Supernatural: "The Graveyard Book"

(Image credit: www.powells.com)

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper Collins, 2008.

Mr. and Mrs. Owens find a wee baby toddling in the green grass of the graveyard. They name him Nobody, Bod for short, and love him and try to protect him from the world outside. The world where his family was murdered by the man Jack.

Well: Just Who is Nobody Owens? This book set in the shimmering world of the graveyard has the answer and a cast of characters that you will never forget.

Set in England, Bod is an orphan who toddles out of his house where his family is being brutally murdered. He ends up in the graveyard where several centuries old ghosts raise him as their own. Mr. and Mrs. Owens love him and, along with his guardian, try to educate him to get through the dangers he will face. And dangers he does face as he embarks on adventures within and without the rattling gates of the graveyard.

As you read this story and meet it's characters including Bod, the Owen's, the Indigo Man, the terrible sleer, and the man Jack whose hand wields a knife, you will cheer for Nobody Owens. And Bod himself will learn the answer to the question Just Who is Nobody Owens?

Hugo Awards: Best Novel, Newbery Medal, Oprah's Kids' Reading Lists - New Releases: 10-to-12 Years, Locus Young Adult Book Award, Wisconsin Library Association Children's Book Awards: Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category: 2008, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2009, USBBY Outstanding International Books - Grades 6-8: 2009, ALA Notable Children's Books - Middle Readers Category: 2009

Historical: "Crispin: The Cross of Lead"

(Image credit: www.powells.com)

Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead. New York: Hyperion, 2002.

Stripped of his family, his home and his possessions, thirteen year old Crispin finds himself enslaved and then befriended by a giant juggler called Bear.

Declared a "wolf's head" and on the run for a crime he did not commit, Crispin flees into the woods and into still more trouble. Enslaved by a giant of a man called Bear with ruddy red hair and beard, he is soon taught to play the recorder for his massive masters tricks. As Crispin is pursued by his enemies, he and the Bear head for Great Wexly where wolves are at the door and intrigue lines the streets.

Nearing the gate and a gauntlet of soldiers, Bear put a hand on Crispin's shoulder. "Crispen," he said softly, "try to show less worry. The worst disguise is fear."

"What if they stop me?"

"I don't think they will. But if they do, always remember what I told you; run away. Head into a crowd. Your size will hide you."

In this novel of medieval England, we learn that great friendship carries great responsibility and a cross of lead can be the key to freedom.

ALA Notable Children's Books. Newbery Medal.

Historical: "Dogboy"

(Image credit: www.powells.com)

Russell, Christopher. Dogboy. New York : Greenwillow Books, 2006.

Raised with dogs. Thrust into battle. Brind must find the courage to make his way home.

Who is Brind and why does he race over fallen oak and slippery mud with a pack of Sir Edmond Dowe's mastiffs? This novel of aggression and loyalty, revenge and love reads like an adventure movie complete with narrow escapes and twisting plot lines.

Set in medieval times, Brind, the Dogboy, was raised with a litter of mongrel pups and has lived with dogs ever since. When Sir Edmond heads to France to the Battle of Crécy, he takes Brind and the pack of dogs with him. He plans for Brind to control the dogs until the exact right moment when he will unleash them on the French as weapons of mass destruction.

As Brind travels across the French countryside shadows of darkness and mystery stretch far across that foreign land. But Brind is not alone and it is through Glaive, the most powerful dog in the pack, and Aurélie, a girl at war with herself, that Brind will discover just who he is and where he, the Dogboy, finally belongs.