The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
illustrated by Dave McKean

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Genre: Fantasy (Newberry Award Winner)

From the first few haunting lines of Gaiman's most recent novel, The Graveyard Book, you are hooked. Inspired by Mowgli's jungle adventures in Rudyard Kipling's classic, The Jungle Book, Gaiman creates a Newbery award winning tale of his own about a murderous and sinister man named Jack and his quest to murder an orphaned boy named Nobody. Living amongst tombstones, shadows and ghosts, Nobody is seemingly safe in his unusual graveyard home, until one day...

This book is a great read for the middle school student. I loved this book from the moment my eyes read the first words on the page. Gaiman immediately sweeps you into the action of the story and doesn't let go until the end. The plot of the story together with the illustrations would even appeal to the reluctant reader. Though a fantastical tale, the lessons Gaiman interweaves into Nobody's life are all powerful ones - fitting in (or not), making friends, courage, obeying rules and the value of education. This book comes strongly recommended as a staple on any teacher's bookshelf. It is a book that will find its place in a child's heart, and will live there like a ghost - forever.