2009 Newbery Medal
Hugo Award
Carnegie Medal
Grades 5-8
The Graveyard Book is a children's fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Dave McKean. The Graveyard Book is the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens, an orphan who's raised in a graveyard by dead people and supernatural beings. The style of the images are old fashioned. McKean chose a style that fell somewhere between 19th century book illustration, and early 20th century impressionism. McKean creates a twilight world of ghosts and mist fading in and out between chapters. The illustrations begin at the end of each chapter with a swirl of mist or a few faint branches, flow through the title page, and then drift away as the next chapter gets under way. The ink drawings are scanned and placed on the page and cleaned up in Photoshop. The illustrations are a mix of acrylic painting, photographic elements, combined in Photoshop, with a single filter applied to the whole image.
Class Activity: Graveyard Comics
Neil Gaiman doesn't just write novels, he is also well known for his graphic novels or comics. Create a comic of The Graveyard Book. If you want to work as a team one person can be the artist and one person can draw the dialogue. Be sure to leave plenty of room for talk and thought bubbles. Download a blank comic strip at the following link:
Extension Activity: Class Mural
Create a classroom mural using open ended art supplies such as tissue paper, construction paper, markers, and paint. This is a wonderful project approach activity that students can work on throughout the book study.
Book Trailer
References
Gaiman, N. (2008). The Graveyard Book. New York, NY: Harper Collins
https://sites.google.com/site/theghoulgate/home
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