The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide

Bibliography

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. 2003. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES: THE FIELD GUIDE. New York: Simon & Schuster Books. ISBN 0689859368

Plot Summary

The Field Guide is the first of five short fantasy novels in The Spiderwick Chronicles series. When Jared, Simon, Mallory, and their mother move from New York into Aunt Lucinda’s old Victorian house, strange and unusual things begin to occur. Jared begins to hear movement in the walls and makes himself believe that it is just a squirrel. Mallory hears the noises too and the three decide to make a hole in the wall to find the mystery animal. When they open the kitchen wall, they find all sorts of trinkets that the animal has made for a nest. They decide to send Jared up in a dumbwaiter to try and catch the mystery animal when Jared discovers a hidden room that contains a handwritten poem containing a secret message. When Jared decodes the message he finds a field guide written by his great-great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick that includes details about the faeries that live on the Spiderwick estates. Things begin to occur that are quite unusual. For example, Mallory awakes with her hair tied in knots to her bed and bruises on her body and the kitchen is completely destroyed. Jared is blamed for the occurrences, but he believes that an angry boggart is the guilty party. To keep things for happening again, the three decide to make a new home with all of the trinkets found to make the boggart happy. The Field Guide ends when the three children discover a little man “the size of a pencil” named Thimbletack who tells the three children to throw away the field guide or they will be in harms way.

Critical Analysis

The Field Guide opens with a letter from author Holly Black explaining how she and Tony DiTerlizzi came upon the idea of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Through the help of the Grace children, Holly tells how she and Tony “now see that faeries are far more than childhood stories” and they hope that the reader “will open your eyes to it.”

DiTerlizzi and Black’s vivid descriptions along with the black and white sketches bring life to the Spiderwick manor. Jared describes the manor as “a dozen shacks had been piled on top of one another” and later adds “the leaks in the roof had made all but three of the upstairs bedroom floors dangerously rotted.”

The author uses believable characters that are dealing with issues many children face today. Jared seems to be having the most difficult time with his parents divorce and he just hasn’t found his place in the family. He describes his twin brother as one day being a “veterinarian or a lion tamer” and his sister Mallory “would either be an Olympic fencer or in jail for stabbing someone with a sword.” Jared’s timid character begins to develop and the plot thickens when he finds a mysterious poem. He begins a quest that leads him to the attic where he discovers The Field Guide. Jared becomes fascinated with the idea of faeries and soon learns that an upset boggart has been the culprit in the occurrences in the house. Jared becomes a brave adventurer who discovers a world of faeries.

When the three discover the mannikin in the hidden study at the end of the story, he warns the children of the trouble they may find unless the book is tossed into the fire. This discovery is only the beginning of the adventures that Jared and his siblings will encounter. The story is both dark and mysterious and the existence of faeries brings this story to a fantasy world that will capture the reader’s interest.

Review Excerpts

Booklinks: “In this first book in the Spiderwick Chronicles series, Mallory, Simon, and Jared Grace arrive with their newly divorced mother at their great-aunt Lucinda’s Victorian house and there discover a boggart named Thimbletack and a hidden library filled with esoteric books, including great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World around You. As Jared struggles to control the anger that sometimes sweeps over him since his parents’ divorce, the Grace children are drawn deeper and deeper into the world described by their great-great uncle. Although quite short in comparison to many fantasies, this book and the four that follow it are very satisfying.”

Connections

Students will enjoy reading the rest of the books in The Spiderwick Chronicles series. These books include:

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. THE SEEING STONE. ISBN 0689859376

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. LUCIND’S SECRET. ISBN 0689859384

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. THE IRONWOOD TREE. ISBN 0689859392

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. THE WRATH OF MULGARATH. ISBN 0689859406

Readers can also try the audiobook set:

Black, Holly and Tony DiTerlizzi. The Spiderwick Chronicles Box Set: Book 1: The Field Guide; Book 2: The Seeing Stone; Book 3: Lucinda's Secret; Book 4: The Ironwood Tree; Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD). ISBN 0739356151