But Bod, ominously, learns that the killer of his family is still out there beyond the graveyard looking for him. He also acquires ghostly skills, like fading from view and passing through walls. His education is rather unique as well, since he learns history from (dead) people who were actually at the historical events. There in his home and playground of tombs, gravestones, and bones, Bod comes to know ghosts, a vampiric mentor named Silas, a witch named Liza Hempstock, a guardian of an ancient Celtic burial mound called a Sleer, ghouls, and even Death herself.

In The Graveyard Book, young Nobody, or Bod for short, learns the ways of the world from the perspective of the graveyard. The story setup is analogous to, even down to the title, Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. In this coming of age story, primed for younger readers-say, ages 8-13 years-we follow the adventures of Nobody Owens, a toddler who survived the murder of his family and is then raised by the supernatural denizens of the local graveyard. For those who can imagine it, can the dead teach a child how to live? Can the dead protect a child from being killed?

We’ve no doubt all heard the cliche, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But award-winning author Neil Gaiman turns this phrase on its head and, with The Graveyard Book, explores a much more interesting premise: “It takes a graveyard to raise a child.” The prospect leads to tantalizing questions.

Sleer the graveyard book