Night of the Gargoyles [Hardcover]

Eve Bunting (Author), David Wiesner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1994 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

In this stunning collaboration of two exceptional talents, the striking charcoal illustrations and nimble text reveal what happens at night when the gargoyles come to life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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. At night, while the city sleeps, they creep from their perches, clambering to the windows of the museum, where they "peer,/ nearsighted,/ into rooms where mummies lie/ in boxes, long and thin/ as coffins, ribboned round/ with painted boats and figures." They then gather at the fountain to compare notes and thumb their noses at the night watchman before returning to their corners as day breaks. This is an unusually sophisticated work, playful but dark-edged. Its language is both economical and rich, its mood a complex blend of the eerie, the sensuous (the gargoyles "lick the stars with long, stone tongues"), the innocent (the creatures evince a childlike curiosity and a touching, very human desire for company) and the melancholic (they "have no love of humans who have made them so"). Wiesner captures all these moods and more in marvelously textured charcoal-powder illustrations that powerfully infuse the stone-solid watersprouts with life. The gargoyles' impish, grotesque grins-expressions just this side of malevolent-and "empty eyes unblinking" are not easily forgotten. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-What child hasn't looked at a sculpture or creatures carved in stone and wondered what would happen if they came to life? Bunting's canny phrasing and Wiesner's ominous black-and-white illustrations answer the question perfectly. When night comes, the gargoyles on a museum building come alive. They "gargoyle-hunch" with friends around a fountain, "rumble-laugh" at the night watchman, and resume their stone facades with empty eyes unblinking when morning arrives. If anyone could bring gargoyles to life pictorially, it's Wiesner. High-rise angles and perspectives are peopled with pigeons and squirrels; light is played against dark, forming menacing shadows; spreads and panels zoom in on narrow and wide-angle views; all creating a delicously eerie, spooky scenario. The brief text cunningly induces liveliness and wit with well-honed word choices: "they grunt of what they've seen...they grump of summer passing...they boom those gargoyle laughs that rumble thick because there is no space inside their solid stone for laughs to somersault." This is not for very young children, but it's sure to have enormous appeal for older audiences. From stony-eyed stares to their merry scorn of humans, it's gargoyle gleefulness.
Julie Cummins, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; 1st Ed. edition (October 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440836670
• ISBN-13: 978-0440836674
• ASIN: 0395665531
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frolicking gargoyles will bewitch readers with their revelry, October 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Night of the Gargoyles (Hardcover)

Visions of frolicking gargoyles delighting in night, splish-splashing in watery fountains, and spooking unwanted humans tempt the senses of readers as Eve Bunting nimbly weaves her silvery text around these stony figures. Each page sets forth a new scene of the gargoyles' brief revelry before they are destined, once again, to return to "squat high on corners...empty eyes unblinking...". The text is intertwined from page to page with a lyrical yet unconscious rhythm, permeating each scene with a spookiness enhanced by the onminous repetition "till night comes". Wiesner's two-toned pastels soften the contrast of light to dark, enhancing the story's black and white ghostliness as the gargoyles come to life-lounging in trees, spewing water, and making faces at one another. His illustrations animate these "pock-marked" characters in a way that text alone cannot. Shadowy visages added to haunted expressions reveal an underlying tone whispering hints of the supernatural. Perfectly mysterious for reading out loud, this book will bewitch readers and listeners, school-age and beyond, with its timeless tale of the creepy-crawlies that come out at night.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Kids!, January 13, 2004

By 

Shane K. Bernard "cadien" (New Iberia, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Night of the Gargoyles (Paperback)

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. It's absolutely stunning. 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. I can see how the book might be a little too scary for some children, but my daughter seems to find it "just right," as do I. Yes, the gargoyles look a little menacing and the overall tone of the book is a little dark, but it's also fun in the same way that Halloween is fun. 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. I plan to buy a copy from Amazon for my own library, in fact.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Wear Your Sunglasses at Night, October 21, 2005

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night of the Gargoyles (Paperback)

Eve Bunting is not only one of the most prolific children's authors writing, she is also one of the best. Her poetic tale of NIGHT OF THE GARGOYLES is a darkly comical look at what happens at night when the sun goes down. Taking a cue from THE NUTCRACKER, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, and other famous "come to life" stories, Bunting weaves a poetic homage to the stone guardians about when and how they come to life and what they do when no one is looking. David Wiesner's magnificent black, white, and grey illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the text. The youngest and most easily scared of readers may find the story too scary. However, older children and even adults can be entertained by and enjoy the "foolish" (mischievous) escapades of these ancient stone warriors.