Friday, February 11, 2011

Carnegie Award 2010: The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult- fiction
Age level: 9-12
Themes: Finding your true self, solving myseries
Synopsis: 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. 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.
About the author: Neil Gaiman was born November 10, 1960.  Though he originally thought he wrote comic books, a newspaper editor set him straight. In high school he wanted to have a career as a freelance journalist until his first graphic novel Violent Cases was published in England in 1987. In 1995, Gaiman brought The SandmanStardust, an adult fairy tale that has young Tristan Thorn searching for a fallen star to woo the lovely but cold Victoria Forester. to a close and began spending more time on his nongraphic fiction, including a couple of short-story collections. Gaiman need not worry about defining his artistic relevance, since so many other seem to do it for him. Stephen King, Roger Zelazny and Harlan Ellison are among those who have contributed introductions to his works.
Pre-reading activities: Have students flip through the book, looking at the pictures and make a master list on the board what immediately goes through the students' minds. Have them keep the pictures in mind since they will be doing another activity with the pictures.
Post-reading activities: Since there is a major emphasis on mood and dark vocabulary, have the students pick out vocabulary words that elicit the most emotion to the students. They will then turn to a picture they liked or were drawn to the most and using the vocabulary words, write sentences about the picture.
Reflection: This book has a big emphasis on ghouls and mystery, which is something I am really into. I think many students would like this book because of the mystery aspect and that it leaves them hanging on to find out more. The pictures throughout the book definitely added to the theme of the book of the mysterious and unknown and that there are missing pieces to be filled in.
Works cited:

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