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Children's Fiction Fantasy & Magic

The Gargoyle in My Yard

by (author) Philippa Dowding

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2009
Category
Fantasy & Magic, Homelessness & Poverty, General
Recommended Age
9 to 12
Recommended Grade
3 to 4
Recommended Reading age
9 to 12
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781894917827
    Publish Date
    Apr 2009
    List Price
    $9.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459704992
    Publish Date
    Apr 2009
    List Price
    $8.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459704985
    Publish Date
    Apr 2009
    List Price
    $9.99

Classroom Resources

Download Teacher’s Guide

Where to buy it

Description

Commended for the 2009 Resource Links Best Books and for the 2010 Best Books for Kids and Teens, short-listed for the 2012 Diamond Willow Award

Chosen for the Toronto Public Library's 2015 Great Reads for Kids collection
What do you do when a 400-year-old gargoyle moves into your backyard? Especially when no one else but you knows he’s ALIVE? Twelve-year-old Katherine Newberry can tell you all about life with a gargoyle. Hes naughty. He gets people into trouble. He howls at the moon, breaks statues and tramples flowers to bits, all the while making it look like you did it! He likes to throw apple cores and stick his tongue out at people when they aren’t looking. How do you get rid of a gargoyle? Do they help the gargoyle leave for good? If you’re like Katherine and her parents, after getting to know him, you might really want him to stay.

About the author

Philippa Dowding is a children’s author, poet, musician and copywriter. She has won many industry awards and has had poetry and short fiction published in journals across North America. Her children’s books have been nominated for numerous literary awards in Canada and abroad, including the SYRCA Diamond Willow, OLA Silver Birch, OLA Red Maple, Hackmatack and White Raven awards. In 2017, Myles and the Monster Outside was an OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book and her 2021 novel, Firefly, won a Governor General’s Literary Award in the Children’s Literature – Text category. Philippa Dowding currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Philippa Dowding's profile page

Awards

  • Short-listed, Diamond Willow Award
  • Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens
  • Commended, Resource Links Best Books of 2009

Librarian Reviews

The Gargoyle in My Yard

An ancient gargoyle moves into a 12-year-old’s backyard and quickly turns her family’s life upside down. Though he’s troublesome at first, they soon learn his story and come to love him. A story of tolerance that reminds us to never judge a book by its cover.

Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. 2010.

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