Since 1921, the Newbery Medal has been awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year. The Newbery Award thus became the first children’s book award in the world. According to the ALA, (American Library Association) Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best known and most discussed children’s book award in this country.
This year’s winner was, The Graveyard Book by best-selling author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Dave McKean.
The story is a retelling or twist to The Jungle Book, opening with three murders and a baby on the loose. The child that is now orphaned but not yet assassinated wonders into the local nearby graveyard and is quickly protected and raised by its ghostly inhabitants and the mysterious Silas who agrees to be his guardian. As Bod (short for Nobody) grows he learns the secrets of the graveyard and faces the reality that the man sent to kill him and his family is still looking for him with the intention of finishing the job.
This is a coming of age novel that spend the first half drifting from one unconnected story to the next. The darker story recommends this book for an older audience. My fear as a librarian is that as Bod converses with the many inhabitants of the graveyard, their particular dialogue, specific to the time they were alive may be difficult for children to follow. Lines such as, “The advice of poets is the cordiality of Kings! How may I smear unction on your, no, not unction, how may I give balm to your pain,” may leave independent readers frustrated.
What the book does well is tell a story on the edge of the dark side. It has the elements of the supernatural that made books like Harry Potter so popular in a stand-alone independent story. The writing is beautiful and would make for great instructional material in a classroom. The themes of life and death and the crossing between the two promise good discussion and thought.
If your child is looking for a ghost story or a fantastical tale, this may be the pick for you. I will be curious to see how many students gravitate to this novel when the Newbery novel book report is assigned. I will keep you posted.