Night of the Gargoyles

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Each page is a work of art unto itself, with blacks, whites, and grays that add immeasurably to this gothic little poem about mischievous gargoyle statues that come alive at night to frolic and play jokes on human beings. Narrated by a city boy living amid crowded concrete and clamorous machines, this visit to a ""secret place"" quietly confides the treasure of a tiny bit of wilderness. The rotting carcass of a humpback whale is the unlikely focal point of this moralistic story set in the early 1900s.

His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have won numerous awards in the United States and abroad. I was reminded of another gargoyle-centered picture book I have read and enjoyed—Dav Pilkey's God Bless the Gargoyles. They partake in activities like swimming in the fountains, looking through museum windows, and flying through the night sky.

I cannot reccomend this book enough to readers of all ages; young children will enjoy the light-hearted romp of the monsters as they wander and sneak about the city and play in fountains; older children and adults will like it's folkloric elements and stunning art. In this haunting black-and-white picture book, Bunting (see A Day's Work, reviewed above) and Wiesner (Tuesday) imagine the secret life of gargoyles. A mummy's moving soliloquy on youth, love and the fleeting nature of life is the centerpiece of this hauntingly beautiful picture book. The gargoyles are angry at man because they have been created and placed on the top of the buildings so every night they grumble and mumble together and scare the watchman.

This Starting Points resource will give you everything you need to plan a beautiful book-based unit of work for children in Year 5 and Year 6. Bunting (I Have an Olive Tree; Smoky Night) crafts an ethics-centered novel that will long flicker in readers' memories. When Jake wakes up at midnight, strange shapes loom large and frightening sounds are everywhere, but the reassuring appearance of his parents sets everything right. Jake wakes up in the middle of the night, scaring himself when he touches his dog Biff's cold, wet nose. 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.As promised on my Facebook page I wanted to share with you some teaching ideas for using the fantastic picture book ‘The Night of the Gargoyles’ written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by David Weisner. Mama Elephant advises Little Elephant to "tweak twice," by pulling on her tail, if she has any questions while they go for a walk. This one was read to us when I was in primary school during library time, and I fell in love with it's grey-scale images, the way that the city was alight and alive even during the night, the way that artificial light and moonlight blended with the dark and shadow to make the night even more vibrant than the day. Diaz's fiesta-bright artwork ignites this joyous tale of a Mexican American family's sentimental journey.