The Graveyard Book

'''THE GRAVEYARD BOOK '''

Overview: Nobody Owens, A.K.A. Bod, is a boy, raised by ghosts in a graveyard. Bod has several adventures in the graveyard, but the real danger lies in the land of the living – he needs to beware of the man Jack who killed Bod’s family.

Number of classes: 4 story telling activities + Any 2 activities

Objective: Students enjoy a chilling tale of fantasy taken to know about the importance of those close to you.

Resource material: “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman. Bloomsbury.

Build your own graveyard: Unused household items like batteries, pens that don’t write, etc. thermocol, chart paper, etc.

Story summary: The tale begins with a tall man, dressed in black having killed three members of a family. Only the baby escapes, and is later seen crawling about a graveyard. Mr. and Mrs. Owens, two spirits living there take up the responsibility of raising the child. Silas, who is presumed to be neither dead nor alive, decides to be boy’s guardian and provide for him.

As time passes, the baby grows into a boy, Bod (Nobody Owens), who learns several skills from the members of the graveyard such as fading, disappearing and scaring humans. He even makes friends with a living girl named Scarlett and they have several adventures.

It is revealed that Jack has still been searching for the toddler that he had failed to kill. He must complete his assignment or his secret society, the Jacks of All Trades, will be destroyed by the surviving boy. On his 14th year, Bod is attacked by Jack and other members of Jack’s order and he fights to survive.

Preparation for the class: Read Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book”. Chapters ____ are especially important. The story is long and complex, so dwell on the important chapters as you read to the class.

Class description: Ask students whether they have ever visited a grave

First, take the children through a picture walk of the book cover. Ask them what they think of it. Take the discussion on to find out what think its all about. As the tale goes, keep pausing the tale, and speak with the children to emphasize the importance of family. Once the tale is done, you could choose one of the activities from the activities section, to keep the children enthralled.

'''Related activities: '''

1.      '''Book comparison (Discussion/writing, Before reading, Whole class) '''

This activity is especially useful to do if the class has read Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”. Both tales have instances where the boys’ parents die, and they are brought up by creatures who are not human. They both have instances where the boys learn to live like their foster parents, they run away and get into trouble. Discuss the two stories in the class.

If the students haven’t read “The Jungle Book” or even watched the movie, they can discuss other books that have a similar theme.

2.      Build your own graveyard(Craft, After reading, Groups)

With a few art materials, the students could make their own little model graveyard. Inform the students a day in advance to bring unused household items, anything that they can find. This includes used batteries, boxes, pens that won’t write, etc. You can provide them with chart paper, thermocol, scissors, colour paper and other art/craft material.

Divide the class into groups of five. Each group can then design a graveyard and make it as scary as they want to.

3.      Bod’s New Life (Writing, After reading, individual) 

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Bod has grown old, lost the freedom of the graveyard and has left for a new life. It has been twenty years, and he is reminded of his childhood home. Ask the students to pretend they are Bod and write a letter, addressed to one of the spirits in the graveyard, in the hope that they would still remember him.

4.      '''Unusual Homes (Writing, After reading, Individual) '''

Bod lived in a graveyard. It’s an unusual place to live. Brainstorm about other unusual places to live. Make a list of places, and what the children would learn from the residents of each of these places.

5.      '''Explore traditions and rituals associated with death in different cultures (Research, After Reading, Groups) '''

Divide the class into groups of four. Assign a different religion/culture to the groups. Each group needs to make a presentation on the death rituals and ceremonies of the religion/culture they have been assigned.

'''Recommended Reading: '''

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“Coraline” by Neil Gaiman. Harpertrophy.

“The jungle book” by Rudyard Kipling.

Why don't you try out these Activities ?