The Wolves in the Walls

It is far too quiet in Lucy's house at night, but then, she hears a howling, yowling, bumping, and thumping, and then the wolves came out of the walls.

Lucy must overcome her fears and brave the horrors of her family's house that has been taken over by messy, partying wolves. A heroine in typical

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Neil Gaiman style, Lucy cleverly defeats the wolves and takes her house back in the end, despite the wolves' strength, tenacity, ability to speak, and propensity for beating high video game scores.

The children's stories written by Neil Gaiman are not for the faint of heart or wolf-fearing among us. Illustrator Dave McKean paints Gaiman's imaginative fancies into masterpieces of adventure like none you have ever seen. The artist uses a combination of pencil, paper, paint, and digital design to develop the dark-toned images iconic of his works.

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In this picture book by Neil Gaiman, Lucy begins to hear noises coming from the walls of her home. As she tries to explain to her family the noises that she hears at night they simply tell her that it is mice, rats, or bats that are there. However, to the family's surprise, little Lucy is correct

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in what she hears and wolves come out of the walls one night and make themselves at home. The Wolves in the Walls is a cute story for young children to read and the pictures are beautiful as well. It is an easy read for beginners and I believe that children will love reading it and looking at the drawings inside.

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Little Lucy hears something in the walls of her house. "It's mice," says her mother. "It's rats," says her dad. "Bats!" yells her brother. But Lucy and her pig-puppet know what it really is. There are definitely wolves in the walls!

Neil Gaiman does it again. A creepy, spooky tale with a light

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enough touch to make it a perfect fit for most kids. The spine-tingling factor is knocked up a few notches thanks to the artwork of Dave McKean. Collages and pencil drawings lurk through the pages, with a wolf eye peeking out from time to time. Even my 11-year-old step-son had to admit, "That's creepy!"

A perfect Halloween family read!

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What an excellent combination to be found in Neil Gaiman's rich text and Dave McKean's eery mixed media illustrations! Gaiman's story of the courageous Lucy who braves the wild wolves to get her family back in their home will appeal to children who like scary stories and to those who want to see a

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strong female character. McKean's illustrations match the text very well and lend an odd, creepy and surreal tone to the story.

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An Idealic family of four,a mother,father,son,and daughter. All is well untill the girl hear wolves in the wall. of course she is not believed by her family. Until they cone out the walls.

The story takes a turn for the weird when the family moved into the walls. It is very orginal and imaginative

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tale.

I was not a fan of the dark color similar to the moive Nightmare Before Christmas type of illustrations. The book may become tiresome to read out loud. The story definately is humorous.

As an assignment

1.I would have the students draw a picutres of wolves. I could tell them about wovles.

2.I could intoduce the students to words that have sound, Onomatopoeia.

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Childrens story worth reading just for the panel with the Queen of Melanisia.

Who can resist a visually interesting book with a strong heroine, a couple of good morals (don't believe everything you're told, and standing up for yourself will drive away bullies), plus a gratuitous mention of the Queen of Melanesia? Oh, and both parents are present but the mother is the primary

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wage-earner.

Downside: Scary ravenous wolves come out of the walls. My daughter loved it starting at 2.5 (she found it by mistake!) but we spend a lot of time discussing the fact that wolves can only live in big, old walls, not little, new walls like the ones in our house.

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If you like Gaiman or McKean's art you need to pick this up, but be careful in deiced whether or not to read it you young kids. The story is good but could scare young children.

This book is has New York Times Best Illustrated Books Award and has been put on as a successful play by the National

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Theatre of Scotland.

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This is a wonderful story, scary only in the very beginning then incredibly logical and satisfying. You got to love Lucy. She is so sensible and determined. And the artwork, oh my goodness...Dave McKean is just amazing.

Because you know what they say, 'If the wolves come out of the walls, it's all over."

This is a great kid's book, and a treat for adults as well!

An Idealic family of four,a mother,father,son,and daughter. All is well untill the girl hear wolves in the wall. of course she is not believed by her family. Until they cone out the walls.

The story takes a turn for the weird when the family moved into the walls. It is very orginal and imaginative

Show More

tale.

I was not a fan of the dark color similar to the moive Nightmare Before Christmas type of illustrations. The book may become tiresome to read out loud. The story definately is humorous.

As an assignment

1.I would have the students draw a picutres of wolves. I could have the students tell me about the wovles they drew.

2.I could intoduce the students to words that have sound, Onomatopoeia

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This may be the most terrifying thing I've ever read.

What a quirky, nonsensical, scary-in-a-cute-way book by Gaiman! (Okay, so I'm not surprised!) I was intrigued by the thought of the wolves in the walls, and the pull-and-tug between the humans and the wolves in the house. I was fascinated by the illustrations, as well.

When the wolves come out of the walls, it is up to Lucy to convince her family that they are capable of saving their home. “Everybody knows that when the wolves come out of the walls, it’s all over.” These are the cryptic words repeated by Lucy‘s mother, father, and brother in Neil

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Gaiman’s picture book, The Wolves in the Walls. Lucy is certain that the noises—“hustiling, bustling, crinkling, crackling”-- she hears emanating from the walls of her house are wolves, but the rest of her family insists that it is something normal like rats or bats. After all, if the wolves were to come out of the walls, it would all be over—even though no one can clarify what “it” is. Frustrated, Lucy talks to her beloved pig puppet about the wolves, and her family is eventually forced to believe her when the wolves come bounding out of the walls one dark night. Terrified, the family flees to the garden, but when Lucy realizes she’s forgotten her pig puppet she bravely ventures back to the house by herself where she finds the wolves making a mess of everything from her mother’s homemade jams to Lucy’s socks. When Lucy returns to the garden she bravely rallies her family members --who are all ready to move elsewhere--to re-take their home.
With a combination of characters and situations that feel both real as well as quirky and off-beat, this picture book stands out from the pack. Dave McKean’s illustrations that combine actual photographs with drawing perfectly emphasize the overall sense of a mingling of reality and fantasy that characterizes this book. Lucy is a plucky heroine, and certain scenes—such as going back to the house for a beloved toy—create emotions that children, as well as adults who remember a cherished toy from their childhood, will appreciate. A tuba playing father, jam making mother, and video game playing brother make up Lucy’s slightly unconventional family and add defining characteristics to the supporting characters.
While the story is dark, it is not so much so that it is scary, making The Wolves in the Walls appealing to a wide age-range of children. It would also make a fun read-aloud and would be ideal for asking children to project what will happen in future pages or to create their own stories about what else might be living in the walls. Recommended for grades 2-6.

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Lucy is certain she hears wolves in the walls of her house, but her family tell her that can't be true. Besides, everyone knows that when the wolves come out of the walls, it's all over. This graphic novel for kids is beautifully and creatively illustrated, and it somehow manages to be pleasantly

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creepy while also being cute and silly and fun. I'm rating it four stars, but I suspect that if it somehow fell through a time machine, giving me the chance to read it as a kid, it would have been a five-star childhood favorite.

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Lucy knows that there are wolves in the walls of her house, and as all of her family humoursly says, "When the wolves come out... Its all over!" Wonder what "it" is is among many playful questions about reality posed in this book. When the wolves do indeed come out, they eat all the ice cream and

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party in Lucy's house.

This book makes kids laugh, is great for getting moderately creepy and has very interesting illustrations in a collage style. Great for showing new forms of illustration and for encouraging kids to tell weird, creepy stories, if that is their thing.

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main character was a girl
suggest late primary early secondary

This is an easy to read book that I would reccomend for poor readers. although the word count is low the story is for an older age range (such a shame that people keep putting it inot picture books

This book is great fun, especially when read aloud by Neil himself (sad geeky girl that I am, I stalked him through a few signings, at one of which he did a reading). Love the artwork too.

Very enjoyable story of a brave and resourceful girl. The illustrations, with their mix of photos and drawings, were... odd. Odd and creepy and a little disturbing- so they fit excellently with the story. I like Gaiman a lot, and he didn't let me down here. I think it might be too scary for a

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bedtime story the first time, but after that? I can see it being demanded over and over!

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The wolves in the walls is not a children's literature masterpiece. But it is a very interesting book. The book presents a delightfully Gaimanesque off-tilt story. But what makes the book better than average is the art by McKean. He again uses his mixed technique to bring moments of wonderment to

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the reader. Many times I was left wondering whether I was looking at a photograph or a painting (or where the painting stopped and the photograph started)...

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Just a good weird little story.

I really liked the uniqueness of this book. I think it teaches kids a good lesson about fears and how silly they can sometimes be. It's about defeating these fears and shows that many of them can be done easily. It was very interesting to listen to without seeing the book. It allowed me to come up

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with my own illustrations in my head while the story was being read. Since I was able to do this, the book is very descriptive and grabs the reader's or listener's attention very well. I would love to see the book to compare my visuals of how the story looked!

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I think Gaiman's best work is his children's literature. They are a sure thing for my reading tastes. Creative, unusual, and inventive stories that don't read down to any level reader. Anyone can enjoy this picture book!