Throw in some rats, bees, and buttons, and voila! Instant success. He took the old Alice in Wonderland trope which adult authors naturally gravitate to on their first tries (see: Un Lun Dun, Summerland, The King in the Window, etc.). ![]() Gaiman appeared to be finding his sealegs with Coraline. But it was very much (new category alert) an adult-author-to-children's-author-first-timer-title. WAIT! Come back, come back, I didn't mean it! Well, maybe I did a tad. Come close now, I don't want to speak too loudly. Gaiman's previous foray into middle grade children's literature. Can I level with you? You know Coraline? Mr. And what's more, Bod must come to grips with what it means to grow up. Yet as Bod grows older it becomes clear that hiding may not be the best way to confront his enemies. The man (or is it "men"?) who killed his family could come back for him. As he grows older, Bod learns the secrets of the graveyard, though he has to be careful. Saved and protected by the denizens of that particular abode (the ghosts and the far more corporeal if mysterious Silas), the little boy is called Bod, short for Nobody because no one knows his name. The man Jack was one of the best, maybe THE best, and how hard is it to kill a toddler anyway? But on that particular night the little boy went for a midnight toddle out the front door while the murderer was busy and straight into the nearby graveyard. Smart and focused, touching and wry, it takes the story of a boy raised by ghosts and extends it beyond the restrictive borders of the setting. And The Graveyard Book is one of the most emotionally honest books I've yet to have read this year. It just has to be emotionally honest with the reader. Great writing doesn't have to transcend its genre. All that aside, generally I'll read a May Bird book or an Everlost title and they'll be fun examinations of the hereafter, but not the kind of things that touch my heart. But I've certainly seen a distinct rise in the Gothic and otherworldly over the last few years, and one wonders if it's because kids want more of that kind of stuff or publishers are merely getting less squeamish. Is the violence of the world today trickling down into our entertainment? Hogwash and poppycock and other words of scoff and denial, says sober I. Sometimes when I've had a glass or two of wine and I'm in a contemplative mood I try weaving together a postulation that ties the current love of violent movies into this rise in children's literary darkness. I've noticed that there's been an increased interest in the macabre in children's literature lately. Mir UPDATE Jan 26, 2009: This book just won Gaiman the prestigious Newbery Medal! If you enjoyed the award-winning CORALINE, you're in for a treat. So, the fault may lie more with my impatience to read. Though, honestly, I was so wrapped up in the tale, I didn't give them that much of a lingering look. Gaiman, but several of the illustrations just left me unimpressed. I normally really enjoy McKean's partnering with Mr. ![]() I should add that there are illustrations scattered throughout, however, I'm not a particular fan of all the included art. Gaiman has planned another or several more novels with this character, but I can say that I would very much like to read more on Nobody and Silas. It feels complete, yes, but I so want to see more written on Nobody Owens. The bittersweet-but natural and fitting- ending made me sad as I closed the book. If you don't figure it out pretty well in advance, you werent' paying attention. It's a well-crafted ending that is inevitable given all Nobody's learned as the story progressed. (His particular fantasy niche, while never said specifically in so many words is, nevertheless, no great riddle.) The near-end brings Nobody into confrontation with the horrible killer, and Nobody comes into his own, but it costs him. It would have been a terrific short story-that strange, strange day-but it worked wonderfully in the tale, showing us clearly a thing or two about Nobody and his mysterious, powerful Guardian, Silas. ![]() I have to give props to Gaiman for the total magic that he infused into the chapter on the Danse Macabre. There's so much to recommend in the story (and my fellow reviewers cover plenty, so I need not repeat it), but I agree that the trip into the world of the ghouls was a wild ride. ![]() It's just such fun to see him learn ghostly ways and interact with humans and nonhumans. Every adventure as he grows from toddler to teenager mixes wonders and frights and humor. The story of Nobody Owens-his adopted name, as this is a wee human child spared the murderous spree of a dreadful assasin, then taken in by a cemetery full of ghosts from assorted centuries, and guarded by them because the assasin has not given up the quest to kill him-is unputdownable. It kept me up 'til 7 in the morning yesterday, and I do not regret it a bit.
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