Title of the book: The Wolves in the Wall Author/ illustrator: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

Publisher/Year: Bloomsbury 2003

Features of the text: 2nd Person Narrative, post modernist
Notes: Year 6
Linguistic features. Use the New National Curriculum to focus on:
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation / Questions/Pages you
would want to explore further and why
Genre: Picturebook; post modernist; horror/thriller; Modern fantasy style with
Varied sentence structure to help create tension, anticipation and add
nonsense influences; cautionary tale; influences from boy who cried wolf, three
detail;
little pigs, little red riding hood, Alice in wonderland.
Simple Sentences: Lucy walked around the house.
Compound Sentences: But soon enough she closed her eyes
Structure: Chronological; repeated structure of language (shown through
and she was fast asleep.
dialogue); Combination of dialogue and narrative; clear beginning, middle and
Complex Sentences: Lucy was standing there, in the little hall at
end; Twist at end of story;
the back of the house, when she heard some wolves coming
down the stairs.
Narration: 2nd person narrative; extensive use of dialogue; dialogue and narration
use different fonts; bold text used to highlight important/significant words such as
Questioning from Characters interrogatives & imperatives
verbs and adjectives; use of repetition throughout (Lucy keeps repeating, There
Dialogue and Narration
are wolves in the walls); When discussing wolves the font is quite big but the font
Rhetorical questions
is small and thin for when the family talk and are discussed (symbol of weakness,
Lots of use of asked and said as speech verbs
being small, insignificance, fear?)
Range of punctuation used: comma, full stop, question mark,
exclamation mark, ellipses, hyphen, inverted commas to mark
Layout: Some pages have four illustrations in a comic book style layout (with
speech
solid white frame) which look at though they have been stuck on in a disjointed
Verbs used for added tension (e.g. scrambling, nibbling,
fashion (look like paper or photos); some illustrations (but few) have a white
gnawing, clawing)
border to frame; text on page surrounds or frames the illustrations; change in font

Adverbials of time (firstly, secondly, etc.)

colour could be to symbolise light and dark; Some text falls outside of the frame

Personification of wolves e.g. The biggest, fattest wolf of all

(this could fall into the space which is identified as the wall); double page spread
was playing an old wolf melody.
for when wolves come out of the walls (significance); text follows pattern of

Similes Quick as the flick of the wing of a bat.

narrative (e.g. structured as steps for when the family are climbing the steps to the

Repetition If the wolves come out of the walls, its all over!
house, text gets smaller to show volume)
Traditional tale feature character repeats herself three times
before she event happens (this is present in many traditional and
Illustrations: Combination of photographs, cartoons and sketches; Wolves are
fairy tales, for example, three little pigs (three visits by the wolf),
sketched and characters are always cartoon/painted illustrations. Significant
Cinderella (three visits to the ball)
objects are photographs, e.g. Jam, Tuba, etc. Colours used inside are yellow,
brown and red which show warmth in comparison to blues, blacks and whites
Intertextuality: Bad wolves, pig (traditional wolf tales), boy who cried
which show cold, darkness, isolation and fear when book is set outdoors at night
wolf, similarity to Little Red Riding Hood in traditional tale, girl is
time. Red is used a lot on the inside which can symbolise impending danger.
portrayed at weak and unable to face the wolf, in comparison, Wolves in
Wolves break out of frame which shows a lack of control. Lots of dark shading
the Walls main character Lucy is depicted as brave and faces her fears
and shadows make the wolves appear more frightening in comparison to the
to get back at the wolves).
sketches of the wolves which, at times, show the wolves as charming or funny.
Lucy is often shown to the side of other characters (side of the frame) which
depicts isolation and looking in on her family as opposed to being included.
Blurred images show quick movement. There is one page focused on a more
positive outlook which uses bright and happy colours to show a happier, positive

and calm mood (sun and clear skies show use of pathetic fallacy). The characters
themselves are angled and sharp with empty looking eyes which make them
seem more doll like than human.
Characterization: Lucy is isolated from family and has irrational fears but has
elements of bravery. She uses lots of repetition to support her view about the
wolves. She has a close relationship with her pig puppet who she seeks comfort,
inclusion and friendship from. Family are focused on material belongings and
hobbies rather than listening and believing their daughter/sibling. She tries hard to
be accepted by her family. Family have stereotypical hobbies, e.g. Mother makes
Jam, Father plays an instrument, and Brother plays video games. Wolves are
shown to be sneaky, mischievous and are personified in the story to be like
humans and have points when they are depicted as funny and charming.
Setting: Typical day in the family home (mostly at night time)
Themes: Bravery, fear, disconnection of family (lack of communication),
nightmares, importance of material belongings

Close Reading of key pages:

The colours used in these pages

are red, yellow, brown and white.
This gives a feeling of warmth in
the house and feeling that so far
there is not a big threat.

The eye looking through the wall

suggests a truth in what Lucy has
been saying all along and shows the
reader there is something in the
walls even though her brother says
otherwise.

In all the images

on the page Lucy is
looking down on
her brother which
suggests he is
younger or is more
immature.
The images on the
pages are sharp
and angled
including the faces
of the characters.
This creates an
edgy/ scary
atmosphere.

Lucy is wearing a
white t-shirt which
suggests goodness
and purity. Her
brother is wearing
red which suggests
danger.

The way Lucy stands

shows she is less
confident or isolated. Her
brother only faces her to
taunt her and is not
interested in what she
has so say.

Some images on
this page are shown
in more of a
cartoon form e.g.
the characters
whereas there is
elements of real
images e.g. the eye.
This contradicts
what is says in the
text.
Lucys pink pig is
always with her in
the pictures and
stands out as the
only pink image.
This gives the
sense that is her
comforter in the
book as no one
believes her.

Drama Opportunities:
When filling this in, make sure you add images from the page or page
references so that the teacher knows what parts you are referring to
Hot seating
Asking children in character different questions for example, hot
seating the wolves and the family at different points in the story and
after the story.

Literacy Opportunities (with a focus on grammar) :

Ensure that the links relate to the year-group expectations.
Remember, get the grammar to fit around the text and not the text
around the grammar. If you want to explore connectives, but there are
none in the book then create an activity that has the children add
them. Consider what types of writing activities might work around the
text. Make sure you have made a game/sheet and attached it to your
file.

Recreating wolf movement

Get the children to recreate sentences from the book (e.g. there were
hustling noises and bustling noises, etc) and re-enact these using a
range of different speeds, voices and a variety of alternative styles.
Get the class to work on chanting and adding movement to their
chants.

Diary Writing (link to using appropriate tense consistently)

Get children to pick their favourite character from the story and write a
diary entry in the perspective of them retelling the events of when the
wolves came out of the walls. Get them to write an entry from the
wolves and compare the two entries and views in terms of thoughts,
feelings and how they approached the events.

Role Play Opportunity

Allowing both the wolves and the family to meet each other and letting
the characters interact with each other. Role playing a scene between
Lucy and the pig with the pig talking to allow children to develop an
understanding of the relationship between them.

Newspaper Headlines
Use the story to create their own front page newspaper stories which
focus on the facts, include interviews and all of the events. This can
help to develop their ability to use correct tense consistently.

Freeze frames
Freezing during different times of the story letting children take on the
different characters roles, for example;
when the wolves are in the walls
when the wolves are in the house partying
when the family are outside
Tableaux could also be an expansion of this to get children to think
about how the characters are feeling and what thoughts they have.
Alternatively, you can use a statue partner activity which gets the
children (A and B) to take on the position of 2 characters at specific
points in the story for example Lucy and her mother when no one
will listen to Lucy and consider their body language.
Persuasion in pairs
Get children to take it in turns to be Lucy and a family member, they
then have to convince the family member to believe them about
something scary (they could stick with wolves or try something
different such as ghosts, monsters, etc). Use this activity to work on
facial expressions and body language which is required to persuade.

Creative Writing
Stopping the story at various points and letting the children use role
play to work out what might happen next (this can be started by acting
it out and then getting the children to write after)

Grammar Activity
Four words have been taken from Wolves in the Walls. Synonyms for
these words have been added to the shades of meaning grid. The
children will need to arrange the synonyms in the order of strength,
and match them up with the shades of colour in the grid. The aim of
this activity is that the children will begin to understand how many
different words they can use to enhance their writing. This activity can
be developed by children trying to find more synonyms and adding to
the grid or the children can pick words they like from the book and
create their own shades of meaning activity.

Lucy was standing there, in the little hall at the back of the
house, when she heard some wolves coming down the stairs.
They had been eating jam and toast in front of the TV and were
coming back for more. Where could she go? What could she do?
Using the above quote, get children into groups to answer these two
questions and recreate this scene with their ideas in anyway which
they wish, e.g. improvisation, role play, freeze frame, etc.
Conscience alley
Key questioning;
Should the wolves come out of the walls and why?
Should the family go back into the house?
Should the family listen to Lucys theory about the wolves?

Cross Curricular Opportunities:

Use the curriculum jigsaw and copies of the NC to help you see
relevant links to the text.

Receptive Context:
Think about how you can use the room to excite and engage the
children into wanting to explore the book and anything related to it
more. How can you wow them when they first walk in?

Art

Recreating drawings of wolves using different techniques (e.g.

paint, drawing, sculpting)
Looking at the use of illustration throughout the book and the
effects of different styles of illustrative technique (i.e. using real
life photographs alongside sketches or painted cartoons)
Researching into different illustrators comparing their drawings
and styles of illustrative art (Emily Gravit wolves, artists
drawings of wolves, Arthur Rackham)
Recreating own wolf illustrations
What is behind the walls? allow the children to use their
imagination to draw what they think could be behind the wall in
the story where the wolves live. They can also do this with their
own bedroom walls, drawing at first their own wall and on a
second sheet, what could be inside it. These could be
displayed together to show a contrast between the worlds.

Design and Technology

Children making their own puppets like the pig puppet and
exploring the types of puppet that there are
Link to NC making and designing a puppet character from
the story for a particular purpose and aimed at a group they
could make puppets to accompany the book to help with
retelling the story
They could create their own comfort puppet which they would
have accompany them in their own retelling of the story for if
they were the main character
Making their own jam like the mother in the story this then
links to measurement and being able to confidently use a
range (volume, mass, grams, millilitres etc) this further links
to ratio of ingredients within a recipe (e.g. ratio of sugar to fruit)
Science
Looking and discussing the adaptations the wolves needed to
make to go from living in the walls to the house. They can
compare this with research into how wolves live in the wild.

Before:
You could design the classroom by covering the walls in the sketched
images from the book of the wolves, or even using the realistic
photographs of wolves eyes against the walls to draw the children in.
Read the book to the children. Get them to make their own book
reviews of what they think about the book and put these up onto the
wall.
Look up the author online and as a class, get in touch with the author
via twitter. Potentially ask the author to come into the classroom and
talk to the children or use twitter as a format to ask key questions
about the text why the characters are like they are? Where did the
inspiration from the story come from?
Alternatively do some research behind the story online as a class or in
groups.
During
Provide the children with a book corner with different books involving
wolves for the children to explore. Encourage children to recommend
their own book ideas for any which are similar which they would like to
share, allowing children to think what is the same what is different
about the other books.
Create a book group in the class - talk about a different book involving
wolves each week.
After:
Create a big display around the book in classroom for children
to refer back to whenever they want.
Include various displays of work in the class
Make the class themed around the book - each display around
a different subject (e.g. art work, story writing, display of
puppets, etc.)

History
Look at the importance of the queen of Melanesia the history of her
and the significance of this character to the story
PE
dance, wolf dance,emulating the characters through the use of
movement - cheeky,naughty
Music
Develop their own musical sound effects to accompany their
own retelling of the story through their animations
Recreating the sound of the wolves in the wall and the party of
the wolves using different instruments to recreate the sounds
in the different scenes, what instruments could we use to
recreate the sounds ?
Creating a soundtrack to accompany a reading of the book or
a performance they do with puppets for younger children
Computing
Design an animation to illustrate a scene within the story using
a program such as Scratch
Maths
Write worded problems or encourage children to write their
own

Questions you could ask to develop comprehension:

Try and refer questions to specific pages from the text and make sure
theyre open-ended
How do pictures help you understand the behaviour of the characters?
Explain why the writer has used framing in the book.
How does Lucy react to her brothers taunting?
Why has the writer used repetition of the same sentence? What does
this mean?
What is the significance of the pig?
What was the effect the illustrator achieved by making the wolfs eye
appear realistic?

How does the font differ and what is the purpose of this?
Does this book remind you of any others and how does it do this? E.g.
story structure, characters, setting, theme, etc.
The text switches between white and black font colour, is there
reasoning or structure behind this? Is there a pattern?

Down the stairs went the wolves scurrying

She was drawing a picture when she heard the noises again, a scrambling, rambling rustling in the walls.
In the middle of the night there was a howling and a yowling, bumping and thumping.

scurrying

scrambling

yowling

thumping

whirling

trekking

yelling

beating

running

rushing

screaming

hitting

scuttling

crawling

yelping

hammering

scampering

jostling

howling

pounding

dashing

clambering

bawling

walloping

Down the stairs went the wolves scurrying

She was drawing a picture when she heard the noises again, a scrambling, rambling rustling in the walls.
In the middle of the night there was a howling and a yowling, bumping and thumping.

scurrying

scrambling

yowling

thumping

whirling

running

dashing

trekking

scuttling

scampering

rushing

crawling

beating

hitting

jostling

yelling

walloping
pounding

yelping
screaming

howling

hammering