Book Review: The Graveyard Book
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this is mildly creepy with a bit
of violence, suspense, and threat, including a man who murders
a family and tries to murder a toddler and a teen boy and girl.
Families can talk about this book and
The Jungle Books, which the author says influenced him.
What are the similarities in plot and style? How are they
different? Do you know of any other "wild child" stories?
It may seem odd to say it, but this is a lovely book. Suspenseful, yes, and a bit creepy, but lovely nonetheless. Author Neil Gaiman has learned a thing or two since his entry into children's books. His acclaimed first novel, Coraline, was clever and technically proficient, but lacked heart, as did Stardust . This one has it in spades, and in the strangest places.
Gaiman begins with one of the great opening sentences ("There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife"), and quickly introduces a very relatable protagonist, a boy who grows from 18 months to 15 or so years, increasing his power and confidence but retaining the innocence of one who doesn't know the world. He gives him touching relationships with his ghostly parents and vampiric guardian, and though he has some scary adventures with ghouls and snake-like tomb guards, the graveyard world is never nearly as frightening as that of the living, especially to a boy who has been raised there. By adding a bit of heart and soul to his already brilliant writing, Gaiman has raised his game considerably.
It may seem odd to say it, but this is a lovely book. Suspenseful, yes, and a bit creepy, but lovely nonetheless. Author Neil Gaiman has learned a thing or two since his entry into children's books. His acclaimed first novel, Coraline was clever and technically proficient, but lacked heart, as did Stardust. This one has it in spades, and in the strangest places.
Gaiman begins with one of the great opening sentences ("There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife"), and quickly introduces a very relatable protagonist, a boy who grows from 18 months to 15 or so years, increasing his power and confidence but retaining the innocence of one who doesn't know the world. He gives him touching relationships with his ghostly parents and vampiric guardian, and though he has some scary adventures with ghouls and snake-like tomb guards, the graveyard world is never nearly as frightening as that of the living, especially to a boy who has been raised there. By adding a bit of heart and soul to his already brilliant writing, Gaiman has raised his game considerably.
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