The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman  325 pp.

This was a re-read of Gaiman's Newbery Award winner in preparation of my upcoming Treehouse Book Club discussion. A murderer stabs a father, mother, and daughter to death but the toddler escapes to a nearby cemetery where he is taken in by the residents, ghosts from various eras in history. The boy has been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a ghost couple, who give him the name of Nobody Owens, nicknamed Bod. The murderer is part of a sinister group that still wants the child dead but as long as he is under the protection of the cemetery they can't find him. Bod learns various ghostly skills from his fellow cemetery dwellers even though he is a live boy. Eventually he wants to go to school in the town. Becoming known in the town ultimately brings about the showdown with the evil Jacks. This book is entertaining and intriguing and worthy of its award. This edition also includes Gaiman's answers to questions he received from children and his Newbery acceptance speech.