The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (Illustrator), Margaret Atwood (Foreword by)

Overview

The 10th anniversary edition of The Graveyard Book includes a foreword by Margaret Atwood as well as sketches from the illustrator, handwritten drafts, and Neil Gaiman’s Newbery acceptance speech.

IT TAKES A GRAVEYARD TO RAISE A CHILD.

Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family.

The Graveyard Book, a modern classic, is the only work ever to win both the Newbery (US) and Carnegie (UK) medals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060530945
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/24/2018
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	4,814
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	820L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for children and adults whose award-winning titles include Norse Mythology, American Gods, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), Coraline, and The Sandman graphic novels. Neil Gaiman is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR and Professor in the Arts at Bard College.

Dave McKean is best known for his work on Neil Gaiman's Sandman series of graphic novels and for his CD covers for musicians from Tori Amos to Alice Cooper. He also illustrated Neil Gaiman's picture books The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls, and Crazy Hair. He is a cult figure in the comic book world, and is also a photographer.

Margaret Atwood, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. In addition to The Handmaid’s Tale, now an award-winning TV series, her novels include Cat’s Eye, short-listed for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; The MaddAddam Trilogy; The Heart Goes Last; and Hag-Seed. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in Great Britain for services to literature and her novel The Testaments won the Booker Prize and was longlisted for The Giller Prize. She lives in Toronto.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

November 10, 1960

Place of Birth:

Portchester, England

Education:

Attended Ardingly College Junior School, 1970-74, and Whitgift School, 1974-77

Website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com

What People are Saying About This

Laurell K. Hamilton

“After finishing The Graveyard Book, I had only one thought — I hope there’s more. I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens, and there is no higher praise for a book.”

Audrey Niffenegger

“It takes a graveyard to raise a child. My favorite thing about this book was watching Bod grow up in his fine crumbly graveyard with his dead and living friends. The Graveyard Book is another surprising and terrific book from Neil Gaiman.”

Diana Wynne Jones

“This is, quite frankly, the best book Neil Gaiman has ever written. How he has managed to combine fascinating, friendly, frightening and fearsome in one fantasy I shall never know, but he has pulled it off magnificently - perfect for Halloween and any other time of the year.”

Joe Hill

The Graveyard Book is everything everyone loves about Neil Gaiman, only multiplied many times over, a novel that showcases his effortless feel for narrative, his flawless instincts for suspense, and above all, his dark, almost silky sense of humor.

Garth Nix

“I wish my younger self could have had the opportunity to read and re-read this wonderful book, and my older self wishes that I had written it.”

James Herbert

“The Graveyard Book confirms what I’ve always thought: Neil Gaiman is a literary genius!”

Holly Black

“The Graveyard Book is endlessly inventive, masterfully told and, like Bod himself, too clever to fit into only one place. This is a book for everyone. You will love it to death.”

Peter S. Beagle

“The Graveyard Book manages the remarkable feat of playing delightful jazz riffs on Kipling’s classic Jungle Books. One might call this book a small jewel, but in fact it’s much bigger within than it looks from the outside.”

Editorial Reviews

This is, quite frankly, the best book Neil Gaiman has ever written. How he has managed to combine fascinating, friendly, frightening and fearsome in one fantasy I shall never know, but he has pulled it off magnificently - perfect for Halloween and any other time of the year.

Diana Wynne Jones

This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal.

Booklist (starred review)

I wish my younger self could have had the opportunity to read and re-read this wonderful book, and my older self wishes that I had written it.

Garth Nix

Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.

Washington Post

It takes a graveyard to raise a child. My favorite thing about this book was watching Bod grow up in his fine crumbly graveyard with his dead and living friends. The Graveyard Book is another surprising and terrific book from Neil Gaiman.

Audrey Niffenegger

The Graveyard Book is endlessly inventive, masterfully told and, like Bod himself, too clever to fit into only one place. This is a book for everyone. You will love it to death.

Holly Black

The Graveyard Book, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment.

New York Times Book Review

Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.

Horn Book (starred review)

After finishing The Graveyard Book, I had only one thought — I hope there’s more. I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens, and there is no higher praise for a book.

Laurell K. Hamilton

Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.

Washington Post

The Graveyard Book manages the remarkable feat of playing delightful jazz riffs on Kipling’s classic Jungle Books. One might call this book a small jewel, but in fact it’s much bigger within than it looks from the outside.

Peter S. Beagle

After finishing The Graveyard Book, I had only one thought — I hope there’s more. I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens, and there is no higher praise for a book.

Laurell K. Hamilton

The Graveyard Book, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment.” — New York Times Book Review

“Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.” — Washington Post

“The Graveyard Book feels like the careful work of an old craftsman.” — Newsday

“The invention of immortal folk who readers feel they might like to kick back with may be this prolific, tousle-haired, ex-pat British author’s contribution to world literature.” — National Public Radio

“It’s hard to think of a more delightful and scary place to spend 300 pages.” — The Guardian

“This brief, dark, savoury adventure deserves to become a modern classic of children’s writing: it has more mystery, excitement and wisdom in a single chapter than all the soap-operatic dilemmas, empty acrobatics and moral dogmatism in those thousands of pages of Potter franchise.” — The Independent

“Wistful, witty, wise—and creepy. This needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Genuinely frightening.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The Graveyard Book is everything everyone loves about Neil Gaiman, only multiplied many times over, a novel that showcases his effortless feel for narrative, his flawless instincts for suspense, and above all, his dark, almost silky sense of humor. — Joe Hill, author of Heart-Shaped Box

“I wish my younger self could have had the opportunity to read and re-read this wonderful book, and my older self wishes that I had written it.” — Garth Nix, author of The Abhorsen Trilogy

“The Graveyard Book confirms what I’ve always thought: Neil Gaiman is a literary genius!” — James Herbert, author of THE SECRET OF CRICKLEY HALL

“The Graveyard Book is endlessly inventive, masterfully told and, like Bod himself, too clever to fit into only one place. This is a book for everyone. You will love it to death.” — Holly Black, co–creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles

From the Publisher

The Graveyard Book is everything everyone loves about Neil Gaiman, only multiplied many times over, a novel that showcases his effortless feel for narrative, his flawless instincts for suspense, and above all, his dark, almost silky sense of humor.

Joe Hill

The invention of immortal folk who readers feel they might like to kick back with may be this prolific, tousle-haired, ex-pat British author’s contribution to world literature.

National Public Radio

The Graveyard Book feels like the careful work of an old craftsman.

Newsday

It’s hard to think of a more delightful and scary place to spend 300 pages.

The Guardian

This brief, dark, savoury adventure deserves to become a modern classic of children’s writing: it has more mystery, excitement and wisdom in a single chapter than all the soap-operatic dilemmas, empty acrobatics and moral dogmatism in those thousands of pages of Potter franchise.

The Independent

The Graveyard Book confirms what I’ve always thought: Neil Gaiman is a literary genius!

James Herbert

The invention of immortal folk who readers feel they might like to kick back with may be this prolific, tousle-haired, ex-pat British author’s contribution to world literature.

National Public Radio

This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal.

Booklist (starred review)

Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.

Horn Book (starred review)

"Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished."

Horn Book

"This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal. "

Booklist