• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

2014 Red Cedar Book Award — Shortlisted
2014 Forest of Reading, Silver Birch Express — Shortlisted, Fiction
2013 Diamond Willow Award — Shortlisted
2013 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award — Shortlisted
2013 Saskatchewan Young Reader’s Choice Award — Shortlisted
2013 White Ravens Award — Commended

What do you do when the park next door is inhabited by 400-year-old creatures?

Christopher has a problem. He has just moved to Toronto. He has a new school and no friends. But even worse, the park next door is creepy: voices whisper in the bushes, and something throws apples at his window and howls at the moon. But what? Gargoyles! Their names are Gargoth and Ambergine, and they need help. An evil thief called the Collector is after them and wants to lock them away in his dark mansion, forever.

Befriending a gargoyle takes courage, but it’s worth it. Once he does, Christopher suddenly has more friends than he ever imagined, including Katherine, a girl from his class who knows the gargoyles, as well. When the Collector steals Ambergine, it’s up to Christopher and Katherine to get her back, as long as something else doesn’t catch them along the way.

This is the third book in the award-nominated Lost Gargoyle series.

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

• Short-listed, Forest of Reading - Silver Birch Express Fiction
• Short-listed, Red Cedar Book Award
• Commended, White Ravens
• Short-listed, Cooperative Children's Book Center
• Short-listed, Diamond Willow Award - Saskatchewan Young Reader's Choice Award
• Short-listed, Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award

I would recommend this book to young independent readers with an interest in gargoyles, magic, and adventure fiction. The inclusion of Toronto history and landmarks are an added bonus to a great read.

Resource Links (NL)

...charming and amusing...

The KW Record

The Gargoyle at the Gates, an interesting and appealing story, is a splendid sequel to the first two Lost Gargoyle books.

Canadian Materials

Starred Review

Best Books for Kids and Teens: Spring Edition 2013