I couldn't resist blogging about a story that takes place in a graveyard on this Halloween day. A stalking killer, a murdered family, ghosts, darkness, a full moon, ghouls, and gravestones all await you if you choose to open to the first page of Nail Gaiman's Newbery Medal winning The Graveyard Book tonight.Each of these alone would make for a chilling tale but there's another twist here. A toddler has unknowingly escaped the man Jack killer in his home, making his way to an old graveyard during the night. Did you know the ghostly souls buried in a graveyard have 'lives' among the dead? Yes, in fact, the toddler, now the only survivor of his family's murder is taken under the wing of one such ghostly couple long buried in the graveyard. The couple give the toddler a name, Nobody (Bod for short), and tend to his needs as he grows up. Of course, Bod has other friends who visit the graveyard - people who are alive. Bod actually lives in both worlds - of the living and the dead. You can see this novel is of a very different sort than what you may be used to reading. Yet, the man Jack killer is still out there searching for the toddler who escaped his razor-sharp knife that fateful night.
Give it a try. Even on this Halloween. Better yet, listen to the author, Neil Gaiman, read it to you. He has a deep, haunting voice. He's waiting for you - HERE!!!
Kudos to Dave McKean, the illustrator of The Graveyard Book. Can you see the child's face in the gravestone on the cover? How clever of him!
Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm
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