The Midnight Gang

Porter’s backstory is revealed gradually. How would the narrative change if Porter’s history was known immediately? What is Porter’s wider significance in the text?

Compare and contrast The Midnight Gang with one of Walliams’s other middle-grade novels. What key themes and ideas do the two texts share?

Sally is described as frail and “like porcelain.” How does Sally show her inner courage despite her physical weakness? How is she different or similar to the other children?

Nelly appears briefly in the novel and yet plays an important role. How is Nelly characterized? What is her role in the novel, and what does she bring to the story that other adult characters do not?

Closely analyze the dreams the different children choose in the novel. How does each dream reveal important aspects of each character’s personality, situation, and/or desires? How are the dreams different or similar?

How does humor function throughout the novel? What different types of humor does the author use, and how does it aid in characterization, setting, and/or illustrating key themes and ideas?

Though Porter and Tom are different in age and background, they both experience loneliness in their living situations. How does the novel explore the nature of loneliness more generally? How do different characters learn to combat this loneliness?

What examples of the Midnight Gang members’ resourcefulness show creativity? How does the novel explore the importance of friendship and interpersonal bonding through the gang’s dynamic and the different character arcs?