The Field Guide
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Simon & Schuster
Fiction, MG Fantasy
Themes: Buildings with Character, Fantasy Races, Hidden Wonders
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Description
Things have been tough for the three Grace children since their father walked out on the family. Jared is filled with anger, his twin brother Simon buries himself in the
care of various wild animals he's taken in, and his older sister Mallory vents via fencing lessons. Their great-aunt has kindly let them stay in her old home on the
Spiderwick Estate, though it hardly seems a kindness when the kids get a good look at the long-neglected Victorian mansion. Their mother optimistically hopes can be restored,
but with rotting floors and decades of neglect, Jared has his doubts. But, like his siblings, he's stuck with the place, just as he's stuck with his crumbing life.
While exploring the old house, Jared stumbles across a secret library filled with strange books. A hidden riddle leads him to the strangest book of all: a leather-bound
field guide full of beautiful pictures of pixies, boggarts, and other fantastic creatures... or are they so fantastic? Strange things start happening almost as soon as they
arrive at Spiderwick Estate, and the explanation might challenge everything the kids though they knew about the world around them.
Review
This really isn't too bad of a book, but I dislike being set up for a serial story like this, especially a serial story where each installment is ten bucks a pop. Even at that price, much of the page count is filled with illustrations. The story's pretty straightforward, without too many surprises for anyone who reads a fair amount of fantasy, but it's not necessarily poorly written for all that. I expect the story might pick up in future volumes, but my budget isn't sufficient to allow my to pursue the series very far. If Half Price Books is kind to me, I might follow it for a couple more books. (As disenchanted as I was with this book, however, I found it a veritable masterpiece compared to the Disney movie.)