Tony DiTerlizzi

When the Grace children go to stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda's worn Victorian house, they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and begin to have some unusual experiences.

The field guide

ghost girl in satin

I loved this book 💜 the plot was very simple but the atmosphere and the characters were well done, and the illustrations in here are stunning.

Vicky  Nuñez 

As a fan of Holly Black's work & having seen the movie based on this book I started wondering why I had never read the book.

I love the fact that the movie was so close the book. The Field Guide is just an introductory book to the Grace brother's & their story. And nothing said in them differs from what appears in the movie, which is great.

Overall, i would say that if you liked the movie you definitely need to read this one. But that it's shortness will leave you begging for the next.

Hannah DCamp

I've heard of these stories for years, but was completely unaware that Holly Black had written them. The artwork was stunning, the gothic, crumbling house was enticing. The story itself was weird, very reminiscent of a fairy tale in its unsettling way. The way Jared's mother was completely convinced he was capable of destroying the house or frightening his siblings was beyond frustrating, easily the least enticing aspect of the story.

It was short and sweet, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the story. This relies so much on it's sequels, it's more of a part one or an opening chapter than anything else, so I'm glad that I decided to get the second one right off the bat. If only I had any ability to schedule my reading and make things less chaotic 🙄 I really am my own worst enemy

Briar's Reviews

The Spiderwick Chronicles was a name I heard often in my youth, but I never found the actual book. I picked this book up not too long ago at a charity book sale. I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about.

I can easily see this book, one that is full of faeries and folklore, to be a great book for young readers and early middle grade readers. There's the perfect mix of fun, mystery, and hijinks that most kids will find relatable. The story is fairly simple - a family moves into an old, creepy house and odd things start happening. The Grace kids, Jared, Simon, and Mallory, soon find a hidden library with Arthur Spiderwick's encyclopedia on oddities - faeries and other folklore. This book is just the introduction to more fantasy to come.

I liked it! It was an easy read and very fun. It felt too much like an introduction at times, but there was conflict, problem solving, and a resolution to make it a full story. If I ever find the second, I'll continue reading out of pure curiousity.

Three out of five stars.

Gillian Rose

Very short and I feel like not much happened. I'm going to continue the series but maybe it didn't need to be five books?

Haley Murray

laura

Jeni Enjaian

I have not gotten a lot of practice reviewing and/or studying children's literature. The basic mechanics of the writing is spot on. The book itself felt partial, as if all the books in the series should have been combined to make a larger book with better follow-through with plot structure. The characters (and illustrations) were well drawn and what meager plot was there was enough to make me want to read the rest of the series.