Bibliographic Information
Gaiman, Neil. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean.New York, NY: Harper Collins Publisher. ISBN: 978-0060530945.
Plot and Critical Analysis
Bod (short for Nobody Owens) is a boy living in a graveyard since he was a toddler and he escaped the man who killed his family. The toddler crawled into the graveyard and was protected by the ghosts within where he had parents who cared fro him, a man neither living nor dead bring him food and clothes from the human world, and had the magic of the graveyard protecting him. I assume, this is why no one heard a baby crying in a graveyard. Clearly, it takes on some fantasy with the ghosts (good guys) and the ghouls (bad guys), but the overall theme of trying to learn of one's true identity, friendships, and self determination are all present.
The main elements of other genres are present in this novel through character development, plot, and theme. Bod is believable in thought process and as he ages, he gets more clever and more comfortable standing up to others. At a young age, he finds exploring the graveyard enough to delight his days, but as he gets older and more knowledgeable, he begins to wonder what is outside the walls of the graveyard. As any early adolescent, he wonders about the world and the people in it and how he fits in with this world. Towards the end Bod even has the beginning of an interest in girls when he and Scarlett are reunited. The plot attention grabber from the beginning, builds perfectly to the climax of “The Jacks” arrival and actions. Bod must face what he has been hiding from his entire life in the safety of the graveyard. While the reader knows that Jack and Bod will eventually come across each other again, the climax sneaks up on the reader. While the introduction of a new character later in the book is an obvious sign to adults, younger readers will not be expecting the kind Mr. Frost to be Jack’s killer. In fact, this brings up a valuable lesson for the reader about not being tricked by strangers.
Gaiman’s tone is appropriate and often gothic throughout, which is fitting to the setting. His descriptions of the cool – from the breeze to Silas’s hand – and Bod’s feelings or revelations at different times keep the tone haunting and cool. There are the occasional sketches by McKean which provide a haunting visual for Silas (the neither living nor dead character that is Bod's protector), The Sleer (the evil, ghostlike protector of the unknown), and The Lady in Grey (Angel of Death)
Awards and Reviews
ALA Notable Children's Books - Middle Readers Category: 2009
Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category: 2008
Hugo Awards: Best Novel
Kentucky Bluegrass Award: Grades 6-8
Locus Young Adult Book Award
Newbery Medal
Oprah's Kids' Reading Lists - New Releases: 10-to-12 Years
USBBY Outstanding International Books - Grades 6-8: 2009
Wisconsin Library Association Children's Book Awards: Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2009
School Library Journal
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 --Megan Honig (Reviewed October 1, 2008) (School Library Journal, vol 54, issue 10, p144)
Publishers Weekly Review
Starred Review. A lavish middle-grade novel, Gaiman's first since Coraline , this gothic fantasy almost lives up to its extravagant advance billing. The opening is enthralling: “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” Evading the murderer who kills the rest of his family, a child roughly 18 months old climbs out of his crib, bumps his bottom down a steep stairway, walks out the open door and crosses the street into the cemetery opposite, where ghosts take him in. What mystery/horror/suspense reader could stop here, especially with Gaiman's talent for storytelling? The author riffs on the Jungle Book , folklore, nursery rhymes and history; he tosses in werewolves and hints at vampires—and he makes these figures seem like metaphors for transitions in childhood and youth. As the boy, called Nobody or Bod, grows up, the killer still stalking him, there are slack moments and some repetition—not enough to spoil a reader's pleasure, but noticeable all the same. When the chilling moments do come, they are as genuinely frightening as only Gaiman can make them, and redeem any shortcomings. Ages 10–up. (Oct.) --Staff (Reviewed September 29, 2008) (Publishers Weekly, vol 255, issue 39, p82)
Connections
It will not take a child who has been orphaned and is growing up in a graveyard to identify with Bod and what he goes through. True, being able to "fade" and see the ghosts of the graveyard is not included with similar experiences, but the feelings of wanting friends, trying to figure out the world, and other age experiences are similar. Readers will find both honesty and playfulness in Bod as well as thoughtfulness well beyond his years. Other characters will be similar to people children come across in their own lives: parents, mysterious adults, peers, and a significant teacher. The subtheme of the honorable Guard verses The Jacks' fraternity of power hungry criminals and murderers ends with good conquering evil, but with a cost. This will echo the trials of life similarly as other fantasy titles.
Similar Readings:
Orphans of Chaos (John C. Wright): Another supernatural contemporary fiction novel about boys who possess powers and after learning they have been kidnapped from their parents and are not aging at the same rate of others, they plan their own escape.
Green Witch (Alice Hoffman): The story of a girl who is turned to for help and, in turn, goes to women like her who are believed to be witches to help the townspeople. There is also a love story which is one of the mentioned themes of this genre.
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