Teenage Prize Reading Guide - Neil Gaiman
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8/14/2019 Teenage Prize Reading Guide - Neil Gaiman
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The Reading AgencyReading Guide to:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
This great guide will help you present a title to a reading group. There are ideas to
trigger in-depth discussion and information about some exciting online resources.
There are six guides in total, one for each of the 2009 shortlisted titles.
[cover image here] Title:The Graveyard Book
Format [eg: pb/hb]: hb
Pgs: 304
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Price: 12.99
ISBN: 69978-0747569015
About the author:
Neil Gaiman was born and raised in England,
but now lives in America with his wife and
children. He has written highly acclaimed
books for both children and adults and has
won many major awards including the Hugo
and Nebula.
Gaimans book Coraline has recentlybeen released as a major feature film.
The Graveyard Book has just won The John
Newbery Medal for the most outstanding
contribution to childrens literature.
Obscure fact:
Neil Gaiman lives in what he describes as an honest-to-goodness Addams Family house.
Its a Victorian gothic tower creepy! Its so scary that kids dont dare to go trick or treating
there on Halloween.
Whats it about?:
Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place - hes the only living resident
of a graveyard. He has been raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves and othercemetery dwellers. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the
worlds of both the living and the dead? Though Nobodys teachers instruct him in
the ways of magic and caution, there are some threats a boy must face alone
and some lessons he must learn for himself.
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8/14/2019 Teenage Prize Reading Guide - Neil Gaiman
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Talk about:
Bod is caught between two worlds, the living and the dead. Discuss the theme
of boundaries in the novel and the way characters shift between different worlds.
The graveyard is full of characters we typically think of as evil. Think about
the characters of Silas, Miss Lupescu and Eliza Hempstock? What do these
characterisations suggest about human nature?
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean have collaborated on a number of books.
How do McKeans illustrations add to your reading of the story?Gaiman combines humour, horror, fantasy and mystery. Talk about the way these
elements work together and what the story would be like without one of them.
Read more:
The Tales of Odd Odd and the Frost Giants
Bloomsbury, 2009 Bloomsbury, 2008
Fragile Things Anansi Boys
Headline Review, 2006 Headline Review, 2005
Coraline American Gods
Bloomsbury, 2002 Headline Review, 2000
Online:
To find out more about the Booktrust Teenage Prize, why not visit www.bookheads.org.uk.
If youd like your reading group to be featured on the bookheads blog please email
www.groupthing.org is an online community around words and creativity. Young people
can set up their own groups and start taking part for free. www.groupthing.org will be
running features and competitions on this years prize. Why not get the young people
in your library or school to join a group, or start their own!
More links:
www.neilgaiman.co.uk www.neilgaiman.com
journal.neilgaiman.com twitter.com/neilhimself
Contacts:
Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated
to encouraging people of all ages and cultures
to engage with books and the written word.
Contact:
Claire Shanahan
Tel: 020 8516 2977Email: [email protected]
www.booktrust.org.uk
The Reading Agency is an independent charity
which inspires more people to read more.
Contact:
Kathleen Keaney
Tel: 020 7324 2549
Email: [email protected]
www.readingagency.org.uk
