Fantasy Series- The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide

Bibliography
DiTerlizzi, Tony & Holly Black. 2003. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES: THE FIELD GUIDE. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689289368

Plot Summary
The Grace Children (13 year-old Mallory and 9 year-old twins Simon and Jared) and their recently divorced mother move into their great Aunt Lucinda's worn out Victorian house. There, Jared discovers a field guide, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You--a hand book to faeries and other creatures. Often in trouble, Jared gets blamed for some unusual occurences until his siblings finally believe what the field guide says, after they see one of the creatures inside it for themselves.

Critical Analysis
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black prove to be a remarkable pair, as they introduce fantasy-loving readers to the story of the Grace children and the fantastical world of creatures around them. The Grace children's discovery of the mysterious faerie realm that exists around them pulls readers in, making them anxious to read more. The first creature readers are introduced to, is a peaceful brownie living inside the walls of the house. Unknowingly, the Grace children destroy his home in the walls, causing him to turn into an enraged boggart. Jared suspects this when he reads about brownies in the field guide: "The Arthur guy says it's a boggart. See, brownies are these helpful guys, but then if you make them mad, they go crazy. They start doing all these bad things and you can't stop them. Then they become boggarts. That's what I think we have." The boggart's ways of exacting revenge on three of them, such as knotting Mallory's hair to her headboard and freezing Simon's pet tadpoles into ice cubes all while making Jared's mom believe he is responsible for this, makes for a story with just enough menace and suspense. The clever headings of each chapter such as "In Which There Are Answers, Though Not Necessarily to the Right Questions," and the antique-style pen and ink illustrations are appealing to young readers. So is the book's opening letter from Holly Black to the reader, the note written to her and Tony DiTerlizzi by the Grace children, the map of the Spiderwick estate, and a handwritten note in Arthur Spiderwick's upstairs library, which will perhaps convince some that the story is real.

Book Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly - "Appealing characters, well-measured suspense and an inviting package will lure readers on to The Seeing Stone, due next month."
Kirkus Reviews - Readers who are too young to read Harry Potter independently will find these have just the right amount of menace laced with appealing humor and are blessed with crisp pacing and, of course, DiTerlizzi's enticingly Gothic illustrations."

Connections
*Other fantasy series:
Nimmo, Jenny. MIDNIGHT FOR CHARLIE BONE(CHILDREN OF THE RED KING, BOOK 1). ISBN 0439474299
Rowling, J.K. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (BOOK 1). ISBN 0590353403
Mull, Brandon. FABLEHAVEN: RISE OF THE EVENING STAR (BOOK 1). ISBN 1590387422
Neff, Henry H. THE HOUND OF ROWAN: BOOK ONE OF THE TAPESTRY. ISBN 0375838945
Sage, Angie. SEPTIMUS HEAP BOOK 1: MAGYK. ISBN 0060577312
MacHale, D.J. THE MERCHANT OF DEATH (PENDRAGON SERIES #1) ISBN 0743437314