Who in the World is Neil Gaiman?

--by Hanje Richards

I was late in hearing about Neil Gaiman, as I don’t read a lot of fantasy, horror, or science fiction, nor do I read much in the way of graphic novels or comics for adults. However, it is hard not to notice him this year, as his book Coraline has been made into a movie by Tim Burton, and he won the John Newbery Medal for the year’s most outstanding contribution to children’s literature for The Graveyard Book. Gaiman has also won numerous other awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards.

Not for the faint at heart, The Graveyard Book is a story about a boy who is raised in a cemetery by ghosts after his family is killed in the opening pages of the novel.

Coraline also deals with the supernatural. When Coraline steps through a door in her family's new house, she finds another house strangely similar to her own (only better). At first, things seem marvelous. The food is better than at home, and the toy box is filled with fluttering wind-up angels and dinosaur skulls that crawl and rattle their teeth. But there's another mother and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and all the tools she can find if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

In addition to Coraline and The Graveyard Book, which are found in Young Adult Fiction and Juvenile Fiction, respectively, the Copper Queen Library also caries a couple of Easy books: Crazy Hair (which is a personal favorite) and Blueberry Girl.

In Science Fiction (and currently on the New Fiction shelf) is the novel Neverwhere, which has been made into a movie (which we also have available in our DVD collection).

Copies of Stardust are shelved both in Young Adult fiction and Adult Fiction and Anansi Boys can be found in Young Adult fiction.

If the title you are looking for is not currently available, we are happy to put a hold on it and contact you when it does become available.