The Spiderwick Chronicles - The Field Guide - book one by Toni DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

This is the first in the series that recently became a movie. As you probably already know, this is a children's/young adult book, but sometimes I really enjoy reading them. Ok, probably shouldn't' consider it a young adult book, but what do I care.

This book introduces the Grace children and shows how they get involved with fantasy creatures. Their parents are recently divorced and their Mother moves them to a house outside of the city. The house looks to be falling apart and they aren't happy with it, but have no choice. They hear noises in the walls and think it's a squirrel. However, when they put a hole in the wall they find what seems like a nest but not a normal one for an animal. Then the dummy waiter in the kitchen takes them to a secret room. Somebody writes a message in the dust - but nobody was there.

Soon one of the kids finds a book that lists the different fairies and believes that is what they have. Meanwhile strange, and not so good things, are happening to the other two kids and the house. The mother blames the one boy, can he prove it wasn't him but a fairy?

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Since you can see that I'm posting it so soon after my last review, you can tell it's a very quick read. Of course I'm sure it would take a child longer to read it. There were illustrations in the book and I thought they were really good and that it was fun to see pictures (I don't get that very often anymore haha!). I think you have to keep in mind that it's a children's book when you read it because otherwise you might be disappointed by the length and that there wasn't more to the story. It's definitely one that I will continue to read and plan to have for future kids to read (hopefully).

new author/fiction/107 pgs