Story behind the Story: Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book"

"The Graveyard Book" is about a boy named Nobody Owens (Bod for short) who is a normal boy other than the fact that ever since he was orphaned as a toddler, he has been raised by ghosts in a graveyard.

According to the author, Neil Gaiman, he thought of the idea back in the 1980s when he and his family lived in a house with no garden, but with a graveyard across the lane.  One day while watching his 18-month old  son, Michael, ride his tricycle around the gravestones, Neil thought of the idea of writing "The Jungle Book" set in a graveyard.

Neil started to write the story, but he felt his writing wasn't good enough, so he decided to wait until it improved.  He waited over twenty years to write "The Graveyard Book", but he definitely made the right decision.  The book won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal, Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book, Hugo Award for Best Novel, and the 2010 Carnegie Medal.