Product Description: The Spiderwick Chronicles leave the old-fashioned charm of New England far behind and head south for some fiendish faerie fun in the hot Florida sun. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his life has been turned upside down after his developer father remarries and moves his new wife and daughter into the soon-to-be completed Mangrove Hollow.
But an "expedition" to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem - the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety - and it's up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.
Fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles will be thrilled to discover this brand-new cycle of the New York Times bestselling series Nicholas Vargas is not at all happy about having a new stepsister, especially since Laurie is now in his bedroom and he is sharing a room with his aloof older brother, Julian. He is not amused when Laurie suggests that they search outside for faeries, which (of course) he does not believe in. Imagine his shock when he comes across a type of faery called a nixie. This particular nixie is in trouble because she is far from her pond. She can't survive out of water, so Laurie and Nick rescue her by hauling her to the lake.
As unnerving as that experience was, Nick is happy to have the whole faery episode behind him. But Laurie informs him that Taloa, the nixie, needs more help from them. Laurie persuades Nick into going to the lake to chat with Taloa, who wrestles him into the water.
Nick is indignant at this treatment, but he is even more incensed when Taloa sings (nixies sing instead of talk) that she needs his help to find her sisters who fled when the forest burned. When Nick refuses, Taloa croons that he will be sorry. Sure enough, when he reaches his father's car, it is filled with sand. This persuades Nick that maybe they ought to help Taloa after all. But first they have to deal with a rather significant obstacle in the form of a (gulp!) flame-throwing giant. The giant is content and placid as long as Taloa sings, but Taloa definitely cannot sing ceaselessly forever.
Fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles will be thrilled to discover this brand-new cycle of the New York Times bestselling series. Nick copes with his new family while starting out on his exhilarating adventure, which continues into the next book. The authors' humor is on full display, particularly in one surreal scene in which Nick and Laurie attend a book signing where they encounter not only characters from The Spiderwick Chronicles but Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black themselves (described as "a spiky-haired man in a bright blazer" and "a plump woman dressed entirely in black").
Readers will eagerly await the second installment, A GIANT PROBLEM, to see how Nick fares with his quest.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
A Kids Review I'm 9 yrs old and I think this is a good book. I think that other people will like it also.
My Favorite Spiderwick..... I've read all the Spiderwick Chronicles, good books, good stories and great characters.
I bought this just for the sake of reading them all. At first, after I realized that they changed the characters, added some new ones. I was thinking about how good the first series was and how much I didn't like the new one. Wrong, this book is great. The story really kicks in, Jared and Simon show up eventually and the story ends well.
Great first book, in the second series!
Giants on the Roam I became interested in the Spiderwick Chronicles when I heard of the movie. The Nixies Song was pretty good with creature types{nixies and giants} but it was not as good as the original series. Nick and Laures were interesting,but not as much as Jared,Simon and the rest. At the end they meet a giant killer who seems like if is going to help kill giants,but I do not trust him. Overall it is a good book,but not as good as the first.
Very good This book was definatly one of my fovorites. It tells about a boy who's dad just got remarried, and has a new stepsister. The stepsister is into spiderwick chronicles. It's a wonderful story, and I definatly recomend it for children 8-12. They find a nixie, and fight a giant! It was an amazing book, I have to tell you. I can't wait until the next book comes out. Holly Black and Toni Diterlizzi (?) are a great team when they pair up. I have to say this is one of my favorites. Well, I guess some people wouldn't like it, but i'm a faerie freak all the same.It turns out, Jared and Simon Grace are real.and thats realy cool. This story is based on a fans point of view. Definatly buy it the next time yoy see it.
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