The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is my favorite author, so plenty of his books will most likely find their way into my reviews.  And mostly they will be positive, if not glowing reviews, because I am quite impressed with Gaiman's style and creativity.

The Graveyard Book is his most recent publication, and, as you can see, it recently won the Newbery Award for excellence in children's literature.  

The book is the story of a boy, Nobody Owens, (Bod for short)who as a toddler managed to survive the brutal killing of his entire family, by wandering off into the night.  He comes upon a graveyard, and the spirits of the people who rest there decide to take care of him, to protect him from the world, and a man who wants him dead.  Instead of being one continuous narrative, the story is organized in a series of short stories, arranged chronologically.  

This is not one of Gaiman's best works.  That being said, it's still quite an amazing story, filled with Gaiman's unique blend of his own creativity and established mythology.  I'm all for books, especially for children, that draw from other literature, from other mythologies, from other cultures to build a new world.  You don't have to create your own universe to be creative, and Gaiman proves this over and over!  I especially like books that inspire children to see how fascinating the "real" world can be.  I just wish there were more stories about the young Bod.  Maybe Gaiman will one day continue describing Bod's saga to us!

I have to give Gaiman some extra props for structuring this book like Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

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