BIBLIOGRAPHY Gaiman, Neil. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. By Dave McKean. New York: HarperCollins. 2009.

ISBN 9780061972652 PLOT SUMMARY THE GRAVEYARD BOOK begins with a murderer looking for the smallest and last of his victims during his nighttime rampage. He used his sharp knife to end the lives of everyone in this poor family except for the baby. Fortuitously the baby woke to sounds which caused him to leave his crib and wander out of the house and up the hill into the nearby graveyard. The baby encounters a family of ghosts who have decided to protect the baby from the mysterious man, Jack, still looking for his last victim. After much debate, a ghost couple, Mr. and Mrs. Owens decide that because the baby has lost his entire family and because his deceased mother asked, they decided to care for the baby. Mrs. Owens decided to name the baby Nobody (Bod) Owens and another graveyard resident, Silas, decided that the baby needed another guardian and appointed himself as such to help with acquiring food. Silas lives somewhere between the living and the dead and can smoothly transition from one place to the other. It is decided that Nobody would have, Freedom of the Graveyard. This means that Nobody can see in the dark, walk through walls, eventually learn to Slip and Fade. Bods experiences in the graveyard are educational and adventurous. Bod is four when he is visited by a young girl, Scarlett, who lives in the neighborhood. Their friendship takes them on a journey to meet a scary Sleer guarding his valuables underneath a mausoleum. Bod is taught by Silas to read but soon Silas must take a journey and provides a substitute, Miss Lupesco. Bod is not interested in all of the monotonous work and horrible smelling food that she provides. Although Bod was reluctant, all of Miss Lupescos teachings paid off because Bod was able to escape the capture of creepy ghouls from Ghulheim. Throughout all of Bods adventures that take him in and out of the graveyard, he discovers that the man who killed his family, Jack Frost from the Jack of all Trades Society, is still after him. Bod makes this discovery with his long lost friend Scarlett and in the end the two run away into the graveyard as the five Jacks follow. Bod uses all of his teachings to entrap each of the Jacks and discovers why he was being targeted. In the end he loses his friendship with Scarlett who calls him a monster and loses his friend Miss Lupesco in a battle to protect Bod. Ultimately Bod learns that it was his fate to destroy the Jack of All Trades Society and he learns that he must leave the graveyard and his loved ones to live his life. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The GRAVEYARD BOOK has so many memorable characters but the protagonist of the story is Bod Owens. Children will identify with Bods curiosity and wonder. He asks all of his fellow graveyard residents incessant questions, many of which go unanswered until he is older. Bods character slowly grows older through each chapter and is a child who is not perfect but discovers that he is kind and brave. He also discovered that his many teachings within a very sheltered place have prepared him to eventually become independent and live in this vast world. Bods mother asks what he will do. He says, See the worldget into troubleget out of trouble againvisit jungles and volcanoes and deserts and islands. And people. I want to meet an awful lot of people.

The plot provides many mysteries that are fun for the reader to slowly discover, such as discovering that Silas could possibly be a vampire and that Miss Lupesco is actually a werewolf. Each chapter could stand on its own with its creative descriptions of different dimensions and beings. The setting takes place somewhere in contemporary England with only small hints such as Scarlett not being allowed to have a cell phone and using an LED light to guide her underground. There are many themes throughout the book such as good and evil. The opening sentence is about a murder however just a few scenes later the baby is accepted into a loving couples family, albeit a ghost family. There is also the theme of bravery running through the book as Bod revealed his bravery standing up to the Sleer as a young boy, then venturing out of the graveyard, and finally leaving the only family he ever knew to venture out into the world. The author is known for writing scary stories and this one is a great combination of spooky and spectacular. It is not too creepy to turn young readers away, once you get passed the initial murder, and will keep them entranced in a fanatical world full of marvel. Neil Gaiman writes to keep the reader on his toes and truly attend to subtle hints as well as vivid, bold imagery. REVIEW EXCERPTS NY Times While The Graveyard Book will entertain people of all ages, its especially a tale for children. Gaimans remarkable cemetery is a place that children more than anyone would want to visit. They would certainly want to look for Silas in his chapel, maybe climb down (if they were as brave as Bod) to the oldest burial chamber, or (if they were as reckless) search for the ghoul gate. Children will appreciate Bods occasional mistakes and bad manners, and relish his good acts and eventual great ones. The storys language and humor are sophisticated, but Gaiman respects his readers and trusts them to understand. Kirkus starred Wistful, witty, wiseand creepy. Gaimans riff on Kiplings Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his familys murder er, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending. Bod (short for Nobody) finds solace and safety with the inhabitants of the local graveyard, who grant him some of the privileges and powers of the deadhe can Fade and Dreamwalk, for instance, but still needs to eat and breathe. Episodic chapters tell miniature gems of stories (one has been nominated for a Locus Award) tracing Bods growth from a spoiled boy who runs away with the ghouls to a young man for whom the metaphor of setting out into the world becomes achingly real. Childhood fears take solid shape in the nursery-rhymeinspired villains, while heroism is its own, often bitter, reward. Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bods innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child. CONNECTIONS Gather other Neil Gaiman books: CORALINE. ISBN 9781408841754 M IS FOR MAGIC. ISBN 9780061972676 FRAGILE THINGS. ISBN 9780061848995

SMOKE AND MIRROR: SHORT FICTIONS AND ILLUSIONS. ISBN 9780755379972

Use to compare and contrast with Rudyard Kiplings THE JUNGLE BOOK. ISBN 9781495421082 Pair with a scary poetry book by J.T. Holden: TWILIGHT TALES: A COLLECTION OF CHILLING POEMS. ISBN 9781937696030