The Graveyard Book
Written By Neil Gaiman
Illustrations by Dave McKean
Published by HarperCollins Publishers 2008
Awards: Newbery Medal, Carnegie Medal, Hugo Award Winner for
Best Novel
Summary:
Do you believe in ghosts? Imagine that your family and guardian
are all ghosts. That’s how Nobody Owens’ life is. Ever since his real family
was murdered when he was only a baby, Bod has been growing up and learning
everything there is to know from ghosts. As Bod gets older he starts to
discover more and more and meets new people along the way. Eventually he
uncovers the truth about his past and realizes that the man who murdered his
family is still out there. Bod is eager for revenge but needs the perfect plan
for it.
Eerie. Imaginative. Adventurous. Spooky. Brave.
Grade Level: 6-8
Lexile Measure: 820L
Description: Fiction, Horror
Suggested Delivery: Independent
Key Vocabulary:
·
Mausoleum- a building or housing for a tomb or
multiple tombs
·
Drear- dark, gloomy; lifeless
·
Macabre- horribly gruesome; horror of death and
decay
·
Gargantuan- large, massive, gigantic, enormous
·
Translucent- allowing light, but not images, to
pass through
Electronic Resources:
Quizlet is a great resource for students to use to study
vocabulary and terms. This list is comprised of the difficult vocabulary words
from the book and there definitions.
This is the books website. It’s spooky and fits the novel
perfectly! You can learn more about the author and illustrators, and even see
more illustrations.
Teaching Suggestions:
Discussion questions and a section about the author can be
found on this link from HarperCollins.
Before: This link
will bring you to a webpage that contains The
Graveyard Book video trailer. Students can see the short trailer to get an
idea about how the book will be before diving right in. Some younger students
might not be ready for a book like this, so the video is a good start to test
the reader.
During: The
vocabulary in this book is intense, so as students are reading they can stop at
word that they don’t know and look them up. Students can use technology or
dictionaries to look up the word, and then write it on a sticky note. The
sticky notes can either be collected in the students’ journal or on a universal
class poster.
After: Nobody
Owens looks like “nobody but himself” and that’s how he got his name. After
finishing the book, what name would you give Bod? Would you give him a new name
to represent who he has become or keep it exactly the same? Students must
support their answer using quotes and evidence from the book.
Writing Activity: Students
can write a book review for The Graveyard Book. The review should contain a
strong opinion about the book. Also the students can include a summary of the
book, why they did or didn’t like it, recommendation to read it or not, and any
reflections the student wishes to add. After the review students should rate
the book and provide their audience with the books information.
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