Holly Black

Spiderwick Chronicles — (2003-2008) Ages 9-12. Now a major motion picture. Publisher: It all started with a mysterious letter left at a tiny bookstore for authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Its closing lines: “We just want people to know about this. The stuff that has happened to us could happen to anyone.” Little could they imagine the remarkable adventure that awaited them as they followed Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace and a strange old book into a world filled with elves, goblins, dwarves, trolls, and a fantastical menagerie of other creatures. The oddest part is in entering that world, they didn't leave this one!

Original series:

Spiderwick books are available for download at Audible.com and in boxed sets.

Beyond Spiderwick:


Related books:

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Although the book in The Spiderwick Chronicles were originally published separately (five in all), I knew it was only a matter of time before a box set was released, and so held off purchasing the separate installments so that I could invest in the complete set. I'm glad I waited, as one of the best things about this series is its beautiful presentation (the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" has little meaning here), and this nifty box set protects and displays them to best effect. Between the attractive coverings, Tony DiTerlizzi stunning ink illustrations and even the box itself, The Spiderwick Chronicles are books that will inhabit a place of pride on any bookshelf. They really are that pretty.

But of course, the story itself must always be of paramount importance, and Holly Black has managed to craft a fast-paced, intriguing and sometimes unsettling narrative centered on the realm of Faerie. After their parents' divorce, the Grace children — Mallory, and the twins Jared and Simon — move with their mother into her great-aunt's old house, the Spiderwick Estate. It soon becomes apparent that odd things are at work in the house and grounds, and after Jared discovers an old manuscript titled Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You (see above), he discovers a whole new world of brownies, elves, goblins, sprites and other faerie creatures right under his nose. Having previously published Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie and Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale, Holly Black joins the ranks of Terri Windling, Brian Froud, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, Patricia McKillip and so on as an author who rejects the idea of pretty, sweet, darling little fairies — the harmless types that came to popularity in the Victorian Era and are still apparent today in drivel such as Barbie Fairytopia. Your kids deserve better than that! This modern understanding of "fairy" has lost all potency, and thankfully, Black returns to the original folktales and legends and portrays her faerie creatures as dangerous, untrustworthy, suspicious beings — though ones still capable of great beauty, mystery and (sometimes) kindness.

Black presents the book as a real account of the Grace children's experience with the faeries, including letters, maps and other documented evidence from the children (yes, she's obviously been influenced by A Series of Unfortunate Events), which helps bring a fun sense of authenticity to the proceedings. Furthermore, Black draws upon real folklore and faerie lore within the context of the story — such as wearing clothes inside out, placating a house-brownie, the value of a hollowed stone, the dangers of faerie food, and other little touches that resonance with accuracy. In this, DiTerlizzi accompanies Black's portrayal magnificently, and there's really no limit to how much I could rave about his quirky, intricate, beautiful illustrations. From the smirks and grins of the kids themselves, to the architectural muddle of the Spiderwick Estate, to the way in which the contemporary world is effortlessly integrated with the world of the faeries, DiTerlizzi never fails to match the text perfectly.

The Field Guide opens the series just a tad slowly, with the Grace children somewhat disheartened at the decrepit state of their new home. However, Jared starts to warm up to the place after discovering a secret library belonging to his great-great uncle Arthur Spiderwick, and a strange field guide that describes a myriad of faerie creatures living in the vicinity. Perhaps the guide can shed light on the odd occurrences going on in the household...

After meeting Thimbletack, the house-brownie, Jared is shown The Seeing Stone, a hollowed stone that allows him to witness the rest of the inhabitants of the faerie world. It comes in handy when Simon goes missing, dragged away by goblins demanding the field guide for some as yet unknown purpose. Along with Mallory and her rapier (she's a fencer), the siblings take to the woods to rescue their brother.

Lucinda's Secret refers to their great-aunt Lucinda (daughter of Arthur Spiderwick), who the siblings hope can shed some light on the strange situation they find themselves in. She reveals some pertinent details of the household, and soon the siblings finds themselves on a trek to an elf-inhabited glade in search of more answers - and hears the name "Mulgarath" for the first time.

By the time The Ironwood Tree rolls around, the Grace children are fully immersed in the faerie world. After a shapeshifter causes trouble for Jared at school and Mallory goes missing, the twins search the quarry for their elder sister. There they find the dwarf population forging weapons for the ogre Mulgarath — and demanding the field guide in exchange for Mallory.

Finally The Wrath of Mulgarath deals with the Grace children's final confrontation with the malevolent ogre, as they and all their faerie allies take on this dangerous, powerful shapeshifter and his dragons. As a finale, it's a little anti-climatic, and Black doesn't make good on many of the plot components that she had set up in past books, but it is a reasonable wrap-up to the series.

One of the interesting things about purchasing all five books simultaneously is that you can read them all in one sitting, (the reasonably short length of the books make this possible) with all the pros and cons that come with such a reading experience. By originally publishing the books one at a time, the level of anticipation naturally rises, with each episode adding a little more to the steadily growing mystery-adventure. This is lost when reading the each book immediately after the other, and admittedly some problems arise. I never noticed on my first read that Holly Black relies heavily on the plot device of kidnapping — a family member is kidnapped in nearly all the books: Simon is snatched by goblins in The Seeing Stone, Jared is temporarily held against his will in Lucinda's Secret, Mallory is kidnapped by the dwarfs in The Ironwood Tree and Helen Grace is held hostage in The Wrath of Mulgarath. It's hardly noticeable when reading the books in monthly doses, but altogether it becomes glaringly obvious.

On the other end of the scale, it is easier to appreciate the little foreshadowing clues that Black litters throughout the story, particularly in the first two books. And of course, it's nice not having to wait so long for the next book! The Spiderwick Chronicles are a great little set of books, with a new series now starting with The Nixie's Song, and I for one am looking forward to it. —Rebecca Fisher

The Nixie's Song

After the five-part The Spiderwick Chronicles ended with a promise that there would be more to follow in the Spiderwick world, it was only a matter of time before there was another installment in the series. Now we pick up in the first book of a proposed trilogy that features a new set of children (two step-siblings) and a different location (the mangrove swamps of Florida as opposed to the old world charm of New England), but with plenty of new faerie lore incorporated into the story. As always, writer and illustrator manage to capture the essence of old faerie-lore, in which the creatures are both beautiful and dangerous, with a set of obscure rules surrounding them that need to be followed if one wishes to keep safe.

Nick Vargas is a plump eleven-year old who is not at all happy with the inclusion of a new stepmother and stepsister into his family home — especially when his new sister Laurie is such a weirdo. Interested in mystical creatures, and carrying around a copy of Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You (Spiderwick Chronicles), Laurie is convinced that faerie creatures might inhabit the construction zone of Mangrove Hollow. She's right, and soon the two are attempting to help a nixie named Taloa who has lost her sisters and is suffering with the development of the surrounding swamplands. The two feel themselves in over their heads, and go for help...from Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black themselves (appearing in the chapter: "In Which We Nearly Break the Forth Wall"), who are currently on their book tour, having published the story of the Grace children. You have to admire the nerve of those that put themselves into their own story, particularly when they appear as frauds!

As well as this, we have a substantial role from Jared Grace and a new threat in the faerie world — giants! DiTerlizzi refrains from showing them as large humanoids, and instead they appear more like giant nature spirits that rise from the earth. Black's story wonderfully captures the surly temperament of any teenage boy forced to spend time with an unwelcome new addition to the family, and Laurie is a dreamy free-spirit not quite in touch with the real world (although I couldn't help but feel that she is based a little too heavily on Luna Lovegood of the Harry Potter series). It's nice to have a protagonist who is a little on the chubby side, who gradually comes to respect and admire the new people in his life.

As usual, the parents are entirely unsympathetic, and Nick's father in particular comes across as a real jerk, grounding his son for a week over (what seemed to me) a minor misdemeanor, and sometimes Black's writing can be a little awkward, such as when the siblings find Taloa's siblings and immediately afterwards are attacked by a giant — it's a little unclear what happens and how. Furthermore, Black would like to portray Laurie as an innocent, but with a manipulative streak — however, the times in which she tricks people into doing what she wants ring a little false. But as always, Tony DiTerlizzi's illustrations are beautiful, capturing every nuance of the protagonists' faces and the weird and wonderful world of the faeries, who are portrayed as dangerous and wild, without a trace of the sentimentality that obscures their true nature in other children's books.

Complete with a map and flier of Black and DiTerlizzi's book tour (to legitimize their story), the tale ends with a rhyme that hints toward the events of the next book — and though I'm looking forward to it, it suggests that Nick's older brother Julian is going to be held hostage by the faeries, a kidnapping plot-twist that was prevalent throughout the first five books of the series (with nearly every member of the Grace family getting captured by the faeries at one stage or another). Hopefully Black can put a new spin on this oft-tread plot scenario... —Rebecca Fisher

A Giant Problem

In A Giant Problem, the second book of the sequel/spin-off to the original The Spiderwick Chronicles, we meet up again with our two protagonists: stepsiblings Nick (surly and portly) and Laurie (dreamy and cunning), who are getting along reasonably well in the wake of their discoveries in the previous book The Nixie's Song.

Having allied themselves with the half-blind and near-senile Noseeum Jack (this book's version of wise-but-dotty Aunt Lucinda) the two are learning all they can about the awakening giants that are threatening their parents' housing development. Jack takes them giant-hunting, in the attempt to show them how to deal with the massive and destructive nature-spirits. It does not go well.

On the whole, A Giant Problem is a good book, and a nice addition to the trilogy. As usual, the book is full of maps, newspaper clippings, cameos from previous characters, and Tony DiTerlizzi's wonderful illustrations that have made these books so special right from the beginning. But whereas the original five-part story was all about discovery, letting us explore the world of Faerie along with Jared, Simon and Mallory, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles is more story-focused — which is not necessarily a good thing considering that Holly Black's writing can often be a bit choppy or contrived. Often characters will jump from one situation to another without a proper sense of time or place, and later on in the story the children attempt to steal a fish from a fish-tank under the nose of two adults that is so awkwardly staged it made me cringe.

But the characters have improved since the last book, with Nick becoming a more thoughtful and less antagonistic young man, with a rather poignant decision to make at the conclusion of the story, and Laurie undermines her own ditzy-exterior with a tendency to lie — a trait that she defends later on in a thought-provoking way. Also along for the ride is Nick's older brother Jules and his girlfriend Cindy (not to mention a troublesome hobgoblin called Sandspur), both of whom show more maturity and respect for the younger kids than any of the parents present in this book.

Holly Black may be trying a little too hard to connect with her younger readers, specifically by making her adult characters utterly useless and unpleasant. Within the first chapter of the story, Nick's father and stepmother are having an argument, and their behavior doesn't improve throughout the course of the story. Nick's father doesn't seem to have a single nice word to say to his son, and at one stage Charlene (step-mom) says to Nick: "You can keep hating me. Just let me put a band-aid on your scrape."

We've already dealt with the subject of the broken family in the previous series, and the effect it has on young people — it would have been a nice change from the dysfunctional family to have a more harmonious one, leading to a range of new difficulties in which the children feel guilty about deceiving their parents about the existence of the faerie world.

However, what with the story ending on a surprising cliff-hanger, and a few story-points left behind that will no doubt have to be cleared up, I'm on board for the next (and last) installment.
—Rebecca Fisher

The Wyrm King

The third and final part of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's collaborative effort is called The Wyrm King, following on from The Nixie's Song and A Giant Problem, part of the Beyond the Spiderwick trilogy which in turn is a sequel to the original The Spiderwick Chronicles series (why are fantasy titles so convoluted?) and which wraps up the trilogy in a satisfying, action-picked finale.

Centred on the plump eleven-year old Nick Vargas, his older brother Jules and their unwanted stepsister Laurie, the three siblings spent the better part of the last book trying to remove giants from Mr Vargas's housing development, only to find that their successful attempt to lead the giants into the ocean has only led to more trouble. The climactic finish of the previous book was the discovery that the giants were the only things keeping an even greater danger at bay, one that is now rising up from the swamplands. (As a warning against tampering with the natural order of things, could this plot element be an ecological message that's actually...subtle?!)

Along with the Grace siblings (Mallory, Jared and Simon, the protagonists from the previous books) Nick and his assorted team of faerie-experts try to gather all the information they can on the mysterious wyrms that are emerging from the sink-holes currently appearing across town. Like giant multi-headed eels that merge together like the mythological hydra, the creatures grow at a rapid pace and breathe out methane gas, and with the loss of Noseeum Jack (this trilogy's version of Aunt Lucinda), the kids feel completely out of their league.

To make matters more complicated, the martial issues between Nick's dad and Laurie's mother have reached breaking point. Deciding to temporarily separate for the sake of their children, Nick finally gets his wish only to discover that he's not particularly happy with the idea of Laurie leaving his life. As with the previous series, the plot of the troubled family is reflected in the faerie aspect of things as the children deal with irreversible change, working together, making the most of what they've got, and getting a taste of adult life in their dealings with the imminently selfish faeries.

Nick himself makes a great protagonist; like most kids his age and in his situation, he simply doesn't know what he wants, and a general theme of decision-making and promise-keeping is sustained throughout his story. As such, the other characters are slightly more low-key this time around, as Nick takes centre stage.

The two major differences in this trilogy as opposed to the five-part original series is the change in setting and the general theme of the story. We've moved from the old-world charm of Maine to the mangrove swamps and beaches of Florida, the home of illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi. Something is a bit lost in the transition; namely the fairytale-esque feel of the Spiderwick mansion and the surrounding meadows and forests. Although the seaside additions of mermaids, nixies and giants put the world of faerie in a more balmy atmosphere and give the series a wider scope, I have to admit that I preferred the previous setting.

Also worth noting is that the Beyond the Spiderwick trilogy is more of an action-driven story than a tale of discovery. Whereas the Grace siblings partook in a battle between good and evil in which knowledge (in the form of the Field-Guide) was power; Nick and his siblings are part of a desperate attempt to save their community from natural upheaval. It doesn't pack quite the same impact.

But as always, The Wyrm King is a treat, packed full of maps, supplementary material, and Tony DiTerlizzi's gorgeous illustrations. Some aspects of the plot are a bit wonky (to get the giants to the serpents, why didn't they just use the tape recording of the nixies as they did last time? And since the faeries' activities are on a much larger scale this time, I wasn't entirely sure what exactly those that did not have the Sight were actually experiencing when giants and serpents rampaged across the countryside) yet The Wyrm King is ultimately a satisfying conclusion to an innovative series that harks back to the darker side of fairytales. I hope Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi have more to come. —Rebecca Fisher

Care and Feeding of Sprites

Since the publication of the five-part Spiderwick Chronicles there have been three "spin-off" publications: Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You (a copy of the book that featured so heavily in the Chronicles themselves), A Notebook for Fantastical Observations, designed for readers themselves to fill out, and this, Care and Feeding of Sprites. If you can only choose one of them, then the pick of the litter is undoubtedly the Field Guide, a stunning collection of illustrations and information that (in my opinion) is even better than the five books on which it is based.

But as a second choice Care and Feeding of Sprites is a wonderful addition to any growing Spiderwick library — though perhaps a bit pricey at this stage for such a relatively slim volume. Set out as a proper "how to" guide to raise and care for the diminutive little creatures known as sprites, (and endorsed by the International Sprite League, of course, visitable online) Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black — through the instruction of the Grace children, naturally — have put together another beautifully created and bound book.

Divided into fifteen segments, such as "Anatomy of a Sprite", "The Many Moods of Your Sprite" and "What's Not a Sprite", Black provides the informative, detailed and often hilarious commentary on how one should look after your own sprite. But as always, the true appeal of any Spiderwick book lies with DiTerlizzi's stunning illustrations. Each scientific portrait of the sprites comes complete with a key on its behaviour, Latin name, details on the wings and legs, and is rendered in beautiful colour. Each one on its glossy page could be framed and hung on the wall — they're simply that beautiful.

But the real reason I thank these collaborators is due to their success in bringing the old lore of the faerie-folk back into the public eye, following in the worthy footsteps of Alan Lee, Jim Henson, Brian Froud and Terri Windling, among others. Far from the sweetie-cuteness of the portrayal of "fairies" that began in the Victorian era and got worse as the century wore on, Black and DiTerlizzi bring back the dark side of the faerie world — and don't shy from sharing it with children. More please! —Rebecca Fisher