, who is neither alive or dead and is able to obtain food and clothing for Bod, becomes his guardian. Bod is bestowed the Freedom of the Graveyard, which gives him special abilities. The story follows Bod until he is fifteen years old. He attends classes with ghosts, has a friend who’s a ghost of a witch, is watched by Miss Lupescu, who is a ‘Hound of God’, encounters frightening ghouls and a threatening Sleer, and experiences the Danse Macabre. Bod experiences the power of love and friendship from the graveyard residents as he grows, learns and encounters menace.
Bod is warned about the dangers of leaving the graveyard. The mysterious man Jack, who killed his family, wants to kill Bod. Bod wants to leave to find a way to sell an item to buy a gravestone. His ventures out become perilous and tricky. Jack and his pals discover Bod and plot to kill him.
Enchanting and sometimes thrilling, this novel moves at a good pace. Although a haunting subject – a boy being raised by ghosts in a cemetery, the story is charming and exciting. It’s a good read for 9 to 12 years.
An orphan baby arrives in a graveyard on the day his family was killed. The graveyard residents, who are ghosts, agree to let him stay. The Owens adopt him and name him Nobody,"Bod", Owens. Silas, who is neither alive or dead and is able to obtain food and clothing for Bod, becomes his guardian. Bod is bestowed the Freedom of the Graveyard, which gives him special abilities. The story follows Bod until he is fifteen years old. He attends classes with ghosts, has a friend who’s a ghost of a witch, is watched by Miss Lupescu, who is a ‘Hound of God’, encounters frightening ghouls and a threatening Sleer, and experiences the Danse Macabre. Bod experiences the power of love and friendship from the graveyard residents as he grows, learns and encounters menace.
Bod is warned about the dangers of leaving the graveyard. The mysterious man Jack, who killed his family, wants to kill Bod. Bod wants to leave to find a way to sell an item to buy a gravestone. His ventures out become perilous and tricky. Jack and his pals discover Bod and plot to kill him.
Enchanting and sometimes thrilling, this novel moves at a good pace. Although a haunting subject – a boy being raised by ghosts in a cemetery, the story is charming and exciting. It’s a good read for 9 to 12 years.
Official Neil Gaiman site and his Mouse Circus site for young readers.
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