Neil Gaiman’s novel The Graveyard Book tells the story of a little boy named Nobody Owens, or “Bod” for short, who was not raised under normal circumstances. After wandering from his crib in the middle of the night as a baby, he unknowingly escapes from a murderer in his house. The murderer is still on the loose throughout the course of the novel, and he is in search of Bod. While he is growing up, he is raised in a graveyard by ghosts who educate him on how to protect himself from the man who is out to kill him. You may be thinking by this point: why would anyone consider this to be a children’s book? Surprisingly enough, the book is an amazing story for young readers! Bod demonstrates courage throughout the novel, never allowing the man who wants to kill him to succeed with the job. The book’s Lexile reading level is 820L, and it is recommended to be read by students in higher grades like fourth and fifth grade. In my classroom, I would want students to form book groups to read the novel. I would want each student in the group to have a job to do with the book, and each group would get to engage in their own discussions about what they think. I would also want the students to analyze how Gaiman appeals to his reader’s senses through his strategic use of imagery.
