The Graveyard Book

Locations
Call Number: R Newbery Medal 2009, Teen Fiction / Gaiman, Neil, Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil, Kids Book / Fiction / Spooky / Gaiman, Neil
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Reference 0-week checkout	R Newbery Medal 2009	0-week checkout	Library Use Only
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	Due 05-12-2024
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	Due 05-23-2024
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	Due 05-11-2024
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	Due 04-17-2024
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Spooky / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Spooky / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Spooky / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Spooky / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Spooky / Gaiman, Neil	4-week checkout	Due 05-20-2024

Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
School Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Ghosts & Growing Up submitted by marshd on June 27, 2011, 7:12pm A very cute take on growing up. The elements of fantasy and reality are blended so well, that sometimes you have to wonder if the story could be true. Though, at the same time, it leaves you with so many questions, that it's hard to tell exactly what happened.

Excellent book, somewhat scary submitted by cherylo on July 6, 2011, 8:17pm Described by the author himself as a kind of Jungle Book where ghosts in a graveyard raise a boy instead of animals in the jungle, this novel is sweet and wise and wonderful. I enjoyed it immensely, and I recommend it without hesitation for any fan of fantastic fiction. It does include some rather awful murders witnessed by the young protagonist, and other assorted horrors, so it may not be for younger children especially.

One of the best older kid books ever submitted by pk on July 7, 2011, 10:14pm Warning: the beginning of this book is rather scary and tells the tale of a murderer hunting down a family. It is not terribly graphic, though. There are several other scary parts as well, some supernatural/magic, some more human evil.

In many ways, this book is a charming tale of a boy growing up in a graveyard with little but ghosts for friends and adoptive parents. Gaiman spins a beautiful tale of the "life" of a graveyard that none of us ever see, the "life" of those that are neither dead nor living. Nobody Owens is in many ways a normal boy, and ultimately this tale is like so many others of growing up, learning who you are and what you want out of life. But there are mysterious people throughout the book, mysterious and scary forces, and hard choices Nobody makes. Plus the setting and characters make this like no other "coming of age" tale.

It can be quite scary and I would not recommend it for younger readers (best for 5th grade and up, perhaps). It can be confusing, too, since Gaiman does not spell everything out for you, but leads you around these mysterious characters and situations and leaves a lot to you to figure out. Plus some things are never explained. For some that can be frustrating, but for others that just adds to the charm. All readers need to be ready to do some deductive work or be able to talk it over with an adult.

Scary submitted by ljq on August 5, 2011, 10:06am I found it interesting that the Newbery Award for 2009 would be awarded to such a gory book, but it's not me who's giving out the award. I thought this book was defintely gory and rather horrific, but beneath the cloud of death, there definitely is a wonderful story below. It's rather clever in calling the boy Nobody Owens.

Really Good! submitted by edwardsrl on April 3, 2012, 8:53am Gaiman captured all readers eyes with this story of growing up, murder, and bravery.


Kirkus Review

ok submitted by watermelon on July 4, 2012, 6:45pm all in all, pretty good. not a huge fan of the ending or what becomes of scarlett, though.
about a kid raised by ghosts in a graveyard after the murder of his family when he was an infant.

Loved it submitted by Motomori on August 1, 2012, 2:43pm I loved this book. It was somewhat sad though at the end when he has to leave the graveyard forever but it was still a great book. One thing I wish that would happen is that Bod would kiss Scarlett because the seem the perfect couple. But all in all, it was the perfect book!

Awesome submitted by priestlr on June 16, 2013, 8:21pm Great book, I would have to describe the story as "The Jungle Book" mixed with "Forrest Gump" mixed with "The Nightmare Before Christmas".

Not as original as you might think submitted by ZackTheCardshark on June 18, 2013, 5:44pm Neil Gaiman is, of course, one of the greatest authors of all time. (Others include Diana Wynne Jones, Terry Pratchett, Diane Duane and Rick Riordan, though the latter is not so named because of his poorly executed Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.) But in this book of his, unlike in most of his brilliant work, Gaiman is found to be sorely lacking in the originality department.

Specifically, he has borrowed tremendously -- even egregiously -- from Eva Ibbotson.

I assume you've read her classics, such as "Dial-A-Ghost"? Or "The Haunting of Granite Falls"? "The Graveyard Book" is immensely similar in premise AND plot (and -- is it my imagination? -- style, even) to both of those Ibbotson books.

It's enough to make me wonder whether Ms. Ibbotson "ghostwrote" Mr. Gaiman's book!

Not to mention -- Gaiman's old friend Sir Terry Pratchett's book "Johnny and the Dead" is stunningly similar as well.

That said, this is an okay story. Probably worth your while to read it, though if you've read the aforementioned Ibbotson books you won't find much in the way of original ideas.

But Gaiman has a lot more talent than shows through in "The Graveyard Book."

Compelling Bildungsroman submitted by rwright on June 19, 2013, 4:47pm A moving bildungsroman that follows a boy growing up with ghostly foster parents and number of unique friends and mentors. The murder mystery angle is ominous but not graphic, and the ending satisfies. A solid middle grade tale that even adults will enjoy.

scary submitted by nicenora2371 on August 30, 2013, 10:22pm looks scary

Excellent submitted by ohheyitselle on June 24, 2015, 7:10pm This is one of my favorite books. It is absolutely phenomenal and the illustrations are incredible.

The Graveyard Book submitted by AprilCDB on August 31, 2015, 11:57am Love this book. It's a bit scary in parts but definitely engaging. I learned about the various spooks and undead from older folklore and enjoyed the journey through eyes of Nobody.

Scary, but interesting submitted by maforbes on June 23, 2017, 8:39am I thought the book was very good and scary at sometimes but it was still scary. IT WAS SOOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!

The Graveyard Book submitted by lstorc on August 6, 2018, 4:18am My favorite coming of age story by far

My favorite book this summer submitted by jayzwack on August 11, 2018, 9:36pm This was the first book I read this summer that I kept wanting to come back to outside of my normal reading times. A couple characters and sub-plots that weren't explained enough...maybe in the sequel.

Great book! submitted by T.Y. Cheng on August 31, 2018, 4:12pm This is a great book. It kept me reading, and there are many exciting plot twists!

SO GOOD submitted by lei01341 on June 18, 2019, 6:11pm this was awesome!!

Great submitted by ekrieger on July 4, 2019, 8:28pm This is a great book for teens (and adults!) who like the darker/spookier side of fiction. It's a pretty quick read and one you won't want to put down!

Scary but Good submitted by kathscot on July 10, 2019, 8:35pm Interesting stories that can stand alone or all together.

okay submitted by shivatavane on July 17, 2019, 10:07pm eil Gaiman is, of course, one of the greatest authors of all time. (Others include Diana Wynne Jones, Terry Pratchett, Diane Duane and Rick Riordan, though the latter is not so named because of his poorly executed Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.) But in this book of his, unlike in most of his brilliant work, Gaiman is found to be sorely lacking in the originality department.

Specifically, he has borrowed tremendously -- even egregiously -- from Eva Ibbotson.

I assume you've read her classics, such as "Dial-A-Ghost"? Or "The Haunting of Granite Falls"? "The Graveyard Book" is immensely similar in premise AND plot (and -- is it my imagination? -- style, even) to both of those Ibbotson books.

It's enough to make me wonder whether Ms. Ibbotson "ghostwrote" Mr. Gaiman's book!

Not to mention -- Gaiman's old friend Sir Terry Pratchett's book "Johnny and the Dead" is stunningly similar as well.

That said, this is an okay story. Probably worth your while to read it, though if you've read the aforementioned Ibbotson books you won't find much in the way of original ideas.

But Gaiman has a lot more talent than shows through in "The Graveyard Book."

Good book submitted by jasonc1177 on July 31, 2019, 7:53pm this book is great
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great book! submitted by gracebdo on August 18, 2019, 8:52pm I read this book as an adult and I couldn't put it down! it has a magical feeling of exploring the world of ghosts and cemetery just like when Harry Potter was exploring the world of magic. Would highly recommend!

The Graveyard Book submitted by SBNB on June 14, 2020, 8:59pm I picked up this book initially because I had been wanting to try out Neil Gaiman and I saw it had great reviews. This book didn’t disappoint! The book as a whole was not really suspenseful since most conflicts were resolved at the end of each chapter (like a collection of short stories), but the world and characters created kept drawing me back. It was an excellent read!

Fun for grownups, too! submitted by 21621031390949 on June 27, 2020, 12:50pm Very fun, amusing and wise page-turner for young readers.

Is submitted by nesma on July 27, 2020, 11:00pm It is book

a good book submitted by laurenalysse on August 19, 2020, 1:42pm I enjoyed this book as an adult.

The story was compelling and easy to read. I enjoyed the plot, and didn't find the story too gory or scary. There are ghosts, and murderers in the boo,k, but the ghosts are friendly and the murderers are often unsuccessful.

I like the book submitted by minivasan on June 20, 2021, 4:04pm Love it

Love love love it! submitted by graytabby on August 1, 2021, 10:25pm One of my fave horror books of all time.

Great read! submitted by delaflynn on July 2, 2022, 8:06am So glad we picked this book last Summer Game! I loved reading it to all the family. We really enjoyed it.

One of many greats from Gaiman submitted by journeyhawthorne on August 7, 2022, 11:24am This is a great book for older kids, teens, and adults alike. The concept is self-described as "the Jungle Book, but in a graveyard instead of the jungle," and it really exceeds this simple premise. A bit dark, but nothing unbearable, with fantastic characters including Nobody Owens (the main character) and Silas (whose identity as a vampire eluded me as both a child and an adult, until someone explicitly pointed it out to me).

A beautiful book submitted by Helengio on June 22, 2023, 9:50pm Dark but special and lovely.