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Johnny Kellock Died Today is a Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award winning young adult novel by Canadian author Hadley Dyer. It follows the story of twelve-year-old Rosalie Norman and takes place in Halifax in 1959. When Rosalie's authoritarian mother falls down the stairs and breaks her ankle, she must hire a local boy nicknamed Gravedigger to take care of the family's yard. Upon meeting Gravedigger, Rosalie finds out that her beloved cousin, Johnny, has gone missing. Determined to find out why Johnny has disappeared, unexpected friends, Rosalie and Gravedigger, set out on a journey to find Johnny. Along the way, Rosalie learns about family, friendship, and love. Johnny Kellock Died Today has been praised for its detailed and realistic descriptions, as well as its wit and charm. Plot summary Chapter 1 Johnny Kellock Died Today follows twelve-year-old aspiring artist Rosalie Norman. Rosalie is the youngest of six children and claims to have the oldest mother in the world. Rosalie explains that her mother was born in 1899, which is "last century", and that she was already 50 years old when she gave birth to Rosalie. Rosalie likes to tell people that it is a world record, even though she herself doubts it. Rosalie lives with her mother, whom she calls Mama, her father, whom she calls Norman, and her 17-year-old sister, Martha. She begins the story by explaining that her mother always makes her stay outside in the summer. Her mother is not near, however, so Rosalie sits at the bottom of the stairs doing what she loves, drawing. Rosalie's mother forces her to go outside, and as she does, Rosalie notices a boy nicknamed Gravedigger across the street. Rosalie explains that Gravedigger goes to St. Stephen's Elementary School, the Catholic school across the street from her Protestant school, Mulgrave Park Elementary School. Gravedigger has failed sixth grade once already. She then explains that everybody calls him Gravedigger because his family bought a cemetery where he works, digging and taking care of the land. A rumour had gone around that Gravedigger dug up his deceased mother and keeps her in a jelly cupboard in his house. Before Rosalie can continue her thoughts about him, Gravedigger gets her attention, and tells her that he has a letter for Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Norman. Rosalie does not understand, as her brother, Fredrick Norman, lives in another town. By the time Rosalie realizes her father's first name is Frederick, not Norman, she is very embarrassed and takes the letter which she then gives to her father. Chapter 2 Rosalie returns to her house, only to find her mother lying in pain at the bottom of the stairs. Rosalie immediately notices her pencil crayons and assumes her mother slipped on them. Norman takes care of Mama to the hospital, leaving Rosalie home alone. Rosalie is excited to be home alone for the first time, but feels guilty as she assumes responsibility for her mother's broken ankle. She proceeds to draw a comic book, titled "The Gravedigger Cometh" about the evil Gravedigger, based on the boy across the street. Rosalie becomes tired and goes to sleep. When Norman is home, he wakes Rosalie and explains that Mama is going to be fine. Chapter 3 The following morning, as Martha cooks breakfast for the family, Mama, Rosalie, and Martha begin talking about Martha and Rosalie's cousin, Johnny. Johnny is a lively boy whom everybody gets along with. The family heads to church. Rosalie is excited when it is time to sing, and sings her loudest and best. After the hymns, an elderly woman behind her suggests that next time she should simply mouth the words. Rosalie gets very upset, but does not say anything. When Rosalie gets home, she releases her emotions by drawing a picture of the elderly woman being attacked by foxes. When she calms down, Rosalie goes outside, only to find Gravedigger doing yard work for her family. Gravedigger explains to Rosalie that her cousin Johnny is missing. Rosalie does not believe him, but begins doing investigating of her own. Chapter 4 Rosalie asks Mama how Johnny is doing, and they respond nonchalantly. From this, Rosalie assumes that Johnny is doing fine and Gravedigger lied. It is to Rosalie's dismay that she finds out Gravedigger will continue to work for the family. She tries to convince her mother that it is a bad idea, but her mother will not listen to her. Rosalie, again, reflects on the memory of Johnny, but is interrupted when the phone rings. She answers to find out is her Uncle Jim. After giving the phone to her mother, Rosalie begins to question why Jim called, however, she shrugs it off, assuming it was because of her mother's ankle. Chapter 5 Rosalie receives a collection of drawings from her friend Marcy. She explains that Marcy is not as good at drawing as her, but that Rosalie still pretends that they will both be famous artists one day. As Rosalie leaves the house, she notices the Ragman yelling in the streets. She explains that the Ragman, who is African-American, looks just like a Caucasian boy at her school, but that nobody can get past the colour of his skin and see it too. Rosalie catches up with two of her friends, Katie and Pauline, who are curious about how Rosalie's mother got injured. Rosalie tells the story, playing the part of the hero, watching over her mother until she can be taken to the hospital. Katie and Pauline are in awe. Chapter 6 After avoiding Gravedigger for a few days, Rosalie decides she needs to talk to him and ask about Johnny. Rosalie asks Gravedigger what he knows about Johnny. Gravedigger explains that he overheard Rosalie's parents talking after she delivered them the letter. They said that Johnny was missing, and also that the 17 year-old had been looking for a job at the shipyard where Gravedigger's brothers work. Gravedigger and Rosalie decide to pair up and begin searching for Johnny. Chapter 7 Rosalie convinces her mother she is going to the lake, however, her and Gravedigger head to the shipyard instead. At this point, Rosalie and Gravedigger begin to become friends, and Rosalie starts to call Gravedigger by his real name, David. When the two arrive at the shipyard, François, the guard, allows the two to sneak in. David asks what Johnny looks like and Rosalie explains him as having blue eyes, black hair, and being seven feet tall. David tells Rosalie that he cannot be seven feet tall and Rosalie shrugs it off. Before the two get to search for Johnny, David's brother, Gerry, finds them and tells them they have to leave because the shipyard is no place for a girl. Gerry drives them out of the shipyard, but tells Rosalie he will keep an eye out for Johnny. When Rosalie returns home, her parents seem suspicious, however, she tries not to worry about it. Chapter 8 The following Sunday, Rosalie notices some Catholic boys yelling and making fun of David. David scares the boys, however, and they run away. Norman notices and proceeds to have.... Discover the Hadley Dyer popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Hadley Dyer books.