The Field Guide (Spiderwick Chronicles (Paperback)) - Softcover

Tony DiTerlizzi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857072420 ISBN 13: 9780857072429

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's, 2011

Synopsis

It all starts when Jared Grace finds their great uncle's book, 'Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastic World Around You' and the Grace kids realise that they are not alone in their new house. Now the kids want to tell their story but the faeries will do everything they can to stop them.

About this title

Review

The first book in a beautifully produced series of five, The Field Guide sets up the story of the Grace children--13-year-old Mallory and 9-year-old twins Jared and Simon--who with their mother move into the dilapidated Spiderwick Estate only to quickly find themselves sucked into a dark and fascinating world of faeries.

Superficially, the Spiderwick Chronicles smack of Lemony Snicket, with its "true story" setup and breathless warnings ("Go away/close the book/put it down/do not look"). But Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black owe no one for the intensely absorbing world they've created. Black certainly showed fey promise in her slightly freaky debut and DiTerlizzi has weird cred to spare, from his zany Jimmy Zangwow to countless credits for the Magic: The Gathering card game.

By combining their ample skill with thoughtful art direction and demanding production values, the duo has succeeded in creating a series with irresistible appeal. Each book promises a quick read, snappy plot progression, and dozens of DiTerlizzi's imaginative pen-and-ink drawings. So if you're drawn to The Field Guide at all, you might as well save yourself the trouble and make sure you have the second book (The Seeing Stone handy. (Ages 6 to 10) --Paul Hughes

About the Author

Tony DiTerlizzi is co-creator of the international bestselling series, The Spiderwick Chronicles. He has illustrated numerous picture books for children, including Ted, G is for 1 Gzonk and the critically acclaimed The Spider and the Fly, which won the Caldecott Honor. Tony lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his wife, Angela, and their baby daughter, Sophia. Holly Black spent her early years in a decaying Victorian mansion where her mother fed her a steady diet of ghost stories and faerie tales. An avid collector of rare folklore volumes, spooky dolls, and crazy hats, she lives in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with her husband, Theo. Together with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, she is the creator of the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles series of children's books.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0857072420
• ISBN 13: 9780857072429
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144