The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Holly Black (Author), Tony DiTerlizzi (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles

Go away

close the book

put it down

do not look

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first book in a beautifully produced series of five, The Field Guide sets up the story of the Grace children--13-year-old Mallory and 9-year-old twins Jared and Simon--who with their mother move into the dilapidated Spiderwick Estate only to quickly find themselves sucked into a dark and fascinating world of faeries.

Superficially, the Spiderwick Chronicles smack of Lemony Snicket, with its "true story" setup and breathless warnings ("Go away/close the book/put it down/do not look"). But Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black owe no one for the intensely absorbing world they've created. Black certainly showed fey promise in her slightly freaky debut and DiTerlizzi has weird cred to spare, from his zany Jimmy Zangwow to countless credits for the Magic: The Gathering card game.

By combining their ample skill with thoughtful art direction and demanding production values, the duo has succeeded in creating a series with irresistible appeal. Each book promises a quick read, snappy plot progression, and dozens of DiTerlizzi's imaginative pen-and-ink drawings. So if you're drawn to The Field Guide at all, you might as well save yourself the trouble and make sure you have the second book (The Seeing Stone handy. (Ages 6 to 10) --Paul Hughes

Review

"With their evocative gothic-style pencil drawings and color illustrations, rhyming riddles, supernatural lore, and well-drawn characters, these books read like old-fashioned ripping yarns." -- New York Times Book Review

"The books wallow in their dusty Olde Worlde charm: Faeries! Dumbwaiters! Attics! But then, reading has an old-fashioned charm too." -- Time magazine

"Appealing characters, well-measured suspense and an inviting package will lure readers...younsgters may well find themselves glancing over their shoulders." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; First Edition edition (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689859368
• ISBN-13: 978-0689859366
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read & challenging riddles., June 12, 2003

By 

Alison A. Parker "sleepy law student" (St. Pete, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) (Hardcover)

The Field Guide, in my mind, is superior in the realm of children's lit. Even in the present-day "Renaissance of Children's Literature" it is not often that one stumbles across a book with some many postive characteristics.
For one, I do not understand the hullabaloo surrounding the similarity in packaging to the Lemony Snicket books. This book was not dark or full of satire like the Series of Unfortunate Events books. Truly, the packaging of these series is where the similarities begin and end.
These series is probably more appropriate for a younger audience as well, except for one expletive ("crap") that adults may find objectionable.
The family dynamics are believeable. The sibliings love each other and help each other out, but that doesn't stop rivalry or redicule.
The story begins as the family moves into a new house, sans the father. After some exploring with the dumbwaiter, the children find mystifying secrets. The author's secrets are tough to figure out, but is good for mind-stretching purposes.
I would especially recommend this book for children who may be too young for Harry Potter.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put this on the top of your reading list, May 12, 2003

By 

Danielle (Linthicum, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) (Hardcover)

All the things a kid could ever want in a book--Faeries, Goblins, secret rooms, and a quick read to boot. I frequent the library, but felt these books were so fantastic I had to buy copies of my own. The illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi are wonderful, and I found myself eager to turn each page to see the next picture, as well as to read what would happen in the story. The style of the books are eerily similar to that of Lemony Snicket-- there are three siblings who find themselves in some sort of trouble or danger in each book, a letter from the author, and a snippet on the back of each book with reasons why you shouldn't read the story. Still, the events in the books were very original and kept me entertained. I can't wait for the rest of the series to be released (there are five books total). A must read!!

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Start, June 21, 2004

By 

Jonathan Appleseed - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) (Hardcover)

What better place to begin a children's fantasy series than a mysterious, run-down old Victorian? Anyone that knows anything about Victorians knows that they have enormous storytelling potential, as many of the larger, older ones have attics and crawl spaces galore. A perfect place for faeries, good or bad, to be hiding out, and for children to go exploring.

For a twin, poor Jared Grace seems oddly the quintessential loner - the typical setup character who sees and believes in the elements of fantasy first, but whom nobody believes. Nevertheless, it's impossible, through both the writing and the deft illustrations throughout, not to have empathy for him. I "fell in love with" Jared in the first two pages, and maintained that throughout the story, which, while short, was still lively and well paced. Jared, who characterizes himself through the narrator as aimless and not the smart one (the smart one is Simon, his twin), is the character who is determined to solve the clues he is faced with, and upon realization that their families disruption of a faerie creatures habitat is the cause of all of their weird troubles, sets the situation right all by himself.

While comparisons to Lemony Snicket are inevitable, I found more similarities to L. Frank Baum, particularly in chapter titles, such as "In Which Two Walls are Explored by Vastly Different Methods". I particuarly enjoyed the drawing of the boggart in the final scene, as it was reminiscent of Jon O'Neil's wonderful and still (in my opinion) unparalleled artistry in children's books from the Wizard of Oz series. And kids - if you haven't read all of Baum's Oz books, rush to the library or beg your parents to buy them for you here on Amazon (*grin*) for they are amazing and wonderful, and in this most delightful rennaisance of children's fantasy, should not be forgotten. More than one hundred years ago, L. Frank Baum started it all.