Neil Gaiman is the master of the new tween ghost story and is now also the winner of the Newbery award and has a new movie coming out in just a week. What a whirlwind.

From the ALA site:

A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens.

“A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising,” said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño.

To purchase this book see the One Book, Two Book sidebar: Award Winners.

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Neil Gaiman Wins Newbery

Neil Gaiman has, according to reviewers, done it again. Gaiman is known for his chilling tales, his ghostlike wonders, and his mysterious narrative. Like his infamous Coraline, which broke him into Young Adult Literature, The The Graveyard Book will manage to capture more young readers.

The book is magical, humorous, and attaches a bit to the history of Kipling’s The Jungle Book (Unabridged Classics).

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The Graveyard Book

More short stories! This time, it’s a set of eleven stories brought to you by Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, a New York Times bestseller and a movie.Gaiman says in his introduction that he is a huge fan of short stories. He cites authors like Saki, Harlan Ellison, John Collier and Ray Bradbury among his favorites. And yeah, it’s no coincidence that the title sounds like a Bradbury creation (a la R is for Rocket) – Gaiman called and asked him if he minded before he did it.You want creepy and magical? You got creepy and magical:

• Nursery rhymes come to life;
• A scary jack-in-the-box makes an appearance generation after generation;
• A stray black cat fights to protect his adopted family from the devil.
• A huge troll makes an unlikely ally; and
• The almost perfect scam artist tries to pull a fast one.

There are a lot of stories to choose from – which is great. I think that leaves a little something for everyone with some humor, some fright and even a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Children ages 10 and up will be charmed.

My favorite bit in the book isn’t from a story at all. It’s from the introduction. Gaiman wraps it up by saying:

M is for magic. All the letters are, if you put them together properly. You can make magic with them, and dreams, and, I hope, even a few surprises…

The book, out now, retails for $16.99 (hardback).

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M is for Magic