It was no surprise to his devoted readers when Neil Gaiman recently won the Newberry Medal for The Graveyard Book. I've been a fan of Gaiman since I started his comic book series The Sandman back in the 90's. I've recently reread the series and I consider the characters and stories some of the most fascinating, tragic, frightening and fantastic tales I have ever read. Truly Gaiman's imagination gives me many a sleepless night. (See my post on The Sandman here: http://livelylibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/08/have-you-met-sandman.html )
I had heard of Gaiman's tale of a boy raised in a graveyard and was fascinated. I have a weird appreciation for cemeteries and have spent many a day wandering through graveyards locally and in countries around the world. My Mom has told me stories of myself as a young toddler wandering a local cemetery licking the fresh snow off the tombstones while my father was doing research (he was a history teacher). After watching a recent interview with Gaiman on the Today show shortly after he won the Newberry he spoke of his inspiration for the story, his own son riding his bike through graveyards. Well that was it for me, another weird parent who takes their child to graveyards, I have been doing the same with my own son since he could walk.
So it was luck and chance that I stumbled into a bookstore in Naperville last week that not only had copies of The Graveyard Book on the shelf, but SIGNED copies by Gaiman himself who stopped by the store on his book tour last fall. I bought more than 1 copy and have been reading ever since.
The Graveyard Book is about a little boy named Nobody Owens who is given "The Freedom of the Graveyard" and raised by the dead after his family is murdered. Chilling, imaginative and haunting is how I would describe this book and a must read for anyone who has ever wondered if it's the dead or the living we should fear.
To listen to Gaiman read you the book, chapter by chapter, click here:
http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx
