I bought the book "Wolves in the Walls" as soon as I could find it in the bookstore. I am at a new school this year where the kids are mostly poor and haven't had much exposure to any kinds of literature. I wasn't sure how they would react.
From experience I find the quieter the class is while I am reading, the better the story is in their opinion. They didn't even wiggle while I read the book. Both the prose and the illustrations kept them totally involved. I'll read it again closer to Hallowe'en and get them to draw their favourite part of the story but I know they really sympathized with the relationship between Lucy and her pig puppet. One girl started bringing her favourite toy to class so she couldn't be separated from it.
well done, Neil. I hope you write some more picture books in the future. Loads of books are published under "Children's literature" but few hold up to the scrutiny of children. Yours is a favourite of my class.
Siobhan

Yay Siobhan and her class!

Neil doesn't read the boards, though, and he's touring in Scandinavia right now. Please will you copy that whole post and send it to him by posting it in the FAQ query box? (Go to any page on the web site, down to the bottom, click the FAQ link, scroll down a bit and there's the query box.) He'll love to hear about it.

That is awesome.

Relax, you fiends! I'm only joking.

and Neil has replied in his journal:

quote:

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I'm pleased. When I finished writing it I went and read it to Maddy's kindergarten (or possibly first grade -- same teachers and children) class, and they liked it, which meant I was suprised by several of the reviews which claim it's not really for small kids, being too scary, or too wordy. Kids seem to like the words, and it's very hard to be afraid of the wolves for very long.

CRAZY HAIR is the next children's picture book, probably in 2005. (Although the HarperChildrens new edition of THE DAY I SWAPPED MY DAD FOR TWO GOLDFISH will happen in late 2004.)

And that fellow named Davey is actually a lady...

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True; sorry, Siobhan, didn't mean to set you up.

And thanks for sending the note!

I worked with ages 5 through 12 for a long time, they were great fun, I brought "Wolves in the Walls" in the day I got it. (I actually took a long lunch to run out for it) Most of my co-workers looked at me as if I had gone mad, complaining it was "too scarey" I laughed and the kids took turns reading the pages out loud to the group, they really enjoyed it. They talked about it for weeks, until I bought a copy for the room.