If the Wolves Come Out of the Walls . . .

h1 October 31st, 2006 by jules

wolves.gifWe’ve already mentioned the two best new scary (and funny and clever) books to creep out your favorite kid today, but I’m doing a quick All Hallow’s Eve shout-out for another great spooky, creepy, scary book — The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. Published in ’03, it features another of Gaiman’s daring and defiant female protagonists, Lucy, who is just sure there are wolves in the walls. And, as everyone knows, if the wolves come out of the walls, it’s all over — or so Lucy is told, but she’s brave enough to battle them. McKean even got a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year award (2003) for this one. And well-deserved it was, as he seems at the top of his game with this visual romp. As School Library Journal described it, McKean used “painted people; scratchy ink-lined wolves; and photographed, computer-manipulated images” with four panels on some pages, giving it a nice graphic novel feel. And, yes, it’s hair-raising and shuddersome, as a good scary book should be, but it’s hysterical, too. So, pick this one up today in the spirit of getting creeped out. Oh, and there is a staged production of the book (“for everyone over 7 who is not a scaredy cat”) that will arrive in the U.S. in early 2008. Check out this creepy ad for it (information about the production and the links come from Fuse #8’s ever-informative site). Woo hoo! Though I doubt it’ll come to Nashville (wah wah), maybe Eisha can catch it for me in the Northeast.

Happy Halloween!





6 comments to “If the Wolves Come Out of the Walls . . .”

  1. Yay! Thanks, Jules, I love this one! And it would go really well with Emily Gravitt’s (sp?) new one, “Wolves,” for an extra creepy storytime.

    And I’d just like to keep the thread going by giving a shout-out to my favorite Halloween readaloud, “The Bones of Fred McFee” by Eve Bunting.

    Happy Halloween!


  2. ‘Monster Goose’ would be a good one today, too. Chicken Spaghetti reviewed it shortly for a recent Poetry Friday at http://chickenspaghetti.typepad.com/chicken_spaghetti/2006/10/poetry_friday_m.html . . . I’ll have to check that Eve Bunting one out. Never read it.

    And, blast it all, my eldest is finally old enough to “get” Halloween, and it’s supposed to rain all night. Oh well.


  3. ooo! ooo! just read ‘Wolves’ today — so great! very clever thing….


  4. isn’t it? love the “ending.”


  5. “Wolves in the Walls” was one of the books talked about at the recent Fear & Fiction conference in NYC. Gaiman himself couldn’t attend, so his remarks were read by a psychoanlayst with a slight Southern accent. I kept wondering where she was from and did not pay as much attention as I should have…

    I’ve not read Wolves yet, so thanks for the reminder.

    Y’all have an excellent site here! I always enjoy visiting.


  6. aw, thanks, susan! chickenspaghetti rocks, too! maybe when this semester’s class is over, i can actually post about books once in a while…


Leave a Comment


Should you have trouble posting, please contact sevenimp_blaine@blaine.org. Thanks.