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DiTerlizzi, Tony.
THE FIELD GUIDE (SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES ; 1)
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003.
IL 3-6, RL 5.6
ISBN 0689859368 

(3 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

What's that in the wall?  Do you hear it?  It's hard to hear it when there is other noise about but it's there.  That tiny rustling noise.  You could almost convince yourself that it's a squirrel.  Or a mouse.  Or some other animal that would be found in an old Victorian home that is in desparate need of repair.  But, squirrels don't tie people to the bed.  And they don't leave footprints in the kitchen.  Can it be?  Have the Grace children been visited by fairies?

Booktalk #2

                       Do you believe in such things as faeries, boggarts and brownies?  In Book One of The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide we meet three children: Mallory, Jared and Simon Grace.
                        They have just moved into an old run down house with their mother. These children are typical brother and sister. They argue and fight but when strange noises are heard and happen the children know this is no ordinary house they live in.
                      Who is responsible when Mallory wakes up one morning with her hair tied to the bedpost and bruises on her arms!?  Both brothers deny doing this to their sister, but their mother does not believe them. If Jared and Simon are innocent then who is responsible?
                    Does the poem found on their first day in the house tell Jared what a boggart is and where it can be found? Is the boggart living in their new home? Is it responsible for the terrible things happening or is it something else?  (Roberta Dwelley, gilliegirl@earthlink.net, Murray LaSaine Elementary)

Booktalk #3

When Jared, Simon and Mallory Grace move into a ramshackle old Victorian home with their mother, they begin to hear strange noises between the walls. Curious to find out if these noises are from a squirrel or something stranger, they send Jared in by dumbwaiter to the upper floor to investigate. Traveling upward between the walls, Jared locates a small library where a yellowed handwritten poem lies on the table. He shows the poem about the secret hidden “in a man’s torso” to his siblings and convinces them that mysterious forces are stirring up mischief in their home.
Caldecott Award winning illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi makes this suspenseful fantasy come to life with his exquisitely detailed illustrations of Boggarts, Trolls and other unique creatures. Once you start, you won’t want to stop reading the entire five volume set of The Spiderwick Chronicles.  (Jean B. Bellavance for Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2004-2005)

SUBJECTS:     Fairies -- Fiction.
                        Brothers and sisters -- Fiction.
                        Single-parent families -- Fiction.

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