| View Larger Image | The Graveyard Book | Hardcoverby Neil Gaiman (Author), Dave Mckean (Illustrator)
| List Price: | $17.99 | | Price: | $10.52 | | You Save: | $7.47 (42%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | HarperCollins | | Edition: | Later Printingth Edition | | Page Count: | 320 Pages | | Publication Date: | October 01, 2008 | | Sales Rank: | 339th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780060530921
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . . Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages. |
Amazon.com Review
In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack” --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard's ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody ("Bod"), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod's progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond. (ages 10 and up) -–Heidi Broadhead |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 332 reviews)
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Wonderful Gaiman by Amy E. Galante (Waltham, MA)  5 Stars
November 28, 2009
I adored the audio book version of Neil Gaiman's 'The Graveyard Book.' I always love listening to Gaiman read his works. When I read his books, I often hear his voice in my head.
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Excellent story; told well... by Dr. A. Mckinnon (Scotland) 5 Stars
November 25, 2009
So this is a fantastic book - bit dark at the beginning for anyone (in my family) under 10 years old...
So refreshing in this "Twilight" grunted/stunted new world order...
BUT - if we can comprehend transitioning from the world of the living to the dead WHY OH WHY do we have to endure such ridiculous restrictive practices of Kindle/Audible/Publisher Shi£e where I can a) buy the book; b) buy the audible book (an amazon company) on Audible - excellent service and can listen to it on my ipod/computer - but cannot listen to it on my Kindle - NOR can I purchase the book on my Kindle in the UK - I give this nonsense around another 2 years max before the publishers and the public see sense... Piracy is not the answer - lots of people are driven that way for ease of use... I want to pay my contribution for the different formats - but you are not allowing me - this is crazy!
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The Dark Adventures of Nobody Owens by Ismail Elshareef (West Hollywood, CA United States)  4 Stars
November 25, 2009
Nobody, or Bod, Owens was a toddler when he first entered the graveyard. He tottered up the hill from his house while his parents were being silently murdered by "the man Jack" who is known to be a meticulous and a perfectionist assassin.
Bod is taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a married couple in a ghost form who have lived many, many years ago and have always wanted a son. They adopted the boy and gave him the name "Nobody" because he "looks like nobody but himself."
Bod's newfound otherworldly family grew to include what Megan Honik of the New York Public Library calls "a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own."
Bod grows up in the graveyard with special privileges and responsibilities. He can see and hear what his ghostly family sees and hears. He can make himself "fade" and he becomes a guardian of the graveyard. He is also instructed not to venture into some parts of the graveyard, but thankfully he disobeys those orders and in turn giving us [the readers] the most thrilling macabre adventures where the Duke of Westminster, the Emperor of China and the 33rd President of the United States (Harry Truman's name is never mentioned) are hideous ghouls hungry for Bod's flesh.
As a teen, Bod comes face to face with his parents' murderer as the final events unravel into a bittersweet ending.
Although not as good as "American Gods", and nothing really is, this book is wonderfully entertaining and the darkest coming-of-age story I've ever read. As a 34-year-old adult, I gotta say I enjoyed it immensely. It was hard to say good-bye to Bod at the end, but his story was so imaginative and enriching I was thankful to be taken on such a wonderful ride to begin with.
Another Gaiman classic for sure! Read it.
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Not happy by Kelly A. Porpiglia  1 Stars
November 25, 2009
I still have not gotten my purchase. I am very disappointed. It was supposed to be here between October 25 and November 13 and I still have not received it or an explanation.
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Exactly what you were hoping for by P. Parks 5 Stars
November 23, 2009
The Graveyard Book is one of the most creative books I've ever read. I teach 5th grade and have read it to my past two classes and they were enthralled. If you teach, you'll want to discuss often to make sure they are visualizing the text accordingly and that they comprehend the plot and also have them keep track of their inferences (we wrote clues about Jack and Silas throughout). The only place where I personally felt the novel to be lacking was in Bod's character. He seemed to lack emotion (maybe purposefully) and depth, but even so, the reader will not be disappointed with the book. An excellent read for kids and adults alike. Neil Gaiman may be a genius.
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