The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide (Book 1)


Citation: DiTerlizzi, Tony. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide. Simon & Schuster, 2003.

Plot:

Jared, Mallory, and Simon Grace are moving into an old family home with their mother after their father has left their family. The family relocates to have a fresh start, particularly for Jared in school. Soon after moving in the children begin hearing strange sounds in the walls, but try to explain them away because it is, in fact, an old house. They begin hunting for the source of the sound, thinking it may be squirrels. When finding a hole in the wall, the Grace children reach in and find what appears to be a nest of sorts, with Mallory's ribbon and shiny things. While exploring, the children find a dumbwaiter which leads to a room with no door. In the room are weird books on dwarfs and other mythical creatures, and eventually happen up Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the World Around You which included information on faeries. With some reading Jared surmises that the house is probably inhabited by a Boggart, a type of faery, and not a squirrel. The Boggart had been causing mischief all over the house since its nest had been disrupted, and Jared figures out that if they return they apologize and help the Boggart with a new nest the mischief may stop. In the end the Boggart advises them to get rid of the Fieldguide, lest all faeries get upset. Liking his new home, he decides to stop with all the mischief.

Review:

This book was interesting, but I would classify it as reading down a bit for tweens. However, young tweens (5th and 6th grades) really love the large series, and are fascinated with the content. So despite the reading level, the books appeal to tweens and the content is very tween appropriate. The books are almost manageable Harry Potter books, in the sense that their length is friendly for readers that are put off by books with 500 pages, and the content is fantastical. With so many books in the series, tweens will end up reading lots of pages; they just won't realize it. I recommend this fantasy series for any young reader looking for a book akin to Narnia or anything similar.




Reading Level: 9 and up




Series Information:

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Similar Titles:

The Chronicles of Narnia
Harry Potter