The Wolves in the Walls

It's too beautiful to be a children's book. Inspired by a nightmare of one of his daughter's, author Neil Gaiman has developed a wonderful terrifying tale. Lucy can hear wolves in the walls of her home. She's quite certain of what she's hearing, but her family doesn't seem to believe her. When the wolves come out, it is (as the family has always said) all over. Lucy must find a way for her family to retake their home from the nasty, jam-eating, video game playing, tuba thumping wolves.The pairing of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean on this book is inspired. Gaiman has often said in interviews that he sees this book less as a picture book and more as a graphic novel. The distinction is slight. In some cases the pages are separated into four panels (something you'd see in a comic book and not, necessarily, a story for children). But I disagree with Mr. Gaiman. This is a picture book and it shows. McKean has taken Gaiman's wonderfully twisted tale and created pictures that combine such a huge amount of different media, it could blow your mind. A single panel might have a gigantic wolf drawn in pen and ink with photos of socks on its feet and fabric beneath him for the bed. Is the story too scary for children? Well, sure. For some children. I'm not going to grab the your two year-old and force them to read it. But kids with a healthy sense of humor and intelligence will like this book. It will not give them nightmares. It will not make them afraid of wolves for the rest of their little lives. But it will peak their interest and curiosity. I recommend it. It's a one in a million book.

What a strange, wonderful new book!Neil Gaiman has long been one of my favorite authors, but I admit I had doubts as to how well he could write for children. With a history of gritty, streetwise characters, ( I'm thinking John Constantine, or maybe Door, here), I thought he might just be too edgy for the little ones.All my fears were put to rest after reading The Wolves in the Walls, though for the kids they were just beginning!The story is scary, especially accompanied by Dave McKean's dramatic illustrations. But, as surreal as the plot is, there is a comforting normality in the interactions of the characters.Lucy, the young girl who is the only one of her family to recognize the danger lurking behind the house's walls, is reassuringly level-headed. She never panics, but reacts sensibly and courageously to the bizarre events which inspire only confusion and fear in her parents.After the wolves come out, the family is forced to abandon the house. The mother and father, giving all up for lost, propose preposterous solutions to resolve the family's sudden homelessness. Dad thinks they might move to a desert island, mom suggests a hot-air balloon.Lucy calmly rides out her family's panic, making some decisions about what is most important to her, and how best to save the day.Gaiman never panders to children, and never assumes their fears are less valid than an adult's. Saying that, he also seems to have no qualms with playing off those fears.I wish that as a child, I had read books that had really addressed my fears, and answered the question, just what if the wolves really had come out of the walls?

I recently read this book outloud to my cousin and he LOVED it! The book is so intuitive and allows so much expression and voice intonation. The characters are distinct individuals and I could instantly find their voice. The art is simply amazing - I've been a fan of McKean for years. I really don't think kids should be underestimated in their intelligence to appreciate the interesting art that mixes striking artwork and snippits of pictures of real-life objects. There is more to the artwork than that, but that's another review. Some may think this book will frighten children, but it seems more like a healthy lesson in showing how silly such fear can be. The book is more about defeating fear, as the family was able to get rid of the wolves so easily. In the end the things that seem so scary (monsters under the bed, etc) are silly things that can be defeated with a simple look. And it doesn't hurt that this book is written cleverly and with wonderful style. I could go on and on about this book, but I will just sum up by saying: art is great, writing is great, story is fun and interesting and great for dramatic outloud readings, and the story is an excellent lesson in the silliness of childhood fears.

A wonderfully unusual and fascinating children's book. Neil Gaiman has a finely tuned story-sense, keeping the plot deliciously adventuresome (but never too scary for a child), with dollops of the amusingly absurd in all the right spots. His words beg to be read aloud, even if you're only reading to yourself!Dave McKean's illustrations are nothing short of amazing. They are collages of everything you can think of -- photos, paintings, drawings -- with a highly unusual, beautiful effect. Parents will like looking at these pictures as much as children will!