Spiderwick 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath

Daughter: Suspenseful, action-filled, a great book for any family to read together. After escaping from dwarves wouldn't you just love to find your griffin chasing a hobgoblin on top of your roof? The hobgoblin happens to be Hogsqueal, someone you thought you could trust. Above all of this the goblins have stolen the field guide. When you happen to be in Mugarath's lair you find one of Jared's favorite people the only thing is you wonder in you can trust him...


Dad: Mmm, tasty. I won't give away the ending, but I will say it's lip-smackin' good. This book is full of conflict: Griffin vs. Dragon in an epic aerial battle; Ogre vs. Dwarves (flesh, blood & bone or rock & metal?); and the Grace children: bickering brats or caring siblings? Definitely worth the read ...

More conflict to come: Book or movie? Which did you like better?

The Spiderwick Chronicles 4: The Ironwood Tree

Daughter: I bet you would never figure out who is well dressed, holding a sword and in a glass box. It is someone you would never expect, it's Mallory! This Spiderwick book is very interesting, Mallory goes to her fencing tournament, Jared sees a girl looking through Mallory's gym bag. A girl tells him she saw Mallory crying in the girls bathroom. Jared was confused since Mallory won the fencing tournament. Simon And Jared get captured by dwarves. They realize every thing the dwarves make is made out of metal: gold and bronze. Mallory was captured by the dwarves before Simon and Jared.


Dad: I think the dwarves go a bit too far with this metal thing: They have dogs made of metal, who can follow a scent and fetch! (I like our Lucy better; puppies need fur.) Also appearing in this story: a really creepy shape shifter - Jared! Well, Not Jared actually. You can tell because he and Jared end up talking to each other. And it isn't his twin Simon either. Less trustworthy than the pookah: Beware the Not Jared. This book is fun and suspenseful. The Grace children need to be quick thinking and quick on their feet.

Coming Soon: Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath, a movie review and Daughter and Dad check out the classics. Don't miss a single exciting episode of the DD Book Review.

The Spiderwick Chronicles 3: Lucinda's Secret

Daughter: Lucinda, their great aunt, tells them some bits of her life, why she was put in a asylum. Lucinda doesn't eat in front of other people, weird right?

They were following a map so they could find the field guide, but instead they meet a phooka, a shape shifter. The phooka talks in riddles and rhymes. They do not pay much attention to what the phooka says. Then they go into the forest and meet 3 wood elves. Mallory meets a unicorn goes to pet it and sees its thoughts. Wouldn't everybody want to do that?


Dad: Aunt Lucy is in for a bum rap. You're not really insane if the faeries you see are real, are you? The whole Faerie world seems scary and out to get our heroes, but some fast thinking keeps them from their doom. Never trust a phooka.

The Spiderwick Chronicles 2: The Seeing Stone

Daughter: They find an eyepiece that lets them see the invisible creatures that can harm them. Simon gets captured by little goblins (who are born with out teeth, but use sharp pieces of glass and stone as substitutes). Jared and Mallory are desperately trying to find Simon and run into a troll. They find him in a big cage hanging from a tree, but he is surrounded by goblins. How will they get him out? What will happen? Will they survive? (Well, at least we know they won't die yet, there are three books to go ...)

Dad: Griffins are cool. Hobgoblin spit in your eye lets you see the invisible world. Jaden comments that the only supernatural twin power he shares with Simon is the ability to wear the same-sized pants. I'm thoroughly enjoying these books.

The Spiderwick Chronicles 1: The Field Guide

Daughter: Mallory (13) and Simon & Jared (9 y.o. twins) live in a creepy old mansion with their mom. They find a secret library without a door. They discover it through the dumbwaiter. Later, they learn they can get in through the linen closet. They find out there is a brownie living in the walls. When he gets mad, he starts wrecking the place. They discover a book and learn to be nice to the brownie, Thimbletack. The book tells them what to look out for in the forest. It makes you desire to read on.

Dad: This book is fun to read. Chapter titles are clever. I particularly like: "Chapter 2: In Which Two Walls Are Explored By Vastly Different Methods". Mallory likes fencing. What a cool sport.

Welcome to DD's Book Review

So, here we are. Both avid readers and we think the world might actually care about which books we like. Right now, we are in the middle of The Spiderwick Chronicles. It is a series of 5 books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. We have just finished book two and are desperately waiting semi-patiently for the third book. (Let's give a shout out here to Jay, our InterLibrary Loan Dude who keeps us swimming in literary goodness.)

Without further ado, let's review.