The Wolves in the Walls

Product Information

When Lucy decides not to tell her parents about the elephants, an important ethical element arises. By not telling her parents, is Lucy, in a sense lying to them? The concept of lies really intrigues children, since they face making daily decisions based on what is “right” and “wrong” for themselves and others. The philosopher Kant believed that it was a person’s moral obligation and duty never to lie. In contrast, many other philosophers take the position that this obligation, to tell the truth, can be overridden in certain situations. For example, if someone’s life is endangered by a murder that is searching for a man, it seems valid for a person to lie to the murder about the location of the man being hunted. This action could be justified by means of the utilitarian principle concerning morality: that an action is considered “right” if and only if it promotes the greatest happiness. 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. Adam Pleeth’s songs, with lyrics by Carl Grose, are not your typically family theatre fare either. They’re hard and edgy numbers, with barely a melody but a dark and persistent pulse. Even the light relief, when it comes, isn’t all that light. When the wolves finally burst through the walls, they rip through the screens with a Stephen King-like viciousness. With the family cowering in the bottom of the garden, the wolves run riot. They dance the conga, scoff Mum’s jam, dress up in silly costumes and slide down the stairs. Blue absolutely adores the carnage but her body is stiff as a board as she laughs. The characters—at least in the part of the relatives—are reminiscent of the people in The Day I Swapped my Dad with Two Goldfish. The hardnosed heroine reminds me of Coraline, though there are numerous differences between them. It’s a pretty rad read all in all, though of course I’ll appreciate it more if I’m a kid. :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. There are significant lessons embedded in the storyline as well, making the story weightier. Through looking at how Lucy confronts her and her family’s fear within the story, children can begin to consider what things are worthy of fear and why. Is bravery identified solely as an act of fearlessness, or can a brave act arise from a moment of fear? Is a person brave only if others can identify the courage within her simple act, behavior, or appearance? The importance of confronting your fears arises when Lucy sneaks into the house to save her pig-puppet. A discussion about whether this was a brave or dangerous thing to do can lead children into thinking about the distinction between bravery and stupidity as well as the relationship between fear and bravery. Lovecraft’s skeletons and chimeras are truly terrifying; the wolves in the picture book have very humanlike interests (playing video games and eating jam), and are just as scared of humans as the humans are of them.

Lucy is about 8 years old. (Her age is told in the game version of the story.) She still sleeps with a stuffed animal. Her brother is a little older. He goes to school when Lucy stays home. Especially in the animated version of the story, you can see the height differences. The book was translated into German, [4] Spanish, [5] Italian, [6] Polish [7] and other languages. The Russian translation of the book by Maxim Nemtsov was published in 2014 by Livebook. [8] Plot [ change | change source ] The Wolves in the Walls – Times Online". The Times. London. 31 March 2006 . Retrieved 6 February 2010. See Neil speaking about his new novel, Fortunately, the Milk, a time-travelling adventure for young readers featuring aliens, dinosaurs, volcano gods and a pint of milk that saves the universe! One evening, the girl Lucy hears strange noises coming from the walls in the house. She believes that wolves live in the walls and talks about it to her mother (who fills jars with homemade jam), her father (who plays the tuba), her younger brother (who plays video games). All of them, however, do not believe Lucy: mother says that they are mice, father that they are rats, and brother that they are bats. In addition, they are all sure that “when wolves crawl out of the walls, that’s all!”.Does Gaiman’s story have anything to do with Lovecraft’s The Rats In The Walls? That is a story set almost 100 years ago in a renovated castle. This is a modern, warm house with modern technology such as computer games, and a 1950s mother figure in the kitchen making jam. What could possibly go wrong? In Lovecraft’s story he gathers a posse of experts from England who know all about medieval stuff and they find a terrifying grotto below the basement which is the scene of a horrendous ancient civilisation in which creatures (including humans) were kept in cages to be eaten by an army of rats. The text is written at different angles and in different sizes. Text is used to “illustrate” the sounds coming from the walls. The text also conveys movements such as traveling up and down stairs and speech. Born and raised in England, Neil Gaiman now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has somehow reached his forties and still tends to need a haircut.

Am I the only one who thought this is a mishmash of H.P. Lovecraft’s “ The Rats in the Walls” and the classic wolf-riddled admonitory bedtime stories like “ Little Red Riding Hood” and “ The Boy Who Cried Wolf”? Goodreads reviewer According to Gaiman, the plot of the book was suggested to him by his daughter, who, at the age of four, had a terrible dream about wolves living in the walls. [2] [3] What about the golden rule? Wouldn’t you always want to be told everything and to be told the truth?

Keep up to date with your professional development

Have adults ever told you a saying like Lucy’s parents told her? If so, can you give some examples? 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. They discuss where they should live now - at the North Pole, in the Sahara desert, in outer space? Lucy, having forgotten her favorite pig toy in the room, sneaks into the house inside the walls and takes it. Roettgers, Janko (25 April 2019). "Fable's Neil Gaiman VR Experience 'Wolves in the Walls' Gets Sequel at Tribeca". Thielman, Sam (9 October 2007). "The Wolves in the Walls – Variety review" . Retrieved 6 February 2010.