« VOSS by David Ives | Main | CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER by James Swanson »
June 2, 2009
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
The 2009 NEWBERY AWARD WINNER is a great read. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman starts off with a gruesome murder. At 18 months of age Nobody Owens is the sole survivor of his family. Let’s just say Nobody, known by his friends as Bod, has a bizarre upbringing. Adopted by the dead and almost-dead residents of a graveyard, Bod learns unusual skills of survival. His surrogate parents and teachers are ghosts, ghouls and vampires. Under their protection and guidance Bod grows up to solve the mystery of his family’s death. He is also faced with the decision of having to choose to continue to live his life amongst the dead or the living.
Critics have compared The Graveyard Book to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and once that was brought to my attention it was fun to see how the characters line up. At times this book is dark and scary and at other times heart warming and fun. I found this book hard to put down and a must read. An added surprise of this novel is that it is skillful and eerily illustrated giving the start to each chapter a graveyard feel.
I WOULD RECOMMEND IT FOR GRADES 6 AND UP.
Mrs. Sayan
Young Adult Services
East Meadow Public Library
Posted by fjacksonem at June 2, 2009 4:53 PM