Product Description

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-01
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Amazon.com Review
In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack” --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard's ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody ("Bod"), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod's progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond. (ages 10 and up) -–Heidi Broadhead

From Bookmarks Magazine
Neil Gaiman's fantasies have entranced both younger readers and adults; this gothic fantasy, a coming-of-age story modeled after The Jungle Book and with slight nods to Harry Potter, will appeal to all ages. By juxtaposing the world of the dead with the world of the living, Gaiman creates a fantastical world where the thoughtful protagonist comes to understand the power of family as he experiences the fear, pains, confusions, and joys of growing up. Critics praised each illustrated chapter as its own little gem, with moments both tender and terrifying—and each equally exciting. The Graveyard Book is sure to become a book to last the ages.
Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

From Booklist
*Starred Review* While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages. Grades 6-10. --Holly Koelling

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Customer Reviews

Another outstanding book by Neil Gaiman
Most of the time I find it tedious when authors read their own work, Neil is a rare exception to the VERY skillful story teller AND performer. A GREAT book.

Passed it to my Teenage Daughter Right After Reading
Any praise for Gaiman's The Graveyard Book seems anticlimactic after its being awarded the prestigious Newberry Award, but I couldn't read this book without saying a few words about it on the offhand chance that one or more of my readers may have been hiding under a rock for the past few months. I passed this book up actually, the first time I saw it. It seemed like a book for younger audiences, and it is, but when I picked it up a month or so later (peer pressure's a serious bitch) I found it entertaining myself. It tells the story of Nobody Owens, a toddler who escapes to a graveyard when his family is murdered, and follows him up to his teenage years. He's raised by the ghosts who live in the cemetery and has a variety of adventures involving ghouls, a werewolf, a dead witch, a dance between the living and the dead and more. Most of the chapters in the middle of the book could be stand-alone short (and bedtime) stories. The end of the book, Nobody's confrontation with his family's killer, is over about as quick as it begins, and that's a bit jarring, but forgiveable because that's not what the book is supposed to be about anyhow. I passed The Graveyard Book on to my teenage daughter when I finished it, and I think I'd enjoy seeing this one as a movie, in the same vein as Coraline. 4.7/5

Wonderful book
I was horrified to see so many 1 and 2 star reviews on here for this book. It was one of the best things I have read in a long time. Is it dark? Yes. Does it treat us all like we have the intelligence of a nat and explain every little detail without leaving anything up to *gasp* imagination. No. Should you read it to your four year old? No.

However, I think it is a wonderful book for adults, and for older children too. I think that the people focused on the "violence" in the book are missing what it has to teach us and our kids about sacrifice, courage, and the fact that life is bittersweet. Everything doesn't always have a Disney ending, but that doesn't mean that we can't find happiness and fulfillment in the wonder, joy and yes, sad things, that we go through in life.