The Spiderwick Chronicles blew through our house inside a few weeks.Our daughter read the lovely, beautifully illustrated little chapter books and sent them straight back to the library. She didn't want to keep other kids from the fun, and she knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of a waiting list.
To be sure, the books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi about the three Grace children and their mother as they settle into life in the fairy infested ancestral home are a quick read. They are also eminently believable and delightful. Following her divorce, the children's mother moves them to the country--specifically to a Brownie-infested home of Great Aunt....where they find The Field Guide, the notebook of one Arthur Spiderwick.
The children encounter every type of fairy being--good, bad, selfish, mood, you name it--and the selfishness engendered by their possession of The Field Guide.
My daughter, who is nine and loves the books because they validate a reality everyone else denies, says the fairies like keeping to themselves--dwarves with dwarves, brownies with brownies, sprites with sprites, and so on--and the circulation of the field guide means others in the world of fay will have information they don't want to share. Privacy and integrity are at stake. How will the Grace children handle this? Will they respect the fairies? Can they understand? This is the point of the story, as far as my daughter is concerned.
Her words: "They show a world most people think is fantasy, but it's not."
A house brownie visited us for a while and then he moved along. While he was here, he left us with gummy bears and rhyming notes, and he borrowed her books. My daughter and her friends made him forts and a house and asked him to come out. They had a lovely time of it and respected his privacy.
They promised not to hurt him, they told him in a note.
A promise not to hurt. That little note struck me as the heart of Spiderwick. The Grace children are hurt by life; and their uncle's strange, accidental legacy of the book leads them through a strange maze that is analogous to the adult world.
Ultimately, the kids go home with their mom. They learn that some people are blatantly selfish. Others are foolish. Still other are mean. But then there's the Brownie who means well despite himself. Aside from evil Mulgarath who wants to conquer the fairy world, each other group of fairy simply wants to live in peace and be respected. And there's mom, who really does understand.
Perhaps the greatest value of Spiderwick is its brevity, what it doesn't say, where it doesn't go, what it leaves open so young readers can fill in the blanks and bring it to life for themselves.
Have a look at these books. See how real they are.
We're going to see the movie tomorrow. I hope it lives up to my daughter's imagination.
__________
PS We saw the movie today. This production pulls together key elements from all the books to tell one cohesive story with the clear theme of the importance of listening. The effects are good, and Nick Nolte was a marvelous Mulgarath. My daughter gave it the thumb's up.
To be sure, the books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi about the three Grace children and their mother as they settle into life in the fairy infested ancestral home are a quick read. They are also eminently believable and delightful. Following her divorce, the children's mother moves them to the country--specifically to a Brownie-infested home of Great Aunt....where they find The Field Guide, the notebook of one Arthur Spiderwick.
The children encounter every type of fairy being--good, bad, selfish, mood, you name it--and the selfishness engendered by their possession of The Field Guide.
My daughter, who is nine and loves the books because they validate a reality everyone else denies, says the fairies like keeping to themselves--dwarves with dwarves, brownies with brownies, sprites with sprites, and so on--and the circulation of the field guide means others in the world of fay will have information they don't want to share. Privacy and integrity are at stake. How will the Grace children handle this? Will they respect the fairies? Can they understand? This is the point of the story, as far as my daughter is concerned.
Her words: "They show a world most people think is fantasy, but it's not."
A house brownie visited us for a while and then he moved along. While he was here, he left us with gummy bears and rhyming notes, and he borrowed her books. My daughter and her friends made him forts and a house and asked him to come out. They had a lovely time of it and respected his privacy.
They promised not to hurt him, they told him in a note.
A promise not to hurt. That little note struck me as the heart of Spiderwick. The Grace children are hurt by life; and their uncle's strange, accidental legacy of the book leads them through a strange maze that is analogous to the adult world.
Ultimately, the kids go home with their mom. They learn that some people are blatantly selfish. Others are foolish. Still other are mean. But then there's the Brownie who means well despite himself. Aside from evil Mulgarath who wants to conquer the fairy world, each other group of fairy simply wants to live in peace and be respected. And there's mom, who really does understand.
Perhaps the greatest value of Spiderwick is its brevity, what it doesn't say, where it doesn't go, what it leaves open so young readers can fill in the blanks and bring it to life for themselves.
Have a look at these books. See how real they are.
We're going to see the movie tomorrow. I hope it lives up to my daughter's imagination.
__________
PS We saw the movie today. This production pulls together key elements from all the books to tell one cohesive story with the clear theme of the importance of listening. The effects are good, and Nick Nolte was a marvelous Mulgarath. My daughter gave it the thumb's up.
6 Comments
I hope it lives up to my imagination, too. I think you've definitely hit it with the books' emphasis on hurt. I hope that's not too played up in the movie. I'm looking forward to a fun one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review of Spiderwick. I wasn't even aware of this movie until last New Year's Day 2008, when our grand daughter asked for a pop-up Spiderwick book. It was expensive but since she wanted it for her b-day we obliged. She was so happy to get the book.She has a creative mind and I am sure the book will stir her imagination more.Thanks also for dropping on my blog twice, while I was away. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this information. My daughter is 8 and my son is 10. Sounds like something I will get for them.
ReplyDeleteSandy, I've never heard of this book...You've introduced me to it and now I will seek it out! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I think some of my kids will enjoy reading this.
ReplyDeleteJasmine loves these books too. We lived with a brownie for a while too. I think she said his name was bubbles, but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.