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A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles) | 
| Author: Holly Black
Creator: Tony Diterlizzi
Publisher: Simon Schuster Children's Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $10.99
Buy New: $6.03
You Save: $4.96 (45%)
New (37) Used (10) from $5.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 1166
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.8
ISBN: 0689871325
EAN: 9780689871320
ASIN: 0689871325
Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Very good November 10, 2008
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.
 Brilliant new book in the Spiderwick Series November 2, 2008
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.
"I Seek My Sisters Alone. You Will Be Sorry..." October 23, 2008
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).br / br /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.br /br /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. br /br /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.br /br /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."br /br /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. br /br /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.
 The giants are revolting (yes, they certainly are) October 5, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Down in the Florida swamps lies a giant problem. No, make that several giant problems. The fire-breathing giants are beginning to wake up, and only people with "the sight" can see them.br /br /When the giants lay waste to an entire housing development project, it's high time for the giant slaying team to do something about it.br /br /Unfortunately, the giant slaying team is made up of an old blind man, a chubby youth named Nick, his stepsister Laurie, his older brother Jules, and Jules' girlfriend Cindy.br /br /Continuing the adventure from book one, The Nixie's Song, this episode pushes the envelope trying to cram too many things into one little book. You also get the impression that the author was in a bit of a hurry, as there are loose ends, continuity problems and far too many coincidences.br /br /A quick read, and as usual, beautifully illustrated, but certainly not in the league of the original Spiderwick Chronicles. On the bright side, the ending of the book indicates that there's lots of excitement to come. Get this if you've already read The Nixie's Song, and hope that the next one will be better. br /br /br /Amanda Richards, October 4, 2008br /
A Giant Leap Ahead September 19, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I loved the original SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. I devoured the whole set of five books within the same day. At the end of THE WRATH OF MULGARATH, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi had hinted that there might be more to the Spiderwick story, and that definitely made me excited. A GIANT PROBLEM is now book two in the new BEYOND THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES series, and I must say that it's taken until this book to really make me enjoy these further adventures.br /br /The story picks up immediately from book number one, and I had to go glance back through THE NIXIE'S SONG to remember different plot details. Pretty much, Nick and Laurie are off on further adventures to stop the coming onslaught of giants destroying by fire the whole of the state of Florida. A daunting task for two kids and a blind old man named Noseeum Jack. I had been hoping all along through the first book and in beginning this second one that the story would grow beyond stopping giants from randomly destroying things. Yes, the problem seemed large, but just not enough for me -- especially after the original five books. That's why I was pleasantly surprised and chilled to come to the twist ending of A GIANT PROBLEM. It took the whole series to a new height, and I am extremely excited to get my hands on book number three, which I won't even tell the title of since it holds a bit of the secret.br /br /The writing is as usual superb, and the illustrations dazzling in that throwback style that DiTerlizzi is so brilliant at. Just looking at his drawings sucks the reader into another world. My only complaint is that I had to wait so long for book number two. I really hope that we don't have to wait another year before the final installment.
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