Rating: 
Summary: Slick packaging, light on substance
Review: I am a sucker for a nicely bound, handsomely illustrated book. So much so that I will probably buy the rest of the series despite the author's abbreviated attention to some weighty subject matter. The chief problem is the brevity of the book; a slim seven chapters and hundred-odd pages. Holly Black's attempt to introduce the characters, build a bit of mystery, sympathetically handle one child's pretty severe abandonment issues, and reach some pinnacle of suspense to keep the reader coming back all fall short for lack of space. I feel very much like I have just read an outline for a very interesting novel. However, I read this with my daughter (age nine) who paid much closer attention for this than with most books. I credit DiTerlizzi's excellent illustrations that kept her looking over my shoulder the entire time. The weakest of these drawings are equal to the best of Brett Helquist's in Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Events. I mean that to be extremely high praise, as I greatly admire Helquist's abilities, as well. It is, primarily, her interest that will convince me to buy the next in the series. My hope is that, with introductions out of the way, book two will cover more ground, build suspense, and magically make my buyer's remorse vanish completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Put this on the top of your reading list
Review: All the things a kid could ever want in a book--Faeries, Goblins, secret rooms, and a quick read to boot. I frequent the library, but felt these books were so fantastic I had to buy copies of my own. The illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi are wonderful, and I found myself eager to turn each page to see the next picture, as well as to read what would happen in the story. The style of the books are eerily similar to that of Lemony Snicket-- there are three siblings who find themselves in some sort of trouble or danger in each book, a letter from the author, and a snippet on the back of each book with reasons why you shouldn't read the story. Still, the events in the books were very original and kept me entertained. I can't wait for the rest of the series to be released (there are five books total). A must read!!
Rating:
Summary: Good but short
Review: It seems that this book is well written but that the author is getting more money for less product. Length isn't always important with "great" literature, I mean look at The Old Man and the Sea, or possibly the Cat in the Hat, both important pieces of lit (in different ways) but both are very short. So what's the difference. How about a complete development of characters, getting your moneys worth etc. If this book had been of a respectable length it would probably be recieving a five today, alas.
Rating: 
Summary: The Start to a Great Series
Review: This is very good book written by two little known people. Tony Diterlizi and Holly Black worked together to create these fantasy stories about faries that seem real. This is the start to a fantastic series. The books are short but good enough to read over and over again. The authors wrote about three average children who move with their mother into their crazy aunts house. This is where the story begins. Not long after the three grace children move into their aunt's house, Jared, Mallory, and Simon find a nest in the walls and many other weird things. Jared finds a book written by his missing great uncle Authur Spiderwick. With the Field Guide the siblings find the house brownie and realize their life is like a book, and they're only at the begining.
Rating:
Summary: Slight, but charming faerie fun.
Review: Two series of books have redefined children's literature in the late 20th- and early 21st-centuries. The first is J.K. Rowling's phenomenal Harry Potter novels, books that transcend age brackets and shatter sales records with each new release. The second is A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, written by the pseudonymous author Lemony Snicket, a collection of slender volumes that can be enjoyed by older readers, but are clearly written with the young folk in mind. In an attempt to crack this lucrative market, renowned fantasy artist Tony DiTerlizzi and relatively unknown author Holly Black introduce THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES with THE FIELD GUIDE. Both DiTerlizzi and Black love faeries, and it shows, especially when it comes to presentation. THE FIELD GUIDE comes in the same, tiny hardcover form as Lemony Snicket's wildly popular series and is crammed with first-rate, evocative pen and ink illustrations. The suggested age bracket for the book is 6-10, but this is probably being a little generous on the high end of the age scale, as the writing is light and trips along with great speed through the 107 pages. An adult reader, or a well-read child, can work his or her way through THE FIELD GUIDE in less than hour, possibly even less than half an hour. Though perhaps slightly clichéd -- the children at the heart of the story come to a creepy, old Victorian house and encounter a world of mystery -- THE FIELD GUIDE is still great fun. Author Black follows all the rules of children's literature when it comes to establishing her family: there's a missing parent and the kids are nine-year old twin boys and a thirteen-year old girl. Three is always a great number for children's fantasy, as C.S. Lewis amply demonstrated with THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE and J.M. Barrie established even earlier with PETER PAN. As mentioned, the high-quality presentation of the book goes a long way toward glossing over the slight nature of the text, as THE FIELD GUIDE feels substantial despite its miniscule size. It seems clear that DiTerlizzi and Black intend to stake out a slightly younger territory with THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES than Lemony Snicket and J.K. Rowling have done. THE FIELD GUIDE is written at a level just high enough to engage the reader, but lacks the density of any one of Snicket's books. And the last two Harry Potter novels (THE GOBLET OF FIRE and THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, as of this writing) would simply flatten the child-sized, hardcover FIELD GUIDE. Though there are reservations to be expressed over THE FIELD GUIDE's general lack of depth, there are only so many Rowling and Snicket books around. While young readers (and those who are young at heart) wait for the next classic, they could do far worse than to chase some faeries in DiTerlizzi and Black's creation. Five pages in, it'll hardly matter how slim the book really is, and five pages from the end, one has already begun to think about grabbing the next installment in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: This is a great book for people who have read and enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events. This is a story about three kids; Jared, Simon, and Mallory. They move into their aunt's old house. Soon they find an old book about magical creatures in the attic. I don`t want to tell you the end of the book but I can tell you this is a great book!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1 The Field Guide
Review: I really liked this book because it is a mystery and it was scary. It's about the Grace family. The three Grace children want to catch the boggart, because he does very mean things to them. My favorite character was Simon Grace. I like him because he likes animals like I do. He was very brave. He does dangerous things in order to try to find the boggart. I think people who enjoy mysteries will love this book. I want to read the whole Spiderwick Series soon. I think they are great!
Rating:
Summary: The best book/serial ever!!!!!
Review: I read this in februry in third grade (still in)
I went out with $28.00 and bought The feild guide,the seeing stone,and lucinda's seceret.Yesterday i bought book 4 the iron wood tree.I think book #1 is the best.And i noticed at the bottom there is a picture add 5 books together and you get a picture (i want THE WRATH OF MULLGRATH)(#5)
Rating:
Summary: the best birthday present ever!
Review: For my Birthday my friend gave me THE FIELD GUIDE. I Think that it's really cool, Since I really like faires and magical stuff. My favorite part is when Mallory, Simon, And Jared find the Dumbwaiter. I got a little creeped out when the bogart wrote in the dust, though. It was kind of weird when Mallory's hair got tied to her headboard. But it's now my favorite book, and I NEED to read the other one!
Rating:
Summary: The Field Guide
Review: Classifications of Fey! Never heard of so many fantastic creatures. Looking forward to reading more about them. However the Grace children are not so interesting yet. Hope they develop more in the other books. My 8 yr. old son and I love the Bauldelair adventures. When I picked the book up it appeared to bare a resembalence to our Lemony Snicket series. The Spiderwick series was a quick read. It appealed to our sometimes short attention span. We really felt like we spent time investigating and discovering something worthwhile. Fortunatly, by the end of the book the erie feeing of mystery parted and we felt safe. I hate it when my son can not sleep because his immagination has been hi jacked by some cheap trick. We will buy the second book asap.
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