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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating read & challenging riddles.,
By
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,
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,
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.
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