Johnny's Staff Pick
Published Date: May 1, 2003
Number of pages: 114 pages
Format: Physical Book
Genre: Fantasy
Tags: Series, Middle Grade, Adventure
Cardigan rating: 3.5 out of 5
Thoughts
I picked up this book again because I read it when I was in middle school and I remembered liking it a lot. The tv show adaptation was released last year, and I was a little disappointed. So, I reread the book to see if I still loved the book or to see if it wasn’t as good as I remember because the show was not as good. However, the book still holds up to the standard I had all those years ago.
I like this book because it has a nice variety of things within such a small amount of pages. It has sibling drama, mythical creatures, a big creepy house, a family member that mysteriously disappeared, an evil ogre villain and the real topic of divorce. I related to the character of Jared by also wanting to escape the harsh reality of my own situations as a child and discover something I have never seen before; however, I never saw fairies, brownies or even hobgoblins. My favorite character is Thimbletack, who is a house brownie that turns into a green boggart. He is often seen as the protector of the Spiderwick estate and a friend to the siblings. He talks in riddles and rhymes, which makes me love him even more.
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black have done an amazing job creating a world that the siblings can explore, while also immersing the reader into the same mythical world. You feel like you are interacting with the same creatures that the sibling comes in contact with. However, the story can be slow for someone over middle school age. Adults may find it a little harder to connect with these characters and their sense of wanting to explore, but that does not stop me from recommending it to adults. I do look forward to reading more by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, they seem to have an eye for the mythical world.