The Stonewalkers

by Vivien Alcock

Book Overview

Everyone is so tired of Poppy Brown's stories that Poppy has begun talking to garden statues. When her favorite statue, Belladonna, is struck by lightning and comes to life, Poppy must find a human... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395816521
• ISBN13: 9780395816523
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Hichcockian fare for the under 14 set

Vivien Alcock is best described as the Alfred Hitchcock of children's literature. Don't laugh, cause I mean it sincerely. She is a master of suspense in juvenile fiction. Her books, when they are realistic, are all about crazy mind games and deceit (as in her "Vertigo"-like, "The Sylvia Game"). Alfred Hitchcock was often ready to dip in surrealistic horror as in "The Birds", and to that extent, "The Stonewalkers" is Alcock's undeniable equivalent. Hitchcock made us nervous of the avian menace perched just above our heads. Alcock makes us nervous of our stone neighbors hanging out on our streets, sidewalks, and walkways. The statues can no longer be trusted. Poppy Brown is a filthy liar. A disgusting, repugnant, truly overwhelming little fib-meister. There are various reasons for this. Some people think her lies spawn from the fact that her father died when she was young and her mother has always been repeatedly institutionalized (possibly to avoid the responsibility of Poppy). The kid has been shuffled from one foster mother to another like a piece of beloved (but not particularly enjoyed) old luggage. Now her mother is back in her life again and the two are living on a large English estate. Her only friend is a stone statue of a young woman whom Poppy has named Belladonna. When the girl fastens a mysterious chain she found in the estate's basement around Belladonna's ankle, she's shocked to discover that with a little lightening, her stone friend is brought suddenly to life. Unfortunately, this experiment turns distinctly Frankenstein-like and Poppy enlists the help of pudgy neighbor Emma to discover where her statue has gone and what it might do. When statues from churches and graveyards start walking off on their own accord, Poppy and her friend find themselves in terrible danger at the hands of these beautiful and horrible monsters. When a read a blurb of a review of this book from Horn Book Magazine that called it, "An absorbing tale of terror", I didn't really believe it. Sure, I was a little disturbed by the image presented on its cover. If you purchase the 1998 reissue of "The Stonewalkers" then you are privy to a picture drawn by the excellent children's illustrator Barbara McClintok. Something about the picture really disturbed me. There was a hint of cruelty to it that I couldn't exactly place. Something to do with the faces of the child characters perhaps. I didn't give it much thought until I started reading the book itself. When things go bad for the kids in this story, they go real bad real fast. One child goes around being forced to move around on a broken ankle for long periods of time. Others have their hair ripped from their heads and wish that they could wake up from the nightmare that is their life. I'm a pretty liberal reader of children's books, but even I found myself getting a little edgy during some of these passages. Alcock leaves no doubt in your mind that these statues' cruelty stems fro

An awesome book!!!

I just finished this book called the Stonewalkers. I am ten years old. It is one of the best books that I have ever read. This book is about a person named Poppy Brown. She likes to talk to statues of stone. One day the statue got struk by lightning and comes alive. The only person that beleives her is her only friend Emma. They have to make sure that the statue doesn't dstroy anything. Poppy is a girl who tells many lies. Emma is a girl who believes Poppy .She is a good friend , except in one part of the book where she wants to die. I love the way Vivien Alcock describes the characters . She develops them in a way that you really feel for them. If you want to find out more , read this amazing book. I am going to read more books by this author. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes suspence, action, and terror.

The best!

One of the best books to be recomended to me! Great if you like mysteries.