“If someone had asked Jared Grace what jobs his brother and sister would have when they grew up, he would have had no trouble replying.”

From Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide.

Moving with their mother to Maine to live in the old home (Spiderwick Estate) of their Great Aunt, twins Jared and Simon Grace and their older sister, Mallory, are far from excited.  The old house is isolated, dusty, creaky, and a bit creepy… all before some unexplained things begin happening.  While exploring, the Grace children find a library hidden in the house, odd little collections and nest-like bundles in some of the walls, and ultimately a field guide to magic that will change their lives forever.  Unbeknownst to the children, the objects and bundles were in fact a nest for a magical creature called a Brownie, and this particular Brownie (named Thimbletack) is far from happy that his home was destroyed.  Thimbletack begins to make messes all over the house and Jared desperately searches for a way to stop the angry Brownie from causing more trouble.  Everything Mallory, Jared, and Simon think they know about the world is quickly blown away when they find and begin to read Arthur Spiderwick’s life’s work: a field guide to fairies and other magical creatures.

The first book in DiTerlizzi and Black’s series of darker magic (darker in tone, not subject matter) is truly captivating. The illustrations are beautiful and help to aid in the development of the story, while the book’s short length makes reading it a breeze. The inspiration for the 2008 movie of the same name is full of humor, action, mystery, and magic. Despite being written for children, the well-developed story is interesting for readers of all ages. As a solid and intriguing foundation for the Spiderwick series, The Field Guide is a must-read for any fan of the fantasy genre.