The Spiderwick Chronicles, by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Last year I thoroughly enjoyed reading Holly Black's dark and gritty teen fiction, so in my push to read more children's novels I picked up all five books in The Spiderwick Chronicles.  I didn't have terribly high expectations as they have the look of a publisher-commissioned series, but I was proven delightfully wrong.

The plot components are familiar: parents divorce; children are unhappy at moving; old house is a little creepy; strange events happen; children are blamed; children discover truth but don't tell adults; children brave adventures; children are victorious; parent apologizes for disbelief.

I get a little bored when I'm fairly sure I know how a book/series will play out, but there was enough that was new or interesting to keep me reading these.  More importantly, there's plenty to keep young readers engaged.  The Spiderwick Chronicles is written for children who are just starting to read novels, but are capable of tackling stories a step beyond the series fiction I was looking at earlier this month.  Each book has a familiar narrative arc and is short enough that it shouldn't intimidate readers, but doesn't scrimp on the rare words.
 
I've been wondering whether Spiderwick was conceived as a single novel or as a series.  My inner cynic suspected the publisher chose this format to increase book sales or to compete with A Series of Unfortunate Events.  Whatever the case, it works as it is.  Older readers may gobble up all five novels at once, while younger readers can work through one at a time.