With their "true story" setup and breathless warnings, "Go away/close the book/put it down/do not look," the Spiderwick Chronicles series contains an intensely absorbing world of mystery, faeries, and imagination. Each book is irresistibly appealing, providing snappy plot progression, and dozens of imaginative pen-and-ink drawings. First a pack of vile, smelly goblins snatch Simon. Then a band of elves try to entrap Jared. The Guide has mysteriously disappeared. And the faerie world is abuzz with the news that a creature with plans to rule the world has offered them a gift to join with him—he's given them a queen.