It takes a graveyard to raise a child

The winner of the 2009 Newberry Award for children's literature



This is the story of Bod, a toddler whose parents are killed just before the story begins, but he escapes into a nearby cemetery, where the spirits of the dead protect and raise him.

This is the first book I have ever purchased because of a t.v. interview on a political comedy show. I had already heard that the book had won this year's Newberry Medal, and I already knew I liked other things that Neil Gaiman had written before I watched the interview. I really liked the book Anansi Boys, and I just recently finished reading Good Omens, which he wrote along with Terry Pratchett. This is the first of his children's/young-adult books that I have read, though.
Nika tells me that Coraline was excellent.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Neil Gaiman
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

There are some pretty scary things that happen to Bod, mostly when he encounters living people, so I don't really recommend this book for children under 10, but for older elementary and middle school students, I think it is fast paced and different enough to keep their attention. 

I finished reading the book last night and I cried through the whole last chapter.  

If you want to learn more about this book, Neil Gaiman has the coolest book promotion website I have ever seen. It contains videos of the author reading aloud from each chapter of the book, as well as the only video trailer I have ever seen for a book (although, DH tells me that is the new trend). The trailer is located in the "Extras" section of the website.

http://www.mousecircus.com/