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Readers > Talk it Up! > Discussion guides > 2011 Oregon Reader's Choice Award Nominees > The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Discussion guide written by Andrea Milano.

Summary

Nobody Owens escaped death at a very young age, but it looms everpresent in his life. Everyman Jack is out to find him, and when he does, he'll kill him. Luckily for Nobody, he toddled into a graveyard full of friendly, for the most part, ghosts, who agree to raise, protect and educate him within the safe confines of their world. His Guardian, who travels between both worlds knows what lies in store for Bod out beyond the cemetary gates - but he can't keep Bod within and safe forever. Winner of the 2009 Newbery Award.

Booktalk

A baby, a bloody knife, a graveyard and a man named Jack.

There once was a man called Jack. His mission: to kill an entire family. He was successful. Well almost. One very important family member got away. The most important one, who had just learned to walk, the baby.

That baby toddled himself up the hill to a graveyard where he was taken in by a lovely ghost couple: the Owens. His guardian, Silas, could walk among the living and the dead and protect the baby from harm, but only if the baby remained within the walls of the graveyard. They named the child Nobody. He was raised in the graveyard and trained in many of the necessities: haunting and fading and dream walking. He learned to read and recite poetry and even made a friend among the living who would never remember him. There were, of course, some not-so-pleasant things to learn about as well, such as the Sleer and the Ghouls and the unearthly things that could be released from the ghoul-gates.

Nobody loved his graveyard, but as he got older he longed to go to school and to meet children who were alive, not long dead like his friends at home. Nothing prepared him for what lay outside the graveyard, things that his Guardian could not protect him from.

Jack is still out there, closer than anyone can imagine, and he will stop at nothing to complete his task – to kill Nobody Owens.

307 pages, 5th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Does this book remind you of Coraline? If so, what are some of the similar elements?
  2. How do the various members of the graveyard contribute to Nobody's upbringing?
  3. How do Nobody's relationships with people who are alive affect his outlook on life?
  4. If you could learn to fade or to dreamwalk, which would you choose and why?
  5. What does Gaiman mean by "...death is the great democracy?" (pg. 29)
  6. If you are familiar with The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, compare it to The Graveyard Book.
  7. If you were Scarlett, would you rather remember your experiences with Bod, or forget them?
  8. What is the importance of Liza Hempstock in Bod's upbringing?

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Activities

Write your own epithet, make rubbings in charcoal or crayon.

Snacks

Pizza (if it's appropriate), chocolates, or apples.