Books for kids: ‘The Graveyard Book’ by Neil Gaiman, ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw’ by Jeff Kinney

Two books recently in the news—Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” and Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw”—deserve attention.

The Graveyard Book

By Neil Gaiman

HarperCollins $17.99

Ages 11-15



When Gaiman’s book was announced as the winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal (given by the American Library Association for “the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature”), some of the reading public expressed surprise, though anyone who follows the award knows it’s always a horse race.

Some thought of Gaiman as a British writer, hence not eligible. Born in Britain, he has lived in America for some years, and the book was published simultaneously in Britain and the United States. Others thought of it as a young adult book, more suitable for the Printz Prize for young adult literature.

Indeed the opening chapter is a terrifying look at a serial murder in process, as “the man Jack” walks through a darkened house, killing members of a family, except the toddler who has learned to crawl out of his crib. The rest of the story, however, combines realistic dialogue and fantasy possibilities to tell a story that’s not about sensationalized violence but about life’s potential for happiness.

Take time for this one, as it’s quite remarkable; many adult readers, no children attached, have found it quite a compelling read. Gaiman himself has spoken of the book as a sort of homage, formally and in content, to Kipling’s “The Jungle Book,” in which an orphaned human child, Mowgli, is raised by jungle animals. As Kipling might have said, in the jungle, animals teach what it is to be human. As Gaiman might put it, in the graveyard, the dead teach the most important lessons about life.

“The Graveyard Book’s” eight chapters follow the life of that adventurous toddler, from the night he escapes the killer and is adopted by a cemetery full of ghosts—to raise this child, says one observer, “It will take a graveyard.”—to the day he sets out for a life among the living.

The child is named Nobody Owens, nicknamed “Bod.” The Owenses are the elderly couple (a.k.a. 18th Century) who take him into their tomb home, having always, in life wanted a child. The scene in which the graveyard’s politically active folk caucus on whether or not to keep the child is full of priceless social observations about democracy in action, and there we meet Silas, a regular visitor to the cemetery, who is crucial to the plan. Silas—Remember George Eliot’s Silas Marner?—becomes the child’s formal guardian, because Silas can journey to the outside world to gather food, for instance. Hmm, what sort of being sleeps during the day, travels at night? Silas joins the crowd of recovering/reforming vampires in children’s books of this new century.

There is always such an edge of humor in Gaiman’s details. Bod, for instance, grows up very fond of chips and pizza because Silas tends to do his food shopping at fast food places that are open late. When Scarlett, a little girl from the nearby neighborhood, meets Bod and plays with him in the cemetery, her parents accept her narratives of playing with “Nobody” as standard imaginary playmate fare.

Yet, beneath the humorous details, there is such true affection between Bod and his guardian and, in fact, most of the people of the cemetery. All the various pieces, which seem to stand alone, in fact come together in the final chapters, when Bod ventures further into the world and finally is reunited with his childhood playmate, Scarlett.

The book is not extended in length, but seems, upon completion, full of perfection, fuller of content than its slight size would belie.

As Mistress Slaughter—her headstone is so eroded that it now appears to read only LAUGH—tells Bod in the last chapter, when “sometimes he could no longer see the dead,” the graveyard dwellers have loved watching him grow and change. The tender sweetness and sadness of his farewells—especially with Silas and with Mrs. Owens—are movingly and sparingly conveyed. He departs in the direction of Life, “and Bod walked into it with his eyes and his heart wide open.”

There’s also an excellent audio tape, with Gaiman himself reading all the parts.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

By Jeff Kinney

Amulet, $12.95

Ages 9-12



If you are in or aspiring to middle school (or know someone who is), you’ve been waiting for this book, the further adventures of Greg Heffley and his friends and family. Written as a diary with drawings to amplify the events, the story progresses from New Year’s Day through the end of the school year. Greg’s takes on his parents’ resolutions (including his father’s secret diet-busting stash), soccer for the clumsy, Scout troops and the ads in the back of comic books—ever sent for a magic decoder?—are delivered in his signature clueless prose and stick figures. And, as always, there are those embarrassing Greg Heffley moments, as when his too-big pants fall down to reveal he is wearing Wonder Woman Underoos.

There’s nothing unexpected because dependable laughs are just what these readers are looking for. Traversing the chaos of middle school with you, Greg lets you know you’re not alone.