The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, N. (2008).  The graveyard book.  New York:  Harper Collins.

A young boy's family is murdered in the middle of the night by a man named Jack.  The boy wanders into a graveyard and the residents of the Graveyard name him Nobody and call him Bod for short.  Mr. and Mrs. Owen become his parents and he has a guardian who feeds and cares for him.  He goes on many adventures not realizing that Jack is still wanting to kill him. 

Neil Gaiman in The Graveyard Book uses precise language to describe every action in the book so perfectly.  Gaiman’s style is a joy to his readers.  The beginning of the book quickly captures the readers as he describes the man Jack who goes into Bod’s house and kills his mom, dad, and sibling.  On the night Bod went to safety in the graveyard and his familand the author uses good detail to allow the story to be believable. y was murdered, “The knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.”  The author’s style is distinct for the characters that Bod meets in the graveyard that are from many different time periods. The conversations between Silas, Miss Lupescu, Scarlett, and Bod are all so unique

The setting of the Graveyard Book is obviously a graveyard.  What is unusual is that this is where an orphaned boy named Bod, short for Nobody, is raised by the residents of the graveyard.  When he wanders into the graveyard after his parents are murdered, the people of the graveyard give him “Freedom of the Graveyard.”  He is able to do things that other humans can’t like see in the dark.  Since Bod is so inquisitive this is where he learns to read using the headstones to look for letters and words.  When other kids his ages are learning to ride a bike, Bod is trying to learn how to fade, slide, and dreamwalk.  He knows the history of the Romans, but he doesn’t understand the dangers that face him outside of the graveyard.  

Neil Gaiman speaking at a commencement and reading the Graveyard Book:
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/gaiman.html