Bibliographic Information:
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper Collins, 2008.
Plot Description: After crawling away from the home his family was murdered in and into a graveyard one night, a baby is adopted by the council of supernatural beings that inhabit the place. Neil Gaiman’s funny and adventurous story of his upbringing includes a familiar variety of creatures who mentor him in one way or another, and the murderer who is still searching for him to finish the family job. Nobody Owens, as they name him, has total freedom in the graveyard, but he is still a human and must learn to embrace the human world as he grows up.
Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile 820; GL 5.4
Qualitative Reading Analysis: The story unfolds chronologically from the scene of the family’s murder and maintains a third person omniscient point of view. Each chapter is a story within itself, separated by a couple of years in the boy’s life as he grows up. The language is far more complicated however, often with vocabulary unfamiliar to a middle or even high school student and sentences that regularly contain subordinate phrases and clauses. There are allusions to other works, notably The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. As a fantasy story, no life experiences are necessary to enjoy the story, but there are deeper levels of meaning in some of the characters’ exchanges, such as the decision to raise the boy as a village (i.e. graveyard council), and the regard for death as “the ultimate democracy.”
Content Area: English Language Arts
Content Area Standard(s):
CCSS for Reading Literature, Grade 8: 2) Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text; 3) Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision; 4) Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts
Curriculum Suggestions: Of course Neil Gaiman’s books are always great independent reading recommendations for students who enjoy paranormal or fantasy literature. A middle school English class might also analyze the chapters in the text that allude to other works like The Jungle Book.
Supporting Digital Content: Neil Gaiman reading from the book http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx
Awards: Carnegie Medal 2008; Newbury Medal 2008; Hugo (sci-fi) award
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