Appelt, K., & Small, D. (2008). The underneath. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." This is the first line of the book that will capture your attention. Bod, short for Nobody, is a toddler when his family is murdered. He escapes to a graveyard where he remains for year. The ghosts, ghouls, and other inhabitants of the graveyard become his guardians. The reader sees the ghosts as caretakers and not the scary creatures that are usually depicted in books. They do their best to keep Bod in the graveyard throughout the years, fearing that the murderer is still out there lurking waiting for Bod.
The setting of the graveyard shows that though Bod has guardians watching over him, he is alone in the world. He even makes up an imaginary friend to play with. As the years go by, Bod begins to crave the real world more and more. Eventually, the guardians must let go and let Bod live in the real world.
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