Gaiman, N. (2008). The graveyard book. NY: Bloomsbury.
Interest level 5th - 8th grade
Summary
This fantasy book focuses more on the paranormal aspect of the genre. Instead of going to another world, readers see a side of our world that they were unaware that existed. The plot of this book begins in the real world that we all live in. A family is being brutally murdered by an unknown assailant for an unknown reason. Luckily, the baby manages to get out undetected. He toddles his way to the cemetery where ghosts decided to protect and raise him as their own. The plot follows a normal plot pattern sprinkled in with fantasy aspects. The boy goes on small journeys, gets into trouble, and finally must face his family’s murderer. This story also contains a universal theme. Like many fantasy stories, there is the battle between good and evil forces. The protagonist has to also deal with his internal battle of wanting to avenge his family’s death.
Activities for students
* Chapter tests, vocabulary words, etc...
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—Somewhere in contemporary Britain, "the man Jack" uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he "looks like nobody but himself," grows up among a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting. The child Bod's behavior is occasionally too precocious to be believed, and a series of puns on the name Jack render the villain a bit less frightening than he should be, though only momentarily. Aside from these small flaws, however, Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
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