Title: The Spiderwick Chronicles (Boxed Set): The Field Guide; The Seeing Stone; Lucinda’s Secret; The Ironwood Tree; The Wrath of Mulgrath Author: Holly Black CBA or ABA? ABA (American Book Association) Primary Audience/age group: 9 12 yrs. Old Genre: Fantasy/Action # Of pages: Just over 100 each book Year of Release: 2003 (book 1) Part of a Series? Yes, 1 of 5 Rating: 2 of 5 Recommend? Not really.
Description: It all started with a mysterious letter left at a tiny bookstore for authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Its closing lines: “We just want people to know about this. The stuff that has happened to us could happen to anyone.” Little could they imagine the remarkable adventure that awaited them as they followed Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace and a strange old book into a world filled with elves, goblins, dwarfs, trolls, and a fantastical menagerie of other creatures. The oddest part is in entering that world, they didn’t leave this one!
Review: So far, I have only read books 1 and 2. For some children these books will be too scary. The books were entertaining and easy to read. But some of the parts were too gross. I talked to my eldest, who has read the whole series and he wasnt phased or upset by the gruesome parts but I know my 10 year old daughter would not be able to read this series without getting nightmares. Following are events/circumstances in the book that I believe may be cause for concern to some parents:
Positive: Simple, short, easy to read.
Spiritual Elements: Dont recall any references to religion.
Violence: Many events are quite suspenseful and some are too gory. Many would not appreciate the part where cats were roasted and eaten by goblins, and in a future book I read that a cow was chained down while baby dragons nurse from her with sharp teeth until shes bloody.
Language: No Bad Language
Sexual Content: None
Other: None
Recommend: After only reading 2 of the series I would have to say I would not recommend this series. It is just too gross and gory. The goblins and trolls are scary, mean, and spiteful. My eldest did read the series and enjoyed it, but had I read it first I would have denied his request to read it, and pointed him in a better direction.
