Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Graveyard Book



Annotation: The story of an orphaned toddler raised by ghosts in a graveyard and his adventures dodging threats from both the world of the living and of the dead.



Book Talk:
Bod, a boy very much alive, was raised by ghosts in a graveyard. And that is the least scary thing in this book.

People want to forget the impossible. It makes their world safer.”

As a toddler, Bod narrowly escaped when the man Jack murdered the rest of his family. When he toddled helplessly into their midst, the ghost community decided to grant Bod “The Freedom of the Graveyard.” Between his ghost foster parents, a teacher, a tutor and the sinister, yet reliable, graveyard caretaker, Bod’s basic human needs are surprisingly well taken care of and he even begins to learn skills usually reserved exclusively for the dead. But that doesn’t mean his safety is assured; there is no shortage of danger to beware in the graveyard, like portals, ghouls and a restless old witch! And the world of the living isn’t much safer for Bod, filled as it is with potential enemies, like schoolyard bullies and greedy old men who have no objections at all to harming children!

Living among ghosts in the graveyard also makes it difficult to find friends, but when Bod meets Scarlett, they get on very well. Unfortunately, her mother disapproves of their friendship and, convincing Scarlett that Bod is in fact an imaginary friend, she whisks her away to Scotland, though not before she and Bod learn of the mysterious Sleer.

Meanwhile, Bod’s old enemy, the man Jack, has never stopped hunting for him. Will an opportunity to explore his past bring Bod closer to safety or to danger? Can the community of the graveyard from the world of the dead protect Bod forever from forces in the world of the living that threaten his mortal life? And just who or what exactly occupies the oldest grave of all?



Listen to author Neil Gaiman narrate this Graveyard Book Trailer!
"The Graveyard Book Trailer Narrated by Neil Gaiman" Online Posting. YouTube, 10 October 2008. Web. 29 November 2011.

Awards:
  • ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2009
  • ALA Notable Children’s Book 2009
  • Audie Winner, Children’s Titles for Ages up to 8 2009
  • Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009
  • Carnegie Medal 2010
  • Cybils Award 2008
  • Horn Book Fanfare Best Book 2008
  • Hugo Award 2009
  • Indies Choice Book Award- Young Adult Fiction 2009
  • Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book 2009
  • Newberry Award 2009
  • SF Site Editor’s Choice 2008
  • SF Site Reader’s Choice 2009
  • Time Magazine Best Books of the Year 2008

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper, 2008. Print.

Image courtesy of http://www.goodreads.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment