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Children's Books |
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A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles)
written by Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black
Studio : Simon & Schuster Audio
by Simon & Schuster Audio
Publisher : Simon & Schuster Audio
Released : 2008-09-16
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 2
EAN : 9780743574693
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 8 reviews)
List Price : $17.99
Our Price : $9.97
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Product Description |
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Talk about out of the frying pan, into the fire! I was pretty sure that my freaky stepsister and that freaky field guide of hers would ruin my life. But now it looks like they're going to ruin all of Florida, too! Okay, maybe that's not fair. Maybe all these stupid giants would be waking up anyway, but if it wasn't for her and that book, I'd be home playing video games and this would be someone else's giant problem! |
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Much better than the first one, no worries for parents (probably!) |
In The Nixie's Song I was terribly disppointed with some gutter language used by the authors, which did nothing to advance the story. I was pretty much ready to punt on Spiderwick, but the art by Mr. DiTerlizzi is so good and my sons were so excited to see the new book that I had to relent.
I am very pleased to report that there is no objectionable language in this book! There are no distractions from the beautiful illustrations, or Ms. Black's plotting. I will leave the plot summary to other reviewers but my 9 and 10 year old sons found it to be very exciting and intense during our nightly reading. I think they also like the fact that the illustrations are very different than the usual manga they are absorbed by.
Are there any warnings for parents? Well, maybe. Some of the giants kill each other. One of the big plot events involves outright deception of a character's parents and theft of a prized tropical fish. On the other hand, all of the young protagonists know they are doing a wrong to achieve a greater good and know they will have to face consequences. The family also has to deal with the destruction of their home and livelihood, and face issues of trust in newly married step-parents, but I thought these were more in the backdrop and presented with great care.
There is nothing not to like! Our family eagerly awaits the next volume. |
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Much better than the first book! |
This is the second book in the follow-up to the Spiderwick Chronicles; Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles. I liked it better than the first book. I began to emphathize with the characters a bit more. It was much more interesting than the first book. Unlike the first book, this book left the story in a decent place. The main point of the book is wrapped up, yet there is a little catch at the end that leads you to the third book. The book is well-written and the drawings are again excellent. Still it is a very short book. I am not sure why these are split up into such short stories, maybe it's to make them more approacable to children?
In this book Nick and Laurie try to tackle the Giant problem in the area. With the help of Noseeum Jack can they rid the area of the giant problem before the whole area goes up in flames?
A pretty good book. I am looking forward to the last book in the trilogy. The way things are coming together that should be the best of the series.
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Very good |
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My 7 year old daughter loves all the books in this series. Several of her friends are fans of the Chronicles too. It is a great way for them to share interesting ideas and use their imagination. Highly recommended. |
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Brilliant new book in the Spiderwick Series |
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Love a Giant Problem the next book in the continuing series of Spiderwick Chronicles. This is one book series that both my 9 yo and I can enjoy together. Great plot line complimented by beautiful, detailed illustrations. |
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"I Seek My Sisters Alone. You Will Be Sorry..." |
In this, the second book of the sequel/spin-off to the original The Spiderwick Chronicles (Boxed Set): The Field Guide; The Seeing Stone; Lucinda's Secret; The Ironwood Tree; The Wrath of Mulgrath we meet up again with our two protagonists: stepsiblings Nick (surly and portly) and Laurie (dreamy and cunning), who are getting along reasonably well in the wake of their discoveries in the previous book The Nixie's Song (Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1).
Having allied themselves with the half-blind and near-senile Noseeum Jack (this book's version of wise-but-dotty Aunt Lucinda) the two are learning all they can about the awakening giants that are threatening their parents' housing development. Jack takes them giant-hunting, in the attempt to show them how to deal with the massive and destructive nature-spirits. It does not go well.
On the whole, "A Giant Problem" is a good book, and a nice addition to the trilogy. As usual, the book is full of maps, newspaper clippings, cameos from previous characters and Tony DiTerlizzi's wonderful illustrations that have made these books so special right from the beginning. But whereas the original five-part story was all about discovery, letting us explore the world of Faerie along with Jared, Simon and Mallory, "Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles" is more story focused. Which is not necessarily a good thing considering Black's writing can often be a bit choppy or contrived. Often characters will jump from one situation to another without a proper sense of time or place, and later on in the story the children attempt to steal a fish from a fish-tank under the nose of two adults that is so awkwardly staged it made me cringe.
But the characters have improved since the last book, with Nick becoming a more thoughtful and less antagonistic young man, with a rather poignant decision to make at the conclusion of the story, and Laurie undermines her own ditzy-exterior with a tendency to lie - a trait that she defends later on in a thought-provoking way. Also along for the ride is Nick's older brother Jules and his girlfriend Cindy (not to mention a troublesome hobgoblin called Sandspur), both of whom show more maturity and respect for the younger kids than any of the parents present in this book.
Holly Black may be trying a little too hard to connect with her younger readers, specifically by making her adult characters utterly useless and unpleasant. Within the first chapter of the story, Nick's father and stepmother are having an argument, and their behaviour doesn't improve throughout the course of the story. Nick's father doesn't seem to have a single nice word to say to his son, and at one stage Charlene (step-mom) says to Nick: "You can keep hating me. Just let me put a band-aid on your scrape."
We've already dealt with the subject of the broken family in the previous series, and the effect it has on young people - it would have been a nice change from the dysfunctional family to have a more harmonious one, leading to a range of new difficulties in which the children feel guilty about deceiving their parents about the existence of the faerie world.
However, what with the story ending on a surprising cliff-hanger, and a few story-points left behind that will no doubt have to be cleared up, I'm on board for the next (and last) installment. |
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