Neil Gaiman’s perennial favorite, The Graveyard Book, has sold more than one million copies and is the only novel to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal. Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ … antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.
Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?
The Graveyard Book is the winner of the Newbery Medal, the Carnegie Medal, the Hugo Award for best novel, the Locus Award for Young Adult novel, the American Bookseller Association’s “Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book,” a Horn Book Honor, and Audio Book of the Year. Don’t miss this modern classic—whether shared as a read-aloud or read independently, it’s sure to appeal to readers ages 8 and up.
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Absolutely wonderful read first, second and third time-however many times you read it. The story is interesting and dynamic.
I loved this book, especially listening to it read by the author. The characters were so wonderful.
This was definitely an interesting read, as always, Gaiman never disappoints! Not my favorite by him but we’ll worth the read!
Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors of all time. He writes brilliantly dark, insanely clever stories about alterna-worlds people with complicated anti-heroes and long-suffering regular people. This is a prime example of his storytelling. Categorized as a children’s book, it is still entirely Gaimanesque – it opens with a brutal, violent murder of (nearly) an entire family and the subsequent stalking by said murderer of the infant he left alive quite by accident. It is part graphic-novel, part bedtime story (if one enjoys going to bed but never actually falling asleep, that is), and pure genius. Gaiman’s words paint violent pictures that stick with you long after you finish reading them; the contrasting moments of touching care and concern are equally evocative and just as sticky. I guarantee you will never again walk through a graveyard quite the same way after reading it – and not in a bad way…
Best book ever
i love this book so fm.
This was a buddy ready read for me and my eleven-year-old son. Unfortunately, he bailed after a couple of chapters. It didn’t hook him, but it sure hooked me. I’m hoping he will come back to it at some point. I thought for sure that any book that starts with a murder, and then follows a young toddler into a graveyard would catch his attention, but for whatever reason it didn’t. But I read on . . .
I know Gaiman has revealed that he wrote “The Graveyard Book” as a re-imaging of Kipling’s The Jungle Book, but I found myself thinking more of Bradbury’s “Something Wicked this Way Came” and “From the Dust Returned”. It had the same moments of lyrical prose, imaginative characters, and great gothic storytelling. And as much as I admire Bradbury’s poetic style, I think Gaiman told a story that captured my interest more deeply.
The balance these books must find is daunting. They all dance with the surreal, the mystical, and with inventive and creative narrative. But the fact that Gaiman did it for middle-grade is so much more impressive. Waxing poetically without losing the story is pure artistry and I appreciate both Gaiman and Bradbury for their skills.
I’m still hoping my son will read this book, although our copied was ruined by a spill on the family-room coffee table (the book is cursed!). I’ll look for a replacement at our used bookstore and keep it nearby – hoping he will fall back into the story of a living boy, being raised by the dead and the undead. For if you can find friends and family among the ghosts and witches, you can find friends and family anywhere.
A fun read. A boy raised by a graveyard full of caring ghosts and whatnots. Neil Gaiman has an imagination and a half!
Most magical coming of age story I could never have imagined.
Nobody Owens (A.K.A. “Bod”) was just a baby when he came to live in the graveyard. His family is gone, but the ghosts that occupy the graveyard will supply a new one …
The Graveyard Book was one of the most original stories I have read recently. Gaiman developed the story well with a little bit of spookiness, and plenty of interesting ideas; ghoul-gate anyone? Little Bod has many adventures, and I often forgot I was reading a book due to being so involved in the tale.