The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, N.  (2008).  The graveyard book.  New York:  HarperCollinsk Publishers.

After his family is murdered, Nobody ‘Bod’ Owens is adopted by the residents that live in a graveyard that is a nature preserve.  Over the years, the ghosts and other mythical beings of the graveyard help him grow and educate him about their world.  And though he’s told not to leave the graveyard, the few times that he does puts him in grave danger, especially when he comes across Jack, the murderer of his family that wishes to continue where he left off.  After Bod is able to defeat the Jacks, he begins to lose his ability to talk to the dead, among other things, and is told that it is time for him to live experience life.  Dave McKean’s illustrations are fitting, with eerie sketches that represent the setting and how solitary Bod is living in the graveyard.  And though Bod is raised in an unconventional manner (an allusion of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book), this is still a coming of age story that has Bod leaving the comfort of his home once there is no more to teach him.  Bod’s character will also have audiences sympathize with him as he learns the truth about his family and tries to find his place outside the graveyard, but fails at every attempt (being friends with Scarlett and going to school).  The themes of death and loss of innocence make this a secondary grade book, but is also promotes motifs of friendship and family.   This is a 2009 Newbery Medal Winner.