Night of the Gargoyles

Product Information

Bunting’s evocative writing coupled with Wiesner’s eye-catching charcoal illustrations tell a playful but dark story. As the illustrations reveal the goofy antics of gargoyles at nighttime, the text is written in such a whimsical manner that it all contrasts beautifully with the black and white illustrations. The story does not leave much to the imagination as far as endings go, but the outstanding use of poetic phrasing keeps you entranced throughout the story. I thought this book was great for development of imagination - what happens to the rest of the world when we fall asleep? I was drawn to this book because I hadn't heard of it and because it seemed a drastic change of topic for the author I knew, with heart tugging texts such as Fly Away Home and The Wednesday Surprise.

Furthermore, I as an adult get a kick out of reading the book, the text of which is not necessary so simple that only young children will appreciate it; both kids and adults will enjoy it, in my opinion. Four sneakered feet, two large and two small, tiptoe through a house chock-full of otherworldly creatures--a vampire, ghosts and a mummy, among others--in Bunting's second Halloween excursion.In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. At first the illustrations seem a bit daunting but actually work very well in showing the light nature of the gargoyles. Ultimately, this book has a little bit of everything: it’s funny, a little spooky and edgy while still having a touch of beauty with the descriptive words written by Eve Bunting. Our children really enjoyed making clay gargoyles too – based on the work of The Gargoyle Guy (see Youtube).

I also like that there aren’t too many words in the book so it really puts the emphasis on the images. Fünf Sterne für ein wirklich bemerkenswert schönes Buch, welches nicht nur Kindern Freude bereitet, sondern auch erwachsenen Lesern wunderbare Zeit beim Lesen und Betrachten schenken kann. Bunting addresses urban violence in this thought-provoking and visually exciting picture book inspired by the Los Angeles riots.

I checked out this book from my local library for my four-year-old daughter who wanted a "scary" book, and the first thing that caught my eye was the excellent art work.