The+Graveyard+Book

**Summary/Review**
In this ingenious and captivating reimagining of Rudyard Kipling’s classic adventure //The Jungle Book//, Neil Gaiman tells the unforgettable story of Nobody Owens, a living, breathing boy whose home is a graveyard... Bod experiences things most mortals can barely imagine. But real, flesh-and-blood danger waits just outside the cemetery walls: the man who murdered the infant Bod’s family will not rest until he finds Nobody Owens and finishes the job he began many years ago. [1] While “The Graveyard Book” will entertain people of all ages, it’s especially a tale for children. Gaiman’s remarkable cemetery is a place that children more than anyone would want to visit...Children will appreciate Bod’s occasional mistakes and bad manners, and relish his good acts and eventual great ones. The story’s language and humor are sophisticated, but Gaiman respects his readers and trusts them to understand. [2] Caution: Due to the violent nature of the murders that occur at the beginning of the story teachers should carefully consider the age and maturity of the classroom in which they might plan to use this book.

**Author Bio.**
Bestselling author Neil Gaiman has long been one of the top writers in modern comics, as well as writing books for readers of all ages. He is listed in the //Dictionary of Literary Biography // as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. Gaiman's first book for children, //The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish //, illustrated by Dave McKean, came out in May 1997, was listed by //Newsweek // as one of the best children's books of the year, and was reissued to acclaim by HarperCollins in 2003. His children's novel //Coraline //, published in 2002, was also a //New York Times // and international bestseller and an enormous critical success; it won the Elizabeth Burr/ Worzalla, the BSFA, the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Bram Stoker awards. Director Henry Selick made the film "Coraline”, with music provided by the band They Might Be Giants. In 2003 //The Wolves in the Walls //, illustrated by his longtime collaborator Dave McKean, was published, and it was named by the //New York Times //as one of the best illustrated books of the year. It is currently being made into an opera by the Scottish National Theatre. Gaiman's official website, __[|www.neilgaiman.com] __, now has more than one million unique visitors each month, and his online journal is syndicated to thousands of blog readers every day. Born and raised in England, Neil Gaiman now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota. [3]

** Other Works **
//Odd and the Frost Giants// [4], //Coraline, Coraline Graphic Novel, Coraline: Movie Tie-In, Coraline: The Movie Collector's Edition, Coraline Movie Tie-In Unabridged Cd, Coraline: A Visual Compantion, Instructions, Blueberry Girl, Crazy Hair, The Dangerous Alphabet, Star Dust Movie Tie-In, Interworld, Mirrormask, M is for Magic, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls, The Neil Gaimen Audio Collection Unabridged CD.// http://www.mousecircus.com/

**Awards**
Newbery Medal, Carnegie Medal, Hugo Award, Locus Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book, Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book, Audiobook of the Year, ALA Notable Children's Book, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, ALA Booklist Editors' Choice, Horn Book Fanfare, Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book, Time Magazine Top Ten Fiction, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice, New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont) [5]

**Historical Context**
//The Graveyard Book// was published in September of 2008. It was Gaiman's first full-length children's novel after //Coraline//. It is the first novel to win both the Carnegie and Newbery medals. [6]

**Themes**
Death, life, family, learning, fear, adventure, mystery, fantasy

**Links**
[][1] [][2] [|www.neilgaiman.com/p/About_Neil/Biography] [3] http://kidculture.wikispaces.com/Odd+and+the+Frost+Giants [4] [] [5] [] [6]