The Field Guide: The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is little of concern here, though the mom is mostly irritable and sometimes unfair, and the children's father recently left them. As the series progresses, the themes are a little darker. Parents may want to preview the books going forward for their younger readers.
Families can talk about how the siblings handle their feelings about their father's absence.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
The three siblings, and their mom, have some issues: the father has recently left them, and they are all angry and hurt, especially Jared. They express in different ways: Jared gets into fights at school, Simon shuts them all out by immersing himself in the animal world, and Mallory furiously practices her fencing. These problems create an interesting interplay with the fantasy elements, as they see aspects of themselves expressed in the faerie world: Jared "knew what it was like to be mad, and he knew how easy it was to get into a fight, even if you were really mad at someone else. And he thought that just maybe that was how the boggart felt."
In addition to the quick and fascinating story, these books are pleasurable physical objects as well: small and lightweight, with irregularly cut pages, and illustrations on nearly every spread, including a map of the area and a couple of color plates, they have a delightfully old-fashioned feel that fairly cries out to be read. Add to that the short length (107 pgs.) and fluid readability that will appeal even to reluctant readers without seeming babyish, and you may have the perfect summer read for the middle elementary crowd. And maybe even a few adults too.
From The Book
There was a rustling behind him. Jared spun around. It came from the desk.
As he held up the makeshift lamp, Jared saw that something had been scrawled in the dust of the desk. Something that wasn't there before.
Click, clack, watch your back.
Plot Summary:
Twins Jared and Simon Grace, and their older sister Mallory, move with their mother to a decaying Victorian house in the first of The Spiderwick Chronicles. There they discover a secret room, and clues which eventually lead them to an old, handwritten and illustrated book, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You.
The book is filled with details about faeries, boggarts, brownies, and the like, but these are not your Disney fairies -- for the most part they are neither cute nor friendly. At first only Jared is interested, but strange and destructive things are happening around the house, and though their mother blames Jared, his siblings aren't so sure.
Related Books:
More in the Series:
The Seeing Stone
Lucinda's Secret
The Ironwood Tree
The Wrath of Mulgarath
Books with Similar Themes:
No Flying in the House
Midnight Magic
The Gold Dust Letters
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