The Graveyard Book (by Neil Gaiman)

This book is great!! I have a good perspective on what kids whould watch out for. I really enjoyed this book because it is confusing at certain parts in a chapter, then the pieces come together and you get hyped up and want to keep reading it forever. Definitely read this!

It is a really good book. Great book for book reports!

I liked this book, but it's a little confusing if you dont pay attantion to the plot because it scips years from chapter to chapter. The ending isnt what you excpect, but its not happy or sad. Its also a little depressing because Bod's parents and little sister are mudered

This book is SO unique. It is the "Jungle Book" only set in a grave yard. I read it with my 9 year old. A really fun special thing to do with this book is to watch/listen to the author read it online because Neil Gaiman read one chapter at each publicity stop on his tour for this book so if you go to his website you can watch him read the entire book. He's very emotive and a wonderful to listen to. As we read the book we discussed issues that would come up--bravery, moving out on your own when you are grown, why the ghosts had different views of life (because of how much customs changed from when the different ghosts were alive), etc. This is a very engrossing fun book to read for the adventrue of the story but it also encourages imagination because it is so unique a take on what *can* happen. It was fun to have my daughter talk about "what if ..." afterward and make up little short stories of her own. There is some violence right off. However, it is not described merely you are told that it happens. So, it is left to the reader's imagination to fill in how bloody or horrible the scene is. (Which I prefer, excessive description is unnecessary.) GREAT book.

Sometimes, has a dark feel, but very charming and satisfying.

For once the common sense media is wrong. this book is good, but it is also really creepy. too dark for young ones like 9 but it has a good rolemodel, but it is really violent.

Awesome. A tad violent, but it is a bit too violent for little kids. Fans of Neil will NOT be disappointed. Still not his best.

I really enjoyed this. I think most kids ten and up will be fine reading this as they watch a whole lot creepier stuff in movies. My only concern is the man Jack. He is fairly creepy, and the whole book takes on a creepy tone, what with the majority being set in a graveyard. The book starts out with the elusion to the murder of a family, except the little boy who escapes. The boy, Nobody Owens guardian is a vampire, this is never said outright but there are several references to it, such as the fact that he only eats one thing, and it isn't bananas and he can sway people's minds. Some parents might not like this, and should know in advance. Also, there is a detailed description of the drowning and burning of a witch. Finally, one girl who is a bully uses her influence over her uncle, a policeman, to get a boy arrested. Sensitive readers may be upset at the ending. Bod's friend, Scarlett, chooses to forget him and Bod starts to be unable to see the ghosts, ghouls, spirits, etc. of the graveyard. Beyond this the story might have more appeal to boys than girls, the main character of the story being, for the most part, a fourteen year old boy. Kids younger than ten may enjoy having this read to them. Each chapter is a sort of mini story and could be read as such.

I read this myself first before giving it to my 11yo daughter. We both really enjoyed it. I was slightly unsure in the first chapter as this is quite scary (family being killed by a man with a knife) and the pictures in the edition I have were quite scary. But as it went on it turned into a great story about how a boy turned into a good adult and was able to make the right choices, despite a clearly unusual and difficult upbringing. I liked the message that even people who might not appear to be ideal role models(ghosts/vampires etc) can still provide good advice and education. I would far rather my children read this than the other vampire / horror books that seem to be going around the school - sufficiently cool and "scary" to keep them happy, but actually quite safe and positive in message. It was also a nice fast and easy read.