The Ironwood Tree

The action reaches new levels of danger in the fourth book in the series. The story opens with the family on their way to one of Mallory's duels, and the boys are teasing her because she has a crush on the team captain. While their sister is besting everyone in the fencing match, Jared notices another girl fencer rooting through her bags. He goes to stop her, but a teacher prevents him, and when Jared looks back, he sees that Simon is now digging around. The only problem is that Simon is still sitting on the benches with their mom. Jared chases after the creature, and discovers that it is a changeling when it transforms into the mirror image of Jared himself. The Not-Jared threatens him, and when Jared pulls out a knife to defend show more himself, the vice principal of the school walks in. Of course, the changeling switches to another form before the principal notices, and Jared is accused of assaulting another student with a knife. This event strains Jared's relationship with his mom to the breaking point; she doesn't scream or yell, but her look of quiet sadness breaks Jared's heart. He knows his mom expects him to be bad, yet none of this has been his fault, and he is unable to offer a reasonable explanation when faeries are at work.

His mother sends him and Simon to get their sister, but they can't find her anywhere. Another fencer tells them that they saw Mallory crying in the bathroom, but everywhere they check she's gone. When they look outside, they find her medal among some stones from the quarry, and a word scrawled in a rock: trade. They realize that Mallory has been kidnapped! Back inside, they overhear their mom on the phone with their dad. She tells him that maybe Jared should stay with him for a while. Crushed, Jared decides that he and Simon need to rescue Mallory, because no one else will understand what has happened. They venture to the quarry, the land of the dwarves, and sneak in to an underground kingdom to save Mallory.

I was so excited about this book. A lot happens to the characters in the fourth installment. We see the softer side of Mallory - she does have adolescent crushes, despite her tough exterior. Jared's relationship with his mother is steadily deteriorating, and it is such a complex dilemma that is presented in a way children can understand. Jared was the bad boy, but he's not anymore, and now he is being blamed for the actions that mythical creatures are taking. His mom has no idea that anything supernatural is happening and thinks that Jared is behind all of these problems, and she really doesn't know what to do to help her son. Jared and Simon are growing closer as brothers, and Simon is beginning to take a firmer stand for himself. Also, the overall plot surges forward in this book. Several plot lines that have been developing are tied together as we meet the main nemesis, Mulgarath. The dwarves took Mallory under the orders of Mulgarath, who wants the field guide so that he can rule all faerie kind, and humankind. We see just how cruel a monster he is at the end of this novel, and the story ends with a mystery as we see that the goblins have taken a human prisoner. The story line is exciting, the characters are growing and changing, and all of them are people I care about, the villain is truly frightening, and each book introduces new faerie creatures that are creative and fascinating. The Ironwood Tree is a fun and suspenseful tale, and revs the entire series up to the conclusion that we know is coming in the next, final, novel. show less

Mallory is kidnapped by dwarfs in this fourth installment of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Jared and Simon must rescue her from the little creatures' quarry stronghold. Spirited away after a fencing match, Mallory is encased in a glass coffin, much as Snow White was. Jared, once again in trouble, this time for threatening a fellow student - really a shape-shifting faery of some sort - and Simon set out in pursuit, but quickly find themselves captured by their dwarfish enemies as well. After the twins escape and wake their sister, the Grace children flee, running from the dwarfs' mechanical hounds. Before heading for home, they witness the arrival of the ogre Mulgarath, of whom they had been warned in the previous book, and are show more horrified to see his goblin army slaughter the dwarfs...

The story-line in The Ironwood Tree, whose title refers to the beautifully ornate metal tree constructed by the dwarfs, is highly reminiscent of the second entry in the series, The Seeing Stone, although here it is Mallory who is kidnapped by magical adversaries, rather than Simon. Although not as emotionally resonant as the previous title, Lucinda's Secret - here no family secrets are revealed, and no emotional traumas are dealt with - this penultimate story does set up the concluding volume rather nicely, highlighting at its conclusion the truly horrific nature of Mulgarath, who slays his own allies. It also demonstrates, through the shape-shifter that appears at the beginning of the story, the great power and cunning of the ogre, whom, it is hinted, was the 'boy' that Jared confronted. Although not the equal of the third in terms of story - thus far, Lucinda's Secret is my favorite of the series - this was still an engaging tale, one with plenty of excitement and adventure for young readers. The artwork is every bit as lovely as in the previous titles - these are really such beautiful books, physically! - making this an engaging reading experience. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed the previous three installments of The Spiderwick Chronicles. show less

This was a very cool addition to the series. It is packed with adventure (none of which made it into the movie). Great descriptions, I really enjoyed the setup of the dwarven caves. The fourth book contains a scene that is a little movie violent than the previous books, although not much detail is included.

Good writing. Great imagery. A must read.

Summary: Jared Grace keeps getting in trouble at school, even though it’s not his fault, but he has no time to worry about a tiny little thing like expulsion now… his older sister Mallory has just been kidnapped by the Dwarves, who are demanding the book as ransom, and Jared and Simon must go deep underground to rescue her - and save themselves.

Review: The action and adventure is just as good as in the previous installments, but I felt like a lot of the mysteries and hints that were brought up in the third book were ignored here in favor of more chase scenes. I also liked the bits of emotional pathos that were dropped in between Jared and his mother, but they, too quickly fell by the wayside. This late in the game (relatively show more speaking) I wanted a little bit more explanation and depth and a little less solid action-suspense, but there is a bit of a grading curve, seeing as how it’s written for 8-year-olds. It’s still a fun read, but this one left me wondering if the final book is really going to be able to wrap up all of the little thread-lets we’ve been given so far. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Not quite as good as the previous three, but the enjoyment-to-time-investment factor is still high enough to make it a good read. show less

These three are short, but they were so woven to be one story, that I'm giving them only one review. They are beyond adorable. I adore them and I want to have them for my kids.

And I love how all the races are done, the words in each of them, and how they connect. And the art! How can I not tell you about the art! Half of the fun of moving on through any of the stories is the art that's everywhere, brightening everything.

I love Mallory, Jared and Simon in their own ways, and I love how completely un-cliche they each are really. I'm looking forward to getting the rest of Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles one day too!

For a couple of weeks, things have been almost normal for the three Grace children (Jared, Simon and Mallory) - there have been no faerie sightings. But that changes quickly at Mallory's fencing competition and soon Jared is in serious trouble and he has a hard time explaining his actions. But there's even more trouble for Jared and Simon when Mallory disappears. Their search for her will take them to places they never imagined and they begin to wonder if they can fight the monsters by themselves.

"The Ironwood Tree" is the wonderful fourth book in the children's fantasy series "The Spiderwick Chronicles". Authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black step up both the action and fantasy elements in this, the fourth of five books. They add show more more fantastical creatures including dwarves and metal dogs as well as some mysterious beings (who was that girl rummaging through Mallory's bag and who was the boy that got Jared in trouble?) All three children are in real danger in this book - danger that will have children eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next. Mixed in with the fantasy elements is a dose of reality - Jared is still having anger management issues and the thing that gets him in trouble in the book, while not his fault, happens all too often in the real world.

"The Ironwood Tree" is a well-done fantasy book for children of all ages. show less

In the penultimate book of this five-part series in which the Grace kids (9-year-old twins Simon and Jared, and 13-year-old Mallory) have discovered a book in the dilapidated old family home they've moved into which has put them in touch with the faerie world, Mallory is abducted by dwarves and given the Sleeping Beauty treatment, while her brothers Simon and Jared brave the dwarves's underground world to come to her rescue. The dwarves are skilled with metalworks, and the twins discover amazing creations such as a giant life-like tree made of silver and animated iron dogs they must escape. A fun adventure, once again made all the better thanks to Tony DiTerlizzi's gorgeous pen-and-ink illustrations.