The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. 
Illustrated by Dave McKean.
HarperCollinsChildren. 2008.
ISBN 97800605300921.
$17.99. Hardcover. 320 pages.

Readers Annotation
When his parents are murdered, a baby boy wanders into a graveyard where he is adopted by Mister and Mistress Owens. Nobody “Bod” Owens grows up amongst the dead, protected by the Jack of All Trades who hunts him.

Plot Summary
Nobody “Bod” Owens grows up in a graveyard after his parents and sister are brutally murdered one night. Named Nobody because he looks like nobody but himself, Baby Bod escaped by wandering into the graveyard. His ghostly mother pleading for his life convinces Mistress Owens to adopt the youngster and raise him as her own. With the protection of the graveyard, and his guardian Silas, Bod grows up knowing few living people. Silas, neither living nor dead makes sure that Bod receives the food and clothing a living child needs. This denizens of the graveyard provide his early education, and eventually a living tutor is hired to educate Bod when Silas goes away. Miss Lepescu, his tutor, moonlights as a weredog, and is assigned as additional protection for him. There are many dangers in the graveyard for a young man, and Bod experiences most of them. He meets ghouls who take him across the underground desert to their secret city. It is Miss Lepescu who saves him. The dangers in Bod’s short lifetime seem never ending. Bod is thirteen years old when the Jacks of All Trades arrive at the graveyard. It is up to Bod and his friend Scarlett to find a way to destroy them all. Scarlett is one of the few living characters. She appears in the story when Bod is very young, and again when he is a teenager. The prophecy of the doom of the Jacks of all Trades now fulfilled Bod begins to lose his ability to see the ghosts. With Silas’ help, he leaves his home to make his way in the world of the living.

Critical Evaluation
The Graveyard Book won The John Newbery Medal in 2009. The book is a blend of several genres. Its blend of fantasy, horror and mystery makes this book an original. The cast of characters is both creepy and funny. The murderous Jacks of all Trades are creepy villains. However, I never understood just what their job description entailed. Bod’s guardian Silas, who is neither living nor dead, is never fully explained. Although he is his guardian, he is not affectionate. He sees to Bod’s earthly needs, but we are never privy to his reasoning. The Owens’s are the perfect adoptive parents for Bod, kind, loving and loyal, they died childless in the 1700s’. The ghostly characters are interesting because they cover a range of historic periods. Their opinions are always based on the knowledge from their living time periods. While the overarching theme of this story is the affirmation of life, it is masterfully told through the eyes of the dead. Gaiman has left the ending open for a sequel to take place. Although this book is written for younger teens, it is a good read for reluctant older teens.

Information about the author
Gaiman, born and raised in England currently resides new Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has won numerous awards for his work, including: the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, and Mythopoeic awards. You can find out more about him on his website at http://www.neilgaiman.com/, or on his blog at http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/blood-blood-in-unimaginable-quantities.html.

Genre
Fantasy, horror, mystery

Curriculum ties
None

Challenge Issues
None

Challenge defense ideas
There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book. You can find out more about this book on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Book-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060530928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258862647&sr=8-1

Booktalking Ideas
1. Discuss why Bod is adopted by the Owens’s.
2. Talk about his guardian Silas.

Reading Level/Age
Children and Young Adults. Ages 10 and up.

Why I included this title 
Although this book is written for younger children it has a timeless quality. It is also extremely well written, and it won many awards.

Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Jade Green.
Scholastic. 1999.
ISBN-13: 9780439934183
$6.99. Paperback. 170 pages.

Readers Annotation
Judith has been told by her uncle to never bring the color green into his house. Has she awoken some evil presence by her disobedience?

Plot Summary
Orphaned 15-year-old Judith Sparrow has been accepted into her Uncle Geoffrey’s home in South Carolina with only one restriction – never bring anything green into the house. However, Judith cannot bear to part with her mother’s picture set in a green silk frame. Judith does not know if her disobedience causes the sudden surge in unexplained activity, but she is frightened. Judith has heard the stories about Jade Green, a young lady that lived in the house before her. The townspeople she has become friends with tell her that Jade Green committed suicide in the home, and this is the reason her Uncle will not allow the color in the house. Judith’s middle-aged Cousin Charles refuses to find work. His presence makes Judith uncomfortable. When Judith meets a young man, Zeke, he begins to court her. Then, Judith sees a dismembered hand crawling around her room, and her fears escalate. She feels she must find out more about Jade Green, to discover the reason for her suicide. Judith discovers that it was her lecherous Cousin Charles who caused the death of Jade Green. When a drunken Charles attempts to assault Judith, it is the dismembered hand of Jade that takes her final revenge.

Critical Evaluation
The eye-catching cover of this novel shows an out of focus image of a young woman with her mouth opened in a scream.  The woman on the cover appears to be Asian, which is odd considering that this novel takes place in South Carolina.  Additionally, this novel is reminiscent of earlier period pieces. Naylor pulls from gothic romance novels to create a spine-tingling novel of betrayal, murder, and a vengeful ghost. Her character, Judith is spunky, and a little like Nancy Drew. Naylor’s literary prop, the severed hand of the dead Jade, is a somewhat trite. Readers of the genre may find its use tedious. I would not recommend this book as the best example of the genre. However, this book is a quick read, and may encourage some readers to look for other novels by the author.

Information about the author
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (b. 1/4/33 - ), has written over 135 books for children and young adults. She won the Newbury Award for her novel Shiloh. You can find out more about her at http://www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/mtai/naylor.html.

Genre
Fiction, Paranormal, Unexplained Phenomenon

Curriculum ties
None.

Challenge Issues
Paranormal events.

Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the book and its content.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Jade-Green-Phyllis-Reynolds-Naylor/dp/068982002X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258089257&sr=1-1
· Try to get reviews of the book from teens that have read it.

Booktalking Ideas
1.  Discuss how Judith is instructed to never bring anything green into the house by her Uncle Geoffrey.
2.  Talk about how Judith's disobedience may have triggered the paranormal events that occur in the house.
3.  Mention how the disembodied hand make itself known to Judith.

Reading Level/Age
Young Adult. 12 and over.

Why I included this title
This book is included in Teen Genreflecting, 2nd edition (2003), as an example of “Paranormal: Unexplained Phenomenon" (p. 133).

Kit's Wilderness by David Almond

Almond, David. Kit’s Wilderness.
Random House. 1999.
ISBN: 0440416051
$6.99. Paperback. 229 pages.


Readers Annotation
Askew and his friends liked to play the death game, but for Kit something real happened. He can see the children who died in the mines years ago.

Plot
When Kit Watson and his family move to Stoneygate, an English mining town, to take care of his widowed grandfather, Kit befriends several children from his new school. One of those friends is John Askew, a strange young man who identifies Kit as one of those who can “see” beyond the everyday. Drawn to John, Kit enters into the game of “death” with other children in an abandoned mine. Things go awry and John is expelled from school, but Kit begins to truly see the ghosts of the children who died in the mines. They call to him. Kit also discovers his love for storytelling, and begins to write the stories his grandfather tells him. Ultimately the stories Kit is seeing come to life on paper. When John Askew disappears, Kit begins to dream a story about an ancient boy, separated from his family with his baby sister. Kit knows that he must find John so he can save him for he has been told to do so by the ancient mother figure that claims John as her own. At the same time, Kit’s beloved grandfather is falling victim to dementia. Kit learns to trust his instincts and his visions in order to help his friend and his grandfather.

Critical Evaluation
In his books for children and young adults, author David Almond uses magical realism as his method for evoking fantasy. Magical realism takes events that are ordinary, and injects actions (or characters) that are almost too strange to be believed. In his novel Skellig, Almond borrowed liberally from the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story “The Old Man with Enormous Wings.” For this novel, Almond has taken a normal situation (extended family, and grandfather with dementia), and injected a ghost story that takes on mythical qualities. Ghostly children may be haunting Kit, or he could be having delusions in his grief over losing his beloved grandfather. While grandfather is attached to the past that Kit is seeing, he is not instrumental in its interplay with John Askew. Askew’s character seems to be unformed until he meets Kit. Kit’s participation in the death game sets the entire story into play. By returning Askew to his family Kit is given a reprieve to return to his own world. For both boys crossing the frozen river and fields is like returning from death across the River Styx. Both boys experience a kind of resurrection, enabling them both to move on from grief.

Information about the author
Almond offers some biographical information on his website here.

Genre
Fantasy, Paranormal, Unexplained Phenomenon, Magical Realism

Curriculum ties
None. However this book is a good example of the use of magical realism for a genre study.

Challenge Issues
Death, paranormal issues

Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the book and its contents.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Kits-Wilderness-David-Almond/dp/0385326653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257486691&sr=8-1
· Try to get reviews of the book from teens who have read it.

Booktalking Ideas
1.  Talk about Kit's close relationship with his grandfather. 
2.  Discuss how Kit is both attracted and repelled by John Askew.
3.  Talk about how Kit agrees to play the "death" game with the other children and Askew.
4.  Discuss how Kit experiences a profound shift in perception while playing the game. 

Reading Level/Age
Young Adult.  Ages 12 and up.

Why I included this title
This title was included in Teen Genreflecting, 2nd Edition (2003), as an example of a “Paranormal: Unexplained Phenomenon” book.