You always know when you're on to a good book when you decide you have time to read one chapter then look up some time later to discover you've read four. Like some of the best children's books, The Spiderwick Chronicles is likely to be devoured in great gulps rather than occasional morsels. But though the plot mixes in a wide range of fairies and fantastic creatures, the reader will digest a great deal more about the place of the family in the new millennium.
This co-operative project by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black centres on the lives of the Grace children, who have moved with their mother into the ramshackle mansion once owned by their Great Uncle Arthur Spiderwick. Their situation is a desperate one. A divorce has left them in a precarious state financially and they are now dependent on relatives for a roof over their head. But the abandoned home they have moved into is not as empty as it seems. When nine-year-old Jared discovers a "field guide' compiled by Arthur on the mystical world around them, bumps in the night and strange occurrences take on new meaning. A house elf of sorts, prone to temper tantrums is discovered living in the walls, and still more and stranger creatures inhabit the forest that surrounds their new home. But the tension builds dramatically when it becomes clear that some of the darker and more dangerous creatures have plans of their own for the Spiderwick field guide.
The Spiderwick Chronicles are aimed squarely at primary aged readers, with the main characters two nine-year-old twin brothers, Jared and Simon, and their thirteen-year-old sister, Mallory. In keeping with the age range, the language is simple, the plot devices fairly straightforward and not too dark. However the fairies that inhabit the Spiderwick estate owe more to the Brothers Grimm than Walt Disney. DiTerlizzi and Black have drawn upon a European tradition of "fairae' that presents these creatures as treacherous and altogether alien. Their motivations and moods are difficult to fathom and their world is a dangerous one for humans to inhabit. The authors have cleverly emphasized this link to a past genre by publishing the books in the style of Victorian handbooks. Headings are executed in flourished text, chapters begin with prologues that outline the coming action, and each of the five stories that go to make up the series " The Field Guide, The Seeing Stone, Lucinda's Secret, The Ironwood Tree, The Wrath of Mulgarath " is illustrated with sketch-like maps and drawings and the occasional full-page colour-plate. The look and feel is much like the children's book of the early 20th century rather than the 21st. But in a nod to the reduced concentration spans of today's readers " or a sublime marketing move? " each book runs to only around 110 pages and can be reasonably read within a couple of hours.
Christian parents who have come to terms with fantasy fiction are unlikely to find anything objectionable in The Spiderwick Chronicles. On the contrary, there is a subtle encouragement to learn throughout as the Grace children come to discover that knowledge is power in the shifting world they have discovered in their great uncle's home. DiTerlizzi and Black also unashamedly reflect the social world in which many children now find themselves. The break up between the Grace family parents has resulted in questions and wounds that will take time to resolve. Raw emotions occasionally bubble to the surface, particularly when the children confront the case of a missing father.
"Maybe he had to move for his job," Simon offered. "Like our dad."
"Oh come on, Simon," Jared said. "You can't really believe that crap." (Lucinda's Secret, p33)
Jared, the key character, is a young boy who has developed a temper he barely understands. "Sometimes he got so angry that it scared him. It was like his mind went blank and his body took over." (Lucinda's Secret, p46) He clearly resents his father's abandonment and fears his mother's silence " or worse, her secret tears " as well as his own inability to integrate like his twin brother and older sister. And the way in which he describes his turmoil is simple enough for a pre-teen to sympathise with:
"Jared turned dazedly and followed his brother out the door. He could not have said how he felt at that moment " except maybe hollow." (The Ironwood Tree, p37)
The Spiderwick Chronicles have a refreshing degree of honesty when it comes to family matters. Mothers make mistakes and struggle with their limitations; children behave irresponsibly, realise it, but resent having it pointed out nonetheless. If there is a weakness it is that the authors spend so much time detailing these internal struggles that the adventures with the fantasy world provide little entertainment as they pale in the face of real world problems. However there is much to be said for a series that presents children with real issues and so real day-to-day opportunities for heroism. CS Lewis introduced us to the Pevensie children, who were sent away from their parents to a dysfunctional home in the country because of the dropping bombs " and Peter's concern for his sister Lucy's feelings is more valuable painted on this background. Likewise, Harry Potter's achievements as a young wizard are magnified by the fact that not everyone values him, least of all his guardians who would clearly wish him elsewhere.
Though The Spiderwick Chronicles emulate the children's stories of an earlier age, Jared, Simon and Mallory are no "Julie, Dick and Anne, George and Timmy the dog'. Other children's book characters might excite " like Bilbo from The Hobbit " or inspire like Ged from A Wizard of Earthsea " but they are ultimately observed rather than empathised with. Young readers who are suffering a similar family break-up though might be able to use Jared's musings as a compass for their own conflicted feelings. The Spiderwick Chronicles don't finish by knitting his nuclear family back together but they do leave Jared convinced that his kin are the most valuable treasure he has discovered in a slew of adventures.
