God Bless the Gargoyles

by Dav Pilkey

Gargoyles have been feared and misunderstood for centuries. But now Caldecott Honor winner Dav Pilkey tells their story--a moving tale of gentle stone creatures come to life.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry, Religion, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

David "Dav" Pilkey (b. March 4, 1966), is a popular children's author and artist. Pilkey is best known as the author and illustrator of the Captain Underpants book series. He lives near Seattle, Washington with his wife, Sayuri.

Reviews

[Mark]

Four separate adult friends of mine who've experienced horrific abuse cried over this book. I did, too. It is undoubtedly the most cathartic children's book I've ever read.

The most popular reviewer of this book, who observes in passing that it's "goodhearted and kind" (even as, for example, "The Chronicles of Narnia" are *somewhat* Christian) finds it prosodically defective and theologically muddled. My reaction to that critique (in a comment, which I've decided to relocate) was the following:

You review a book that is ineffably uplifting, exquisitely illustrated, capable of evoking tears of relief... and your reaction is that it's "theologically dicey" and violative of the appropriate contextual application of anapestic tetrameter?? Well, okay. I'm sure its utility as an object of hermeneutic analysis in a seminary was just *exactly* what the author had in mind.

[Abigail]

"in a long-ago time, when long-ago peoples / were building cathedrals and raising up steeples, / they crafted stone creatures and set them on perches / to guard and protect and watch over churches." And so begins the rhyming text of this beautiful and unexpectedly moving picture-book, in which the gargoyles, their purpose long forgotten by their human creators, find themselves reviled as ugly and demonic. Their resultant grief - "when the gargoyles heard these words that were spoken, / their stony old hearts became crumbled and broken. / then storms rumbled in, and their eyes filled with rain, / and in stillness they stayed, alone and in pain" - is observed by some passing angels, who stop to comfort them, leading them on magical nighttime flights. The story concludes with an invocation of God's blessing, particularly for all who are alone or heartbroken - particularly for gargoyles...

Originally published in 1996, and just republished in this 2016 edition, God Bless the Gargoyles is a lovely book, one which possesses a keen sense of morality, but which never allows its narrative to be overwhelmed by any sort of moralizing. A number of important lessons - having compassion for the lonely and outcast; looking beyond external appearances, in judging others - are woven naturally into this tale of lonely and misunderstood creatures, mistreated (as so many beings are) by humanity. I appreciated the fact that there is a religious and spiritual background here - although we are a nation of believers in the US, mainstream children's publishing often makes the religious life of our children invisible - but that the didactic purpose of the book has wider applications. This is also a beautiful book, visually speaking, and I thought the artwork - the deep purples and greens of the nighttime skies, the vibrant colors of the stained glass - perfectly captured the feeling of the text. Recommended to anyone looking for children's books with a more spiritual element, or for stories that emphasize compassion for others.

[Vintage]

is an enchanting book. If you are looking for something outside the old standbys of , , (do you sense a theme here?) then give "Gargoyles" a try. I read this to my son time and time again as well as the others mentioned, and he loved it.

The images are beautifully done with color drenched in evening colors, and the poetry is sweet and simple.

Having read some of the other reviews, I was interested that some people used this as a book for children that had been bullied or felt different. Makes sense.

[Jennifer]

Wow! This book pulled at my heart's strings. I definitely wasn't expecting that when I picked it up. This would be an amazing book for any student who is struggling with feeling down about themselves or feeling outcasted. I love the way the angels "came to the rescue". The author is honest and it is different from most "kiddy" books that are mostly colorful and happy. This book encourages us to accept one another and consider the beauty in ourselves.

[Ruth]

A Pilkey picture book few know about due to this popular humorous tales for kids. This is a beautifully illustrated book about the gargoyles and how they came into being and how they fly through the city at night. Adults will recognize classic art in some of the illustrations and smile at the flow of the narrative as they read it aloud, or to themselves. I don't know about child appeal but this is my all time favorite Pilkey title.

[Carolyn]

No one would ever guess that the author of the Captain Underpants series had such glorious poetry in him. But he does.

[Julie]

Love it! This is a beautiful book that explains why gargoyles were originally put on churches and buildings. (I'm surprised this isn't still taught or touched on in school anymore.) Great kids book that my kids enjoyed.

[Liz]

Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv this book. Read this book to three of my various classes in various years. All three times my teacher and a few of my classmates started crying. I remember my dad and I used to sit on the couch and he would help me read it (I was still fairly new into the reading game >.< ) Still go back and reread it on occasion. I've in fact killed three copies of it.

[Sue]

I bought this book for my nephew many years ago; I then went out and bought another copy for my own bookshelf and sometimes take it out and read it, especially when I'm feeling down about myself. The illustrations are beautiful, as is the message.

[Carly Reighard]

So happy I found this title while sorting shelving carts at the library! What a beautiful story with an even more beautiful message. And the pictures are exquisite! It definitely makes me miss the cathedrals of Europe.

[pattie]

Wonderful book for children and adults...a must read.

[Stephanie]

This book is a glory to read and an inspiration to me every time I open the pages. My young children love it, too. A family favorite!

[Xan(Alexandré) Roddy]

it is one of my faveorites of all kid stories

[Nancy]

If you are looking for a beautiful and moving children's book this is the one! It makes me teary eyed each time I read it.

[Jennifer]

One of my all time favorite books....beautifully written and the illustrations are amazing.

[zOdAê aKAê]

a sweet sweet book abt being misunderstood and how everyone has an angel looking out for them, rhyming, beautiful paintings

[Jim]

didn't like that God's name wasn't capitalized, other than that a great book.

[Mary Chase Mize]

This is the best children’s book I’ve ever read.

[Angel Torres]

What a nice and original story ✌️
Beautiful art and a great concept.

[Cat]

Lovely story, lovely verse, beautiful illustrations. One of my all time favorites. My eyes tear up whenever I read it.

[Jenny]

Pilkey’s luminous artwork is the star of this sweet tale of angels providing comfort to all God’s lost and lonely creatures. With soft shading and bold, highly saturated colors, Pilkey creates a world in which darkness is not so scary. The story is told in rhyming couplets of approximate anapestic tetrameter. The meter is irregular and the lines contain many slant rhymes; the effect is jarring considering the otherwise insistent rhythm. The text on each page appears in a bordered box, carrying the theme of stained glass windows (began on the endpapers) visually throughout the book. In the story, humans create gargoyles to watch over cathedrals where “they stood night and day, / keeping evil and terrible spirits away.” With the passage of time, humans forget the gargoyles’ purpose and come to despise them as ugly, evil-looking things. Angels then come to comfort the saddened gargoyles and take them flying while they observe that each lonely human is also accompanied by a caring angel. While some children may not notice the contradiction in the plot, others may wonder why the gargoyles leave their posts undefended against those “terrible spirits” when they go flying with angels each night. This story should appeal to readers interested in gargoyles and cathedrals as well as those seeking a comforting bed-time story if they are of a tradition that includes angels. The sloppy rhymes and uneven rhythm detract from the reading experience, but the richly painted artwork helps balance this flaw.

[Ardis]

Dav Pilkey is an amazing author/illustrator. He's proven over and over again that he has a wonderful, kooky sense of humor. In this book he shows his sentimental side, with a sweet story and gorgeous, lush illustrations.

[Murphy]

Kid's books are mainline emotions and this is a killer book. If you don't cry when you read it, you got something missing in your heart.

[Brandi]

This is my all time favorite children's picture book.

[Stephanie Sun]

goood...no plot but nice concepts...i feel like there's some deeper meaning to it that i'm missing...... O.o

[Marilyn]

Alissa had never been afraid of gargoyles so she couldn't relate.

[Sarah]

My favorite children's book and poem. It speaks to loss, loneliness, trauma and the hope that comes after.

[Sue]

I didn't expect a book by Dav Pilkey to bring me to tears, but this book managed to do just that.

[Greta]

Children find out even gargoyles have feelings too

[Honesty]

As someone who only knew Dav Pilkey from Captain Underpants and Dogzilla, I was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful book. As someone who loves monsters, I had to pick it up, and has experienced and witnessed similar hateful attitudes* from my fellow Christians (and often rolled my eyes at the ignorant reasons behind such treatment), this book resonated with me. I must admit, it made me tear up in portions.

Hats off to you, Mr. Pilkey. I never knew you had such a beautiful story within you.

*Mind you, I'm not someone who thinks disagreement is de facto hateful. That would undermine the very fabric of free speech and intellectual discourse. However, it is the way in which we express our disagreement which determines whether it is hateful, such as name-calling or bullying. Which is also why I can't watch political debates, because most so-called "debates" simply devolve into name-calling by the end. (Sorry, writing this during an election cycle.)