The Graveyard Book

 The Graveyard Book

Bibliography

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books. ISBN 9780060530945

Plot Summary

Nobody Owens is a young boy whose family is murdered. He escapes the murderer to the local graveyard and is taken in and raised by the ghosts whose souls linger and "live" there. With the help of his new parents and otherworldly guardian, he is trained in the ways of the spirit world and encounters different people and creatures that test his new abilities. As years pass and his family's killer draws closer, Nobody learns what it means to be human and how to live, for both humans and spirits alike. 

Critical Analysis

Neil Gaiman is a master at his craft and in his YA novel, The Graveyard Book, he tells the story of Nobody Owens and how after the murder of his family, he lives for years with the ghosts of the local graveyard. Nobody is a precocious young boy, who has to learn to grow up faster than others. He is wise in the ways of the living and the dead. As he grows up, he begins to want to leave the confines of the graveyard and go out into the world, despite danger from the man who killed his family and now wants to kill Nobody too. Despite this, he wants to live, and not just live for the sake of living, but to know people, travel, sleep at normal hours, like everybody else. Children his age that read this book will know the feeling of wanting to escape the gaze of their parents (or in Nobody's case, his otherworldly guardian) to go out and explore and just be a kid.

The characters in this book all have an important role in Nobody's life. Each one has a story to tell and show him the importance of life and death, which is a big theme in this book. And the dead know a thing or two about living. Gaiman, in his fashion, makes these characters unique and witty and sometimes, otherworldly. His imagination knows no bounds, which we can see in the characters of the Sleer and Indigo Man, his mentor, Silas, and the mans Jack that are hell bent on destroying him. We also see the young girl Scarlett, who is at first fascinated with the supernatural, but cowers when Nobody uses his powers for what she sees as evil. Each character makes an impact on Nobody that helps him in his mission to defeat his family's killer and find the courage in himself.

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is a great piece of escapism and a wonderful look into his mind and supernatural imagination, for young readers and adults alike. 

Review Excerpts

2009 Newbery Award Winner

2010 Carnegie Medal

School Library Journal: "Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family."

Connections

More by Neil Gaiman: Coraline

                                     The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish

                                     Blueberry Girl

More illustrated by Dave McKean: The Savage by David Almond

                                                        The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins

                                                        The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman

Activity: Research and discuss the significance of the character's names, such as Miss Lepescu and the Lady on the Grey.