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Amazon.co.uk Review
Truth be told, Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's picture book The Wolves in the Walls is terrifying. Sure, the story is fairytale-like and presented in a jaunty, casually nonsensical way, but it is absolutely the stuff of nightmares. Lucy hears wolves hustling, bustling, crinkling and crackling in the walls of the old house where her family lives, but no one believes her. Her mother says it's mice, her brother says bats, and her father says what everyone seems to say: "If the wolves come out of the walls, it's all over." Lucy remains convinced, as is her beloved pig-puppet, and her worst fears are confirmed when the wolves actually do come out of the walls.

Up to this point, McKean's illustrations are spectacular, sinister collages awash in golden sepia tones evocative of the creepy beauty in The City of Lost Children. The wolves explode into the story in scratchy pen-and-ink, all jaws and eyes. The family flees to the cold, moonlit garden, where they ponder their future. Her brother suggests they escape to outer space where there's "nothing but foozles and squossucks for billions of miles". Lucy wants to live in her own house...and she wants the pig-puppet she left behind.

Eventually she talks her family into moving back into the once-wolfish walls, where they peek out at the wolves who are watching their television and spilling popcorn on slices of toast and jam, dashing up the stairs and wearing their clothes. When the family can't stand it anymore, they burst forth from the walls, scaring the wolves, who shout "And when the people come out of the walls, it's all over!" The wolves flee and everything goes back to normal...until the tidy ending when Lucy hears "a noise that sounded exactly like an elephant trying not to sneeze". Adult fans of this talented pair will revel in the quirky story and its darkly gorgeous, deliciously shadowy trappings, but the young or faint of heart, beware. The book is recommended for ages nine and above. --Karin Snelson, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Synopsis
When Lucy hears noises from behind the wall she tries to warn her parents that there are wolves banging about. But her parents don't listen. When the wolves finally take over the house and Lucy and her family are evicted to live in the garden her parents realise perhaps they should have listened. But Lucy is no shrinking violet and pretty soon she has the wolves out and the family back in the house. So what was that noise Lucy heard coming from behind the wall...? A brilliant, witty and inventive picture book with cutting-edge art, which is sure to be a hit with existing fans of Neil Gaiman as well as young readers.

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12 Reviews 5 star:  (9) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (12 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Scary and oh-so-neatly put together, 16 Oct 2003 By  Jack Shuttleworth (Coventry, UK) - See all my reviews    This review is from: The Wolves in the Walls (Hardcover) Perhaps an even better plot than Gaiman's wonderful "Coraline" - not a single word wasted or idea which isn't used more than once. Very funny, great positive heroine and other characters, wonderful internal logic and a couple of excellent twists. And its scary too. Dave McKean seems to have added a new depth to his illustrations, adding a richer feel to his near-perfect synergy with Neil Gaiman's texts. He echoes the economy of the words, with a small number of key images defining the world perfectly with no superfluous crowding - this is not to say it is sparse - the place is vidily rich - with hints of wolves and perhaps even an elephant if you look hard enough. The typography is also wonderful for young readers because it virtually scores how to read the text out loud, it is near impossible to read without moving your lips. The plot is firmly in the world of make-up stories with kids - a ordinary (ish) family in a real house . . . and a little turn of phrase that comes to transform their world. Once you've said "everyone knows that when the Wolves come out of the walls . . . " everything that follows makes perfect sense and generates heaps of giggles too.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   6 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Brooding & dark - Gaiman at his best., 6 Jun 2005 By A Customer This review is from: The Wolves in the Walls (Hardcover) This has all the elements of a good, jolly 'join-in' story for children: lots of repetition of words and themes; eye-catching illustrations with bold colours; lots of silly ideas such as the wolves "singing & dancing & telling jokes"; and a heroine with only a trusted toy to help her sort things out. Yet it is the stuff of the scariest & most sinister fairy tales - forget the Grimm Brothers, this is a truly scary tale with eye-poppingly scary illustrations to match.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   8 of 11 people found the following review helpful: freaky!, 4 Sep 2003 By  "lilak_light" - See all my reviews This review is from: The Wolves in the Walls (Hardcover) To be totally honest, I am completely freaked out by this book! But then, that I presume is what the author intends. Although a children's picture book, I would certainly not give this to my child, not unless I wanted them to have nightmares. For Gaiman fans however, this is a must. The pictures are surreal, the humour dark and the plot utterly insane. Gaiman's style is unique however and fans of Coraline will be overjoyed by this masterpiece. Personally, it is the illustrations which make this book. Without them, the plot would just not work. Lovers of dark and unusual illustrations will be most impressed. Definitely more of a collectors item rather than one for the kid's bedroom, but fun nonetheless.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 12 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews Dark & disturbing, just how kids (might) like it. The prospect of exposing my 5 and 8 year-olds to the writing of Gaiman and the graphical beauty of McKean was one that was far too good to miss, so I bought this book, despite the... Read more Published 6 months ago by N. Page Wolves in the Walls Neil Gaiman is fantastic at imagination. This fascinating tale is perfect for children or adults who appreciate graphic novels. Read more Published 13 months ago by B. Martin Just delightful! First of all let me say I love Neil Gaiman's work, but I have to state that this book is very much a work for children. Read more Published on 22 Dec 2004 English Association Prizewinner Winner of the Key Stage 2 Fiction category of the English Association's 'English 4-11' Best Books Awards. Read more Published on 19 Jul 2004 by engassoc