Gaiman,
N. (2008). The
graveyard book.
New York, NY: HarperCollins.
This is an amazing book about a child whose family is killed and he is "saved" by wandering into a graveyard in the middle of the night the same night they die. The graveyard folk fulfill his mother's wishes and raise him as their own and protect him until he is old enough to leave the graveyard and take care of himself. Nobody "Bod" Owens is mischievous and curious and gets into a few pickles here and there before the climax of the book where the Man Jack returns to finish the job of killing his whole family. Will the graveyard and Bod be there to outsmart the Jack of All Trades in the end?
Assignment #5 - Fantasy
The
setting of the graveyard and the strong characters of this book are stand outs
in this ghost story. It is filled with
the dead, a few living people, werewolves and ghouls, among other creatures but
the author makes the characters relatable in many ways. Silas, Bod’s guardian, is a fellow that can
go between both worlds, the living and the dead, and provides for Bod’s safety
and training but disappears at times leaving him with others. Bod’s curious nature leads him a stray a few
times but we are talking about a graveyard here, but one that Gaiman
can make you feel safe in one moment and utterly terrified the next. The history thrown in only adds to value and
humor of the characters, like the 33rd
president of the United States, Harry Truman, being a ghoul.
Author website: http://www.neilgaiman.com/
Teacher Activities: http://www.eisd.net/cms/lib04/TX01001208/Centricity/Domain/65/the_graveyard_book_teacher_guide.pdf
Book Trailer:
Chapter 1 read by the author:
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