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The Graveyard Book |
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by Neil Gaiman
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Book Summary |
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After his family is brutally murdered, a toddler escapes to a nearby graveyard, where he is taken in and raised by its ghostly inhabitants. Given the name Nobody Owens, or Bod, the boy grows up under the protection of the dead, guided by his mysterious guardian Silas.
As Bod learns the customs of the graveyard, he also begins to understand the dangers of the living world beyond its gates. Blending fantasy, humor, and darkness, The Graveyard Book is a powerful coming-of-age story about identity, belonging, and the courage it takes to face life. The Graveyard Book, a modern classic, is the only work ever to win both the Newbery (US) and Carnegie (UK) medals. Newbery Medal Hugo Award Locus Award Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book 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 Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Juvenile Fantasy Fiction - Age range 8+ |
Discussion Questions |
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1. From the opening lines, Gaiman hooks readers with a strong narrative voice and vivid setting. How do these elements shape the story?
2. Bod fits into traditions of both orphan stories and child-of-destiny tales. How does he embody each of these archetypes? 3. How does Gaiman challenge ideas of good and evil through characters such as Silas, Miss Lupescu, and Eliza Hempstock? 4. How do Dave McKean's illustrations influence your reading of the novel? 5. In what ways does The Graveyard Book echo Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book? 6. How does the theme of embracing the human experience resonate throughout the novel? 7. "Death is the great democracy." What does this mean, and how does the novel explore the relationship between the living and the dead? 8. How does the graveyard community function as a family in raising Bod? 9. How does Bod test the boundaries between the graveyard and the living world, and what are the consequences? 10. How do Bod's relationships with Scarlett and others shape his growth? 11. What do you think of Nehemiah Trot's advice about revenge? 12. How does The Graveyard Book compare to Coraline in tone and theme? 13. How does Gaiman successfully blend humor, horror, fantasy, and mystery in the novel? Discussion Questions by the publisher
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