fantasy

this series of books is amazing i am 13 year olds and i love it once you read the first page you go to another world of fantasy and go crazy with all the things in the book I really,really recomend it. yesterdsay i read the first page and I got involved in to page 50 and if it wasn't for my mom I would have already finished it.

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Well, I bought it the second day it was released and had it finished, in a few hours. That's the great thing if you have a few hours you've finished the book, that's also the sad thing... now I have to wait for book 5 til Sept.

This series is fun and charming and exciting, regaurdless your age. I teach school and don't always make time for myself. These books are perfect fits into a hectic day and the small amounts of time I save for myself. Since that time is cherished I like making the most of it and Spiderwick books fit into my precious time ... so they have to be good for me, to recommend them.

Grandma's do you want a fun read that is as exciting as Harry Potter, that will impress your grandkids and help them remember your activities, something you can do in a few short hours together. This is it!

Excited Teacher in Nevada

"The Ironwood Tree" is the fourth of the five books in the "Spiderwick Chronicles", concerning the Grace children (the eldest Mallory and the twins Simon and Jared) and their involvement in the faerie world. In previous books they have gained some general knowledge on how to deal with these faeries (which is based on real fairy folklore) thanks to the "Field Guide to Faeries", written by their great uncle Arthur.

The "Ironwood Tree" delivers on the previous book's promise of dwarfs, with a journey underground and the first appearance of Mulgarath the ogre, mentioned in "Lucinda's Secret". When the twins accompany their mother to Mallory's fencing meet, Jared notices a young girl rummaging through his sister's bag. Going to investigate, Jared confronts a shape-shifting faerie that immediately turns into a terrified little boy when Jared threatens him with a knife - just in time for the principal to catch him.

Despite being faced with suspension, the twins discover that Mallory has been kidnapped by the dwarfs, and must venture into the abandoned quarry in order to rescue her. From there comes encounters with the dwarf king, the hoardes of dwarfin treasure, an enchanted Mallory, a knocker, and finally the terrible Mulgarath, leaving this particular reader longing for book five.

After a brief lull in the action in "Lucinda's Secret" (which was still a good read) Holly Black picks up the action once more, with more faery encounters, captures and escapes, and a rather bloody final chapter. The detail of the dwarf kingdom is wonderful, with a myraid of mechanics and treasures that the dwarfs have created (including the famed Ironwood Tree), and Black effortlessly sprinkles in touches of fascinating faery lore. Some things I didn't quite agree with: the dwarfs prove themselves to be quite stupid, considering - 1. They didn't check to see if they had the real Field Guide, 2. They let the twins escape so easily from their cage, and 3. they actually gave weapons to Mulgarath (and their reasons for allying themselves with him are never explained). I've always quite liked dwarfs in the fantasy genre, but these ones are just too idiotic to be likeable.

Also, I was a little disappointed in the children's mother: I would like to think that if my child was accused of threatening a younger child and he pleaded innocent, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and stick up for him. Mrs Grace however is all to ready to believe that her son would do such a thing - shame on her!

However, Tony DiTerlizzi's illustrations just keep getting better and better. The shapeshifter in particular is downright creepy - and Mulgarath is just fantastic. He is obviously evil, but the skill of DiTerlizzi's pen makes you appreciate the work that went into creating him: he is huge, magnificent and regal - and therefore looks quite appealing. The dwarfs are fairly unoriginal in their appearence (short, squat, long beards, etc), but their treasure trove and the frog/bug-like knocker is wonderful.

Even though there sadly are some characters missing (Thimbletack, Hogsqueal, Byron the griffin), there is a hint as to a mystery character that the goblins have captive, and what the children will have to do in order to win the day. I can't wait for book five: "The Wrath of Mulgarath."