The Spiderwick Chronicles Deluxe Collector's Trunk [Hardcover]

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

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tony DiTerlizzi is the author of The Search for WondLa. He is also the co-creator and illustrator of the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles, the author and illustrator of Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-of-this-World MoonPie Adventure, as well as the Zena Sutherland Award winning Ted. His brilliantly cinematic version of Mary Howitt’s classic The Spider and The Fly earned Tony his second Zena Sutherland Award, and recieved a Caldecott Honor. Tony’s art has also graced the covers of such well-known fantasy writers as Peter S. Beagle, J. R. R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, and Greg Bear. He has also made significant contributions to Dungeons and Dragons and Wizards of the Coast’s Magic; The Gathering. His first chapter book, Kenny & the Dragon debuted as a New York Times bestseller. He lives with his wife Angela and their daughter in Western Massachusetts and Jupiter, FL. Visit Tony on the web at www.diterlizzi.com. 

Holly Black is the bestselling author of the Spiderwick series. Her Modern Faerie Tales series is comprised of Tithe, which was an ALA Top Ten Book for Teens and received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews; Valiant, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Locus Magazine Recommended Read, and a recipient of the Andre Norton Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America; and Ironside, the sequel to Tithe, was a New York Times bestseller. White Cat, the first book in the Curse Workers series, was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, and ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and BCCB. Red Glove, the second book in the Curse Workers series, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Holly has also written a collection of short stories, The Poison Eaters and Other Stories. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Visit Holly at blackholly.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (October 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141695015X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416950158
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.9 x 4.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy boy!, January 28, 2008

By 

T. Hibler "books make me smile" (Poplar Bluff, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spiderwick Chronicles Deluxe Collector's Trunk (Hardcover)

I ordered this set for my son's tenth birthday. You would have thought he'd been given a treasure chest full of gold from his reaction. He loves the books and the treasure chest was a special treat. The set comes with a notebook for responses and for creating one's own illustrations. The chest itself is much sturdier than I expected. It's not flimsy paperboard. The top folds down in hinged sections and closes with a magnet strip. All in all an excellent gift for Spiderwick loving readers. For a few days after his b-day he called me into his room several times a day just to show me the chest, the books and the notebook!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Click clack watch your back, August 29, 2009

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spiderwick Chronicles Deluxe Collector's Trunk (Hardcover)

According to Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, the text of this story was left for them by three mystery kids.

With that stab at blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality, these two authors slip easily into a haunted house tale that rapidly blossoms into a story of hidden fae and strange creatures. "The Spiderwick Chronicles (Boxed Set)" brings together five extremely brief little books that form one overarcing story, which becomes more tense and eerie as it winds to the inevitable battle with the Big Bad.

After their parents' divorce, the Grace kids -- teenage Mallory and nine-year-old twins Jared and Simon -- move with their mother to a crumbling old Victorian house, owned by a weird old aunt. Jared is having a rough time with all of this, but he's distracted from his personal woes by a "squirrel" scuttling around inside the walls. And their investigations reveal a strange little stash of items that were obviously not taken by a squirrel.

An exploratory trip in a dumbwaiter takes Jared to a hidden library full of strange books on mythic creatures -- and soon strange things start happening to the family. Jared's further investigations uncover a strange little book called "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide To The Fantastical World Around You," a little guide to faery creatures. Jared begins to believe that the unbelievable might be true -- that there are faeries causing trouble in his new home.

But it becomes painfully obvious what is up when various creatures try to get ahold of the book -- Simon is kidnapped by omnivorous goblins, a search for Arthur Spiderwick leads the kids into a elven trap deep in the woods, and Mallory is sealed in a glass box by malevolent dwarves deep inside an old quarry. But the one who really wants the Guide is Mulgarath, a terrible creature who (surprise!) wants to conquer the world -- and he'll take their mother to accomplish it.

For the record, this is a short series full of short books. Each book is only about a hundred pages of heavily-illustrated text, and we're not talking large pages. They're more like the chapters of a longer novel, meaning that older children and adults will find them ultra-quick and simple.

But Holly Black's writing style definitely makes it worth reading (such as the descriptions of stalactites "hanging above them like a forest of icicles"). Though the storyline is pretty simple, she weaves a web of subtle, eerie strangeness around the seemingly ordinary circumstances (such as elderly, seemingly batty Aunt Lucinda), to the point where you can almost believe that missing cats were eaten by hobgoblins.

And despite the Victorian house, the sprites and faery creatures here are anything but Victorian -- sometimes ugly, bizarre or malicious, and with their own strange ways (the beautiful, ruthless elves) and preoccupation (the dwarves' obsession with making forests of "ironwood" trees). And there are plenty of weird side-creatures: lake trolls, fey doppelgangers, metal dogs, haughty nature-robed elves, a "knocker" who escorts the kids underground, and so on.

And Tony DiTerlizzi's artwork is simply perfect for the story that he and Black are telling. He crafts lots of intricate pen-and-ink drawings, shadowy depictions of the decayed Victorian mansion, and illustrations of the weirder aspects of the Spiderwick estate (like the dusty library, or Mallory suspended in a glass box in medieval clothes). There are even pages and scribbled-on pages from Arthur Spiderwick, expulsion notices, and more.

The main characters are also quite believable: Mallory is a loving but slightly brittle teenager, and the mom is clearly struggling to stay afloat after her divorce. Simon is a tidy animal enthusiast, while the more prominent Jared is a kid who is starting to sink into trouble after his parents' divorce, only to find new and unexpected strength when he discovers the world of the Guide. The biggest problem is that the kids bicker a lot, which becomes a bit tedious after awhile -- even if it is likely.

The collector's deluxe trunk is a good treat for big fans of the series who want all the trappings -- it has a little trunk to stick everything in (which looks nicely aged and dusty), the "Notebook for Fantastical Observations" (a sort of cutesy notebook with half-stories and blank spaces), and some pretty picture cards.

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" is a solid brief story spread over five small books, building up a sense of suspense, eerie fantasy and otherworldly creatures. Beautifully written if a wee bit simple for older readers.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilled 9-year-old, January 8, 2008

By 

De Sofeb "De" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Spiderwick Chronicles Deluxe Collector's Trunk (Hardcover)

my daughter was thrilled to open this at Christmas and especially enjoyed having a collector's box to hold her books (and treasures!) in.