nickih

SUMMARY The winner of the Newbery Medal 2009, and the Cybils Award in Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction 2008, this charming book tells how, after being orphaned by the Man Jack, Nobody “Bod” Owens grows up in the cemetery, parented by a team of ghosts and spirits that redefine the meaning of family. Turning the tables on fear, the macabre, and the laws the govern the interaction between the living and dead, the imaginary and the monstrous, Bod learns some important lessons—that what it means to be normal is relative, that nobody loves you like your family, and that the things we fear are sometimes not the the ones we should, and that ultimately, the best thing a family can give you is the confidence to go out into the big, bright world with your “eyes and heart wide open.” USAGE: Introducing Concepts of Genre to Students The Graveyard Book is a multi-genre book. In the classroom, this could be used to explore the idea of genre. A preliminary discussion of genre labels such as humor, horror, fantasy, mystery, etc., could be followed by students working in groups, each group taking a chapter of the book to locate characteristics, events, and other textual evidences for the book belonging to any specific one of these genres. Then students could get into groups to explore the genres further, each group taking all of the elements of the novel that had been identified by the earlier groups, to discuss and plan a presentation about their selected genre, the elements of the book that were identified, and what the book might be like if those elements had been removed. Students might also research the different monsters and imaginary creatures found in the book in groups, and prepare a pamphlet about the creature’s origins, incarnations, and significance to the novel.

2022-11-14 18:39