The Graveyard Book

"The Graveyard Book is endlessly inventive, masterfully told and, like Bod himself, too clever to fit into only one place. This is a book for everyone. You will love it to death."

 -- Holly Black, co–creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles

Published by: HarperCollins copyright: 2008

The 2009 Newbery Medal winner :The Graveyard Book  by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, and published by HarperCollins Children's Books.

“A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose."

After the tragic death of his family by a man named Jack, Toddler, Nobody “Bod” Owens, escapes and seeks safety among the ghosts and ghouls of a nearby graveyard. After finding out that the Man named Jack is still out their looking for the escaped toddler, the residents of the graveyard promise to raise and protect him. Bod is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens and looked after by his guardian Silas. Throughout the book Bod learns valuable lessons of how to live in the world of the dead and the world of the living. Bod listens to tales of life long ago and makes priceless friendships with the spirits of the graveyard. We go along the journey with Bod as he explores the wonders of life, death, friendship, family and what it means to grow up. 

Reading level: 5/6 Lexil: 820L

Suggested Delivery: Independent read or small group read

Vocabulary: Oblige, gargantuan, zenith, antagonize, quarry, mausoleum, consternation, tangible, brooch, convocation, surreal, palpable, enormous, alter, tentatively, triumphantly, mercy, welling, debris, amphitheater, obelisk, inhabitants, gratitude, enthusiasm, historians, scrutinized, perplexed, immutable

Electronic Resources:

 http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx Listen to Neil Gaiman read the graveyard book aloud chapter by chapter and answer questions. Great to introduce the author to the students and watch and listen to him read his own work. Great for an after reading activity or a during reading activity.  

http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/The+Graveyard+Book/ the author’s website gives information about him and all of his work. There is also frequently asked questions and information about tour dates. Great for before reading, getting to know the author and an after reading for any questions or information on his other work.

http://www.enotes.com/the-graveyard-book Summaries of the book and the chapters. During reading to help with what happened if there is confusion.

Activities to Increase Comprehension:

Before reading: Go over the vocabulary words that might be difficult for the students. This will get them prepared for the words that they might struggle with and it might give them glimpse of the reading before they start.

During reading: going over the vocabulary even when they are reading will help them learn how to look up words that they don’t know when they are reading and possibly use context clues to figure out the meaning of the words. Another activity to do during reading would be to have the students put together a character map of all the characters, who they are and a little bit about them. There are a lot of characters in this book and the students might get confused, having them organize the character will help them follow all the characters.

After reading:  Using questions can enhance the students understanding of the book. Some questions can be found at… http://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm?book_number=2184

Additional Resources:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UUVwTaemk - watch a preview of the book