THE GRAVEYARD BOOK - Audiobook

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. The Graveyard Book. Audiobook. New York. HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

ISBN#  978-0-06-155189-5 (audio)  ISBN# 978-0-06-170939-5 (text)

PLOT SUMMARY:

His family murdered, the little boy, who soon is named Nobody Owens (Bod for short), wanders down the street to an old graveyard. It is here where he finds a new life. With a killer still on the loose and looking for him, the ghostly inhabitants of the graveyard protect, care and educate him until the day he faces his family’s killer in the confines of the graveyard.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The unabridged audio CD format is narrated by Neil Gaiman, the author of the book. This 7 CD set has very good quality of sound in its narrative. Gaiman does an excellent job of changing back and forth between the language of the graveyard and the language of the world. Since the inhabitants of the graveyard date back as far as the 1700’s, the language is obviously different. Words such as “mistress” instead of “Mrs.” and “lad” instead of “boy” are used in the graveyard and not heard in the world outside. The changes in Gaiman’s voice and tone inflections as he takes on the persona of each character keeps the recording from being boring and monotonous. It does however move a little slower than I would like. Musical excerpts, arranged and performed by Bela Fleck, throughout the recording add a mysterious and eerie tone to the overall performance.

The story follows Bod through the years from toddler to young man. It is during this time that he learns about life’s lessons from both his ghostly family and the world outside the graveyard. Readers who have ever tried to do the right thing and been ridiculed or harassed for it, will identify with Bod when he attempts to attend school and as he survives his first heart break when his childhood friend Scarlett moves back to town. Not really belonging in the graveyard and not fitting into the world, Bod struggles with who he is and what his name really is. His journey brings him to the realization that he is Bod Owens.

REVIEWS:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:

“Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.”

AUDIOFILE:

“Gaiman communicates his understanding of his own stories and characters from beginning to end.”

BOOKLIST:

“This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters.”

AWARDS:

Newbery Medal

Carnegie Medal

Hugo Award

Locus Award

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book

Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book

Audiobook of the Year

ALA Notable Children's Book

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

ALA Booklist Editors' Choice

Horn Book Fanfare

Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book

Time Magazine Top Ten Fiction

Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice

New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont)

CONNECTIONS:

Neil Gaiman’s website has interactive games based on this book. Students would love visiting this website and playing the games which range from Sudoku to rearranging letters in words to make new ones. The site is located at http://www.mousecircus.com/

The book discusses grave rubbing. Doing this on a real headstone in a graveyard and then researching the person is one option mentioned on the website. However, this can be done around your school with any kind of plaques or wall hangings which are engraved. Using paper and a pencil, place the paper over the writing and rub the pencil back and forth over the paper.



THE BOOK THIEF

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Zusak, Mark. The Book Thief. 2005. Ill by Trudy White. New York. Alfred A. Knopf.

ISBN#  978-0-375-84220-7

PLOT SUMMARY:

            Liesel Meminger’s life changes forever with the death of her brother and the theft of a book found in the graveyard. The book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, becomes the means used by her foster father Hans to calm her after the nightmare episodes begin. The book also leads to the beginning of more book stealing from the mayor’s wife’s library, from the infamous Nazi book burnings and is the instrument Hans uses to begin Liesel’s reading and writing lessons.  When her foster father hides a Jew in their basement, the entire family is put in danger and Liesel’s somewhat sheltered world becomes a thing of the past.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

            Narrated by Death, the book tells the story of scared, 9 year old Liesel who witnesses the death of her little brother, is abandoned by her mother, put into foster care and how she struggles to make sense of it all growing up. Readers who have ever been abandoned, put in foster care, lost someone they loved or has ever been teased and made fun of will identify with Liesel.

Set in 1939 Nazi Germany, Mark Kusak has written a story that brings home the mindset and trials of the German people during the war.  Detailed accuracy of book burnings and Jewish persecution make this story very believable. The neighborhood Liesel lives in could easily be any neighborhood today. Her friendship with Rudy begins innocently enough but along the way it changes as they grow older and mature. Several times in the book, Death foreshadows what is to come but the path Kusak chooses to get to that point keeps the reader guessing as to when it will happen.

This book is a must read for teenagers and is reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank.

REVIEWS:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:  “Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward.”

KIRKUS:  "Elegant, philosophical and moving...Beautiful and important."

AWARDS:

Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award

Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Children

National Jewish Book Award

ALA Notable Book

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Booklist Best Book of the Year

CONNECTIONS:

Students may study the following subjects in relation to this book:

World War II, Adolf Hitler, Nazi Party and Persecution of the Jews

Find examples from the book of the following figurative languages:

            Simile, metaphor, personification



RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2008. Rapunzel’s Revenge. Ill by Nathan Hale. New York, New York. Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books.

ISBN# 978-1-59990-288-3

PLOT SUMMARY:

The love of a girl for her mother is a strong bond. In this graphic novel by Shannon and Dean Hale, elements of the age old stories of Rapunzel and Jack in the Beanstalk are woven together with some very unexpected and unusual twists.

Mother Gothel, Rapunzel’s mother, spends more time with her business than with her daughter. When Rapunzel finds out that Gothel is not her mother and that she was stolen from her real mother, rebellion begins and Rapunzel is taken to a tall tree tower and left. What follows is the story of a girl anxious to save her real mother, to defeat the villain and the obstacles she faces in trying to do so.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

            If readers are expecting a basic retelling of the classic story Rapunzel, they will be surprised.  Readers will still be drawn to and identify with the new Rapunzel, who has been wronged and lied to for many years. As the story progresses, instead of feeling sorry for her, the reader will find themselves cheering Rapunzel on in her quest.

  Rapunzel’s quest to free her mother from the mine camp begins after she frees herself from the tree tower. As in most fantasy novels, her journey back to Gothel’s villa is filled with adventures and obstacles to overcome. Along with her new friend Jack and his goose, every obstacle she overcomes such as fighting boars and large snakes to outwitting bounty hunters and Gothel’s henchmen, leads to another source of information as to how she can defeat Gothel and possibly take away her magic powers. Throughout the story, it is Rapunzel’s love for her real mother that gives her the power to defeat evil.

Nathan Hale’s illustrations help the reader visualize the setting much more clearly than the text does. Pictures of green forests and desolate wasteland give the reader a clear picture of the roads and lands that Rapunzel and Jack have to travel which are reminiscent of the Old West. Words and phrases such as “Don’t you cut a swell,” “cow-folk” and “outlaws” also add to the Old West feel of the story. In the end, good triumphs over evil and love has given Rapunzel a power of her own.

AWARDS:

ALA Notable Children's Book (ALA)

Amelia Bloomer Project Selection (ALA)

An Al Roker Today Show Book Club Pick

An IndieBound Next Pick

Cybils Award (Graphic Novels)

Great Graphic Novels for Teens (YALSA)

Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (YALSA)

Texas Maverick Graphic Novel List

Utah Book Award

Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee

REVIEWS:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from

the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive.”

BOOKLIST: “Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that

will become a fast favorite of young readers.”

CONNECTIONS:

           

            Students may wish to compare and contrast elements of Rapunzel’s Revenge with the fairy tale Rapunzel. This could also be done with the fairy tale of Jack In The Beanstalk.

            With the Old West theme throughout the book, connections can be made as to how the story is true to the Old West era and how it is different. This may also lead to a study about the culture of the Old West.