NEW YORK—Author Neil Gaiman made an appearance to a packed Cowin Center Auditorium at Columbia University this week.
Gaiman was there to introduce The Graveyard Book, his newest book for middle-grade readers since his international best seller, Coraline.
The main character in his latest story is an unusual boy named Bod who is the only living resident of a graveyard. Bod was raised from a baby by some of the other, not so living residents of the cemetery. The boy was taught all the customs and skills known by the dead while growing up. Now that Bod is grown, can he deal with all of the phenomena and horrors of both the world of the living and the world of the dead?
The author came up with the idea while watching his son ride a tricycle around the graveyard across the street from their house. “One day I looked at him, and he looked so comfortable there, and I thought: you know I could write a book kind of like The Jungle Book,” Gaiman said, “Because in The Jungle Book there’s a little boy who wanders into the jungle and is raised by animals and is taught all of the things that animals know.”
“I thought maybe I could write a story about a boy who wanders into a graveyard, and is raised by dead people and learns all the things that dead people know.”
“The Graveyard Book’s” targeted audience is younger, medium skill level readers, but the average age of the spellbound audience member at the reading proved that this book is not just for youthful readers.
Gaiman has authored graphic novels, written stage works, and has had works turned into major motion pictures. The author is releasing a motion picture adaptation of his recent, internationally popular book, Coraline in February.
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