Thank you to everyone who responded to my question. Here are some more responses:
I felt like a lot of the responses in the hit were from people that thought it
was too scary, so decided to respond. I have it in my K-5 school. Mostly it's
been my 5th graders reading it, the ones who love scary books anyway. I've read
it and wasn't at all concerned about having it in my library--I loved the story
myself, and didn't find it any darker than some of the other books my older
elementary kids read--lemony snicket, harry potter, edgar and ellen, etc. I
might caution a 3rd grader checking it out that it's scary, just so they know--I
think they'd probably bring it back unread anyway.
I personally avoided reading it because I don't like scary books. And Neil
Gaiman's (adult) stuff can be very scary because it is so subtle. In order to
recommend it to children, however, I steeled myself and listened to it as an
audio book, ready by the author. It was wonderful. So inventive and
imaginative. Afterwards I look at the book and could appreciate the wonderful
illustrations, but they weren't at all what I had imagined.
My students are not strong readers so I haven't had a problem with anyone less
than a 6th grader asking for it, but students love goosebumps, Scary stories to
tell in the dark, Cirque du Freak etc. I think as long as it's the kid's
choice, perhaps with a caveat that it is scary, they are best able to decide to
devour it or return it unread. (That's the joy of library books, I tell them)
For those who are debating whether to put The Graveyard Book in an elementary
library, do you have The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe there? I read that
when I was in fifth grade, and the build-up to the Witch's murder of Aslan seems
much more upsetting than "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a
knife." I wonder how many other books are in our elementary libraries that are
just as--or more--gruesome than Gaiman's.
Lori Belair, Librarian
A.J. Smith & Cayuga Elem Libraries
Union Springs, NY
lbelair3@twcny.rr.com
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