Before there was A Court of Thrones and Roses, there was The Spiderwick Chronicles. They’re very different. They’re both about fairies, but in very different contexts. To cool the fires of your fae-driven lust and return to childhood innocence, I recommend reading the Spiderwick Chronicles books in this order.
What are The Spiderwick Chronicles books about?
The Spiderwick Chronicles are a children’s fantasy series written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. The books chronicle the magical adventures of twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory. After the trio moves into the Spiderwick estate, they discover a hidden world parallel to their own, Narnia style. After messing around in the mansion, the gang bumps into a brownie named Thimbletack. No, not a talking baked good, but a brownie as in a fae creature from European folklore.
The group discovers a book called Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You in the attic, which details all the different types of faeries that live in the surrounding woods. Thimbletack warns the kids not to screw around with fantastical powers beyond their comprehension, but like all fantasy novel protagonists, they do it anyway. Cue the dwarves, the goblins, and the ogres.
What order should I read them in?
The books’ publishing order is the same as their chronological order, so the reading order is straightforward:
Book 1: The Field Guide (2003)
Book 2: The Seeing Stone (2003)
Book 3: Lucinda’s Secret (2003)
Book 4: The Ironwood Tree (2004)
Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004)
But that’s not all! There is also a Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles trilogy! Read on!
Book 1: The Nixie’s Song (2007)
Book 2: A Giant Problem (2008)
Book 3: The Wyrm King (2009)
(featured image: Simon and Schuster)
