The document outlines the details of a summer reading program, including the committee members organizing it and the purpose of promoting reading. It then describes the process of evaluating books for the program and choosing Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book as the selected book. Finally, it provides an overview of the book and author and suggestions for how students can access a copy.

1. The Summer Reading 2010
Committee
• Laura Carlyle • Margaret Nichol
• Elizabeth Dean • Deb O’Brien
• Chip Hill • Bud Schermerhorn
• Margie Luck • George Snider

2. The purpose of our
summer reading program
is to promote and encourage
the love of reading.

3. Our “One Book One School”
approach demonstrates that
one book can be viewed in
many ways across all
disciplines.

4. Summer Reading Book Evaluation Form
Book / Author ________________________________________
• Book category (fiction/nonfiction)?______________
• Is the book a movie? ______________
• Is the book in paperback? ______________
• Is the book accessible (in print)? ______________
• Is the book age appropriate? ______________
• Level of difficulty (gr 9-12)? ______________
• Length? ______________
• Subject Matter? ______________
• Controversial issues? ______________
• Supported by positive editorials? _____________
• Curriculum tie-in possibilities? ______________
• Not in the curriculum? ______________
• Is the author available (Skype)? ______________

5. Please circle the number that best indicates how
prevalent the following characteristics are in the book -
0 being not applicable and 4 being most prevalent.
Diversity 0 1 2 3 4
Morality 0 1 2 3 4
Engaging 0 1 2 3 4
Cultural 0 1 2 3 4
Humor 0 1 2 3 4
Historical 0 1 2 3 4
Quality of writing 0 1 2 3 4
Comments:

6. Books considered but not chosen:
• Up from Slavery (Washington)
• Into Thin Air (Krakauer)
• Twisted (Anderson)
• Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie)
• Book Thief (Zusak)
• I Am the Messenger (Zusak)
• Uglies (Westerfeld)
• Mountains Beyond Mountains (Tracy Kidder)
• This Land is Their Land (Ehrenreich)
• Mayflower and the Pilgrims' New World (Philbrick)
• Mayflower: a Story of Courage (Philbrick)

7. Continued:
• The Kids from Nowhere: the Story Behind the Arctic
Educational Miracle (Guthridge)
• Red Sky at Morning (Bradford)
• American Born Chinese (Yang)
• Temeraire: His Majesty's Dragon (Novik)
• Have a Little Faith (Albom)
• Snow in August (Hamill)
• This World We Live In (Pfeffer)
• Great Expectations (Dickens)
• Dracula (Stoker)

8. The book we chose:
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
Winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal

9. Introducing the book

10. About Neil
• Author of 28+ books,
including Coraline (movie)
• Author/artist of comics and
graphic novels
• Winner of 3 Hugo Awards, 2
Nebulas and many others
• Popular with many teens
• Visit Neil’s web page

11. Book Review
Review from Booklist
*Starred Review*
“This is an utterly captivating tale that is
cleverly told through an entertaining cast of
ghostly characters. There is plenty of
darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is
strong and life affirming. Although marketed
to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with
broad appeal and is highly recommended for
teens of all ages.”

12. Vocabulary
• crypt
• abode
• fungoid
• Fidelis ad mortem
• carrion
• declaim
• exuberant
• flibbertigibbet
• fiddle-pated • imprecation
• remnant
• serene
• sanguine
• luminescence
• choleric
• gutteral
• unflappable • phlegmatic
• guileless
• gaunt
• promiscuous
• reproachfully
• affability
• Piebald
• porkies • danse macabre
• obstinately
• novel (unique)

13. Literary Analysis:
• Explication of simile: "like a sharp talon coming out of the
hill"
• Metaphor: sky "angry, glowering red, the color of an infected
wound"
• Statement of theme: "it's like people believe they'll be happy if
they go live somewhere else...wherever you go you take
yourself with you."
• Simile: "every nightmare he had ever had, made into a
place, like a huge mouth of jutting teeth."
• Syntactical pattern: "What's this when it's at home, then?"
• Allusion to 1984: "here comes a chopper to chop off your
head"

15. Curriculum and Community Connections
• Curriculum Threads
Assigning Summer Reading
Assessments/Activities/Reading
Author “visit”
• Community Threads
Heritage Museum and Gardens

16. Where students may get the book
• Borrow a copy from the Sandwich Public Library
(All our copies are there also!).
• Borrow an e-copy from the library or purchase
one online.
• Buy a copy at any book store. (Titcomb’s
Bookshop will offer a 25% discount with student
ID.)
• Have a book buddy or buddies and share a
copy.
• Listen to Neil read his book.

17. Our Summer Reading Web Page
By our talented student web design team:
Kara Kosinski and Will Degan