The Wolves in the Walls: Dave McKean, Neil Gaiman

Product Information

It is quite a simple story to follow, but please have a look at our visual story before booking if your child is younger or you think they might find it scary.

By using the book, the controversial topic of white lies, half-lies, and the withholding of important information can be discussed with children, as they can begin to analyze and weigh the outcomes of such actions. A surreal tale of wolves that lived within the walls and then took over the house and temporarily forced its inhabitants out.This builds towards a final extended writing task in which pupils can apply the skills with confidence and independence. McKean's spiky art, with its imaginative use of photography is the real star turn here and has to be seen to be believed. However, the next day, wolves do break out of the walls and take over the house, while Lucy and her family huddle in the garden. Lucy is the first to go back into the house and save her pig-puppet, while the rest of her family is too afraid of the wolves.

The Wolves in the Walls, a collab work by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, is yet another landmark tale that speaks directly to young readers while teaching a few lessons like open communication in the family.In the story the protagonist, Lucy, hears wolves in the walls of her family's house, but her family does not believe her until one day when the wolves come out of the walls. The fantasy worlds of Neil Gaiman are having a mini moment on the London stage: the week it was announced that the National Theatre’s ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ would transfer to the West End, here comes this smaller but still singular take on 2003’s ‘The Wolves in the Walls’.

Once the biographer of Douglas Adams and Duran Duran, he has achieved cult status in the world of Science Fiction with his award winning, unpatronising writing for young people. When Lucy’s mother reminds her of the saying, “If the wolves come out of the walls, then it’s all over,” Lucy questions what this means. The text here is quite extensive for a picture-book, making this more of an illustrated short story, so I'd recommend this one more to middle-grade readers, than to the younger children who usually consume picture-books.It was a good reminder to question why something has been decided as a truth and stop and consider what it all really means. Wolves are shown to be sneaky, mischievous and are personified in the story to be like humans and have points when they are depicted as funny and charming. The book is notable for Dave McKean's art, which utilises many different techniques, including photography, computer-generated imagery and drawing to achieve its effect. It also manages to be cute while simultaneously disquieting, having a bit of an uncanny valley anxiety emitting from it as well as feeling like creepy puppets at times. While this bizarre tale is certainly one worth reading, it's the artwork that really carries the book.

This is a challenging text, as it covers the issue of nightmares but it really engages the boys in my class. Despite the flashes of humour and the clearly nonsensical proposition at the heart of this book, this is deeply scary stuff. When Lucy hears noises in the walls of her home, she tries to warn her family that the wolves are coming.p With Lucy hearing those noises, I imagine it striking a chord with a lot of kids, since the very scene embody common fears of a child. It might be Dave McKean’s artwork, which is, in fact, the creepiest thing in the book, but it looked way too similar to Coraline.