 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Nixie's Song: Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1
- By Holly Black
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Spiderwick series continues with new characters.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there's a bit of violence at the end, but otherwise this is pretty mild, milder than the original Spiderwick series, and not too scary or suspenseful.
What's the story?
With his mother dead, Nick is none too happy when his father remarries and he has to give up his bedroom to his new stepsister, Laurie. He's even less happy to find that she's a weirdo who believes in the fairies and the unseen magical world she has read about in The Spiderwick Chronicles. But he's really unhappy to discover that she's right.
Is it any good?
This is the beginning of a new series spun off The Spiderwick Chronicles. The characters are new, the setting changed to Florida, but the concept is the same: we are surrounded by an unseen, mostly malevolent, world of magical creatures, and certain magical items (here a four-leaf clover and the water a nixie has swum in) can give one the Sight to see it.
While it doesn't have the freshness and exciting suspense of the original series, and Nick and Laurie are rather unlikable protagonists, it does have one bit that long-time fans will enjoy: an appearance in the story by the author, illustrator, and the twins on whom the series is supposedly based. Nick and Laurie go to see them at a book signing, hoping for some advice in dealing with a problem with a giant, and are vastly disappointed. The author has fun razzing herself and her partner, and it provides a little metafiction interlude that jazzes the proceedings up for a while. But in the next book the basic story will have to pick up considerably, and Nick and Laurie will have to become a whole lot more appealing, to hold onto fans of the original series.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the idea of an unseen world all around us. Do you think it's true? Can you find any evidence one way or the other? Do you wish it was true? Why or why not?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
Kid, 9 years old
December 4, 2011
AGE
A great book
Just a great book. Old-fashioned setting and some surprising twists in the story. I read this at the end of first grade.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
great adventure but fraught with suspense for younger ones
Scary but amazing adventure tale that incorporated fantasy and rite-of-passage. Good role model in Mallory, the swashbuckling older sister. Divorece is an issue, as is a father who doesn't have time for his "old" family wen he has a new one. However, my son loved this series!
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
pretty good i guess
i read this when i was like in second grade. its not like SCARY or anything, but it may be considered "scary". nicely written to me anyway.
Was this review useful?
|
|
| Author: | Holly Black |
| Illustrator: | Tony DiTerlizzi |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | September 1, 2007 |
| Number of pages: | 162 |
| Hardcover price: | $10.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 7 - 7 |
| Read aloud: | 8 |
| Read alone: | 9 |
Review It
Register now to save reviews and advice articles to your personal lists!
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
vote now
Will you read The Nixie's Song: Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1?
Already read it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
