#455 of 1001 · October 29, 2021

As Halloween inches closer, spooky scenarios steal into my imagination. For example, have you ever been convinced of impending doom but been unable to persuade those around you? What would be worse? Being wrong…or being right? Moreover, what to do when the bell tolls and disaster strikes? Just ask the young protagonist of @neilhimself and @davemckeanhourglass’s The Wolves in the Walls. Lucy begins to hear strange noises around her house. Strange and inexplicable noises. Noises that start to convince her that there are wolves in the walls. She tries to tell her mother, her father, and her brother, but no one (other than her trusty pig puppet) seems to believe her—though they all casually refer to the sinister adage, “If the wolves come let of the walls, it’s all over,” without elaborating. And then, one day, the wolves do indeed come out of the walls, forcing the family to flee into the garden. Though the other three are perfectly happy to take up residence elsewhere, Lucy leads them on a charge to take back their home and oust the lupine invaders. Gaiman’s writing strikes a balance between humor and fear, mining deeply bizarre energy from the heightened premise. McKean’s mixed-media collages, a combination of hand drawing, photography, and digital technique, create a wildly expressionistic tone that aptly complements the darkly quirky text. #wolves #walls #wolf #wall #house #garden #halloween #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks