Book Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles by Toni DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

Summary:

Jared's parents just divorced and now he has to go live in his aunts rotting old house. Odds and ends start mysteriously disappearing and the children begin to suspect they aren't the only ones who live there. Mischief and mystery fill the walls, making the siblings work together to figure out what could possibly be causing so much havoc.

My thoughts:

This book had beautiful illustrations, was funny and I enjoyed the plot right along with my kids. It only took an hour and a half to read the whole thing, so we were finished in three days. The setting was fun and I could see my kiddos imagination running the entire time I read. He was riveted.

Why this book is important to read to your child:

First off, I love that it introduces a whole different side of fairies. They are a little more like monsters than Tinkerbell. Boggarts, goblins, etc...

Second, the writing was great. I was genuinely impressed and happy to read it to my kids.

Third: These kids come from a turbulent family, one that I've seen far too often in real life. The parents are recently divorced and the children are struggling. There is a lot of name calling and anger going around, and yet they desperately cling to each other for support. They are good people in a stressful situation, so you like them even though you understand they could be nicer to each other. Jared gets in trouble at school, his twin brother Simon turns to the comfort of his pets, and Mallory obsessively trains with her fencing foil. But when they discover a mystery inside the house, they all work together to bravely figure out what is going on. I loved talking to My kids about this family dynamic. It was easy to recognize the anger in these children and discuss why they acted the way they did. We talked about compassion, self soothing, anger, bravery and teamwork.

Supplementary material:

This book is first in an entire series that we are currently tearing through. The books get a little more exciting and intense, but the writing stays up to par as far as quality goes. I will post reviews of these books as we go because my kiddos enjoy them so much.
There was a movie made of the series, but I haven't seen it, but if any of you have, I'd love to see your opinion in the comments!