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 A low fantasy takes place in a normal world with a realistic environment. The story turns into fantasy through events such as when animals or toys take on human-like characteristics. There’s a good reason why this book is a bit longer: It’s an example of the horror genre in picture book format.

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. The Wolves in the Walls – Times Online". The Times. London. 31 March 2006 . Retrieved 6 February 2010. While I don’t think this picturebook has all that much in common with Lovecraft’s story, there are some tropes common in horror:

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Gardner, Lyn (31 March 2006). "The Wolves in the Walls, Tramway, Glasgow – Stage – The Guardian". London . 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!

Do you always understand what a saying like, “a stitch in time saves nine” means or what it is trying to tell you? 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. Roettgers, Janko (23 August 2019). "Neil Gaiman VR Experience 'Wolves in the Walls' Wins Primetime Emmy". Variety . Retrieved 18 November 2019. Madly inventive, madly funny. Some will find it creepy; for the rest it will offer the sustaining jam of life.”— The Guardian (UK) One aspect that I really enjoyed was the way stories shape our understanding of reality. Throughout the book nobody believes Lucy but continuously quotes an old saying about when the wolves come out, it’s all over. Yet nobody has a good answer to when Lucy asks “who” says that, why or what “it” means. I had a teacher in high school who, whenever someone would say something to the effect of “well they say that…”, would ask “who is ‘they’?” It was a good reminder to question why something has been decided as a truth and stop and consider what it all really means. It also makes me think about old sayings we use without really knowing the etymology (just the other day I looked up why the old saying “from soup to nuts” exists when a patron used it) and how that is a form of myth making in a way. It’s used quite effectively here and instantly embeds you into what feels like a pre-established tale despite it being a Gaiman original.

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Review – The Wolves in the Walls – Art and Photography". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16 . Retrieved 2010-02-06. {{ cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadlink= ignored ( |url-status= suggested) ( help) Scenes are a mixture of photorealistic images (perhaps parts cropped from photos), line drawings and off-kilter textures. In other words, the pictures form a ‘chimera’, mixing reality with fiction. But which part is fiction and which is true? That’s the freaky part. Original questions and guidelines for philosophical discussion by Ariel Sykes. Edited June 2020 by The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. The metaphysical question of what reality is also playing a big role in this book, as the reader begins to wonder whether what Lucy’s parents say is more believable than what her brother or Lucy says is true. Lucy believes that there are wolves in the walls, while her parents dismiss the noises as simply indicating the presence of mice or rats. When Lucy confronts her parents about the sounds, they scare her by repeating the saying, “If the wolves come out of the walls, then it’s all over.” This ethical issue is one that all children can connect with. Every child has experienced an adult threatening a child not to do something by reminding them of the bad things that will happen as a result. Many of the popular sayings can be viewed in this light, and it is important for children to begin questioning the validity of such statements simply because something is asserted as the truth does not make it any less of a belief. Through connecting the use of the saying, “If the wolves come out of the walls, then it’s all over” with how Lucy’s parents interacted with her concern about the wolves, a discussion about how we know what we claim to know and the manner in which we blindly accept them as unquestionable truths or facts can easily occur.