The Graveyard Book

Bibliographic Information (APA): Gaiman, Neil. (2008). The Graveyard Book. Illus. Illustrator Chris Riddell. London, England: Bloomsbury.

Brief Annotation: This is a novel about a boy named Nobody Owens, "Bod" for short, that finds himself orphaned as a toddler. He wanders into a graveyard and the graveyard inhabitants take him under their wings and raise him.

Genre: Children's Fantasy

Grade Level: 5th- 8th grade

Readers who will like this: Many children will like this but it is not for the faint of heart. It does involve murder and ghosts.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4; This book had a slow start but when you get almost halfway through the plot quickens and becomes much more interesting. Bod is a quiet little guy that is very inquisitive. He meets many of the graveyard inhabitants and learns a lot from them. It does have some scary parts so it is definitely for older children.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever wished you could talk to ghosts?

Reading Strategies Connection:

Reading Logs:

This book could be used as a read aloud in the classroom. After each read aloud the children should write into a reading log. This can be a spiral notebook titled with the name of the book or white paper stapled together. Each page would be titled whatever the children think fits. They will write their thoughts and reactions to what they just heard in the book. The teacher can also assign a specific topic to write about in the logs. The teacher will monitor the logs to check for comprehension. It is a great way to get the children thinking and writing.