Title: The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide -
book 1 of 5
Author: Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
Published: May 2003
Genre: Children’s, Fantasy
Summery: When 9 year old Jared Grace and his siblings move from the city to a falling apart old house in rural Maine he is fairly sure it will be the worst time of his life. After all, his parents just got divorced, he almost got expelled from school, and now they are stuck in the middle of nowhere in a house that belongs to their crazy old aunt.
When the kids go exploring to find what sort of creature is climbing around in the walls they find a secret study filled with information of books about strange creatures that can only be described as fairies.
After finding a poem that leads him the the attic, Jared finds a field guide to these fairies written by his great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick. However Jared soon finds out that not all fairies are happy and pretty like in the books.
What I liked about it: This is a book I have been reading and rereading since about 2008 when the movie came out. The style of writing and art is a bit different then a lot of books for this age range but in a way I have always liked. Its fun, has interesting characters and is the sort of book that you can come back to again and again as you get older and still enjoy.
Language: The kids say darn and drat and that sort of thing but nothing really bad.
Romance: None
Violence: There is some gore as the children fight off goblins and other creatures in some parts of the later books.
Magic: The way magic is presented is much like if you read old Scottish folktales where magical creatures are present but there is nothing unusual about their presence. They make their presence known if they wish and if not they stay hidden. The fairies are unique and not just the typical little person with wings and magic dust, instead the term is used to describe all of the magical creatures and beings. From sprites to elves, griffins to brownies.
Recommended Age: Jared is 9 and I would say this book would be appropriate for 7 or 8 on up.
Click on the orange Books With Bean tag below to read other reviews in this series
this is a book we very much enjoy in our household too, it's a good done eh?
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