The Wrath of Mulgarath

The Spiderwick Chronicles #5

by Tony DiTerlizzi (Author & Illustrator), Holly Black

Three ordinary kids, Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace, have entered another world -- without leaving this one! Two remarkable talents, New York Times best-sellers Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, have risked everything to bring this remarkable account to light. Five books -- one thrilling adventure -- the Spiderwick Chronicles!
Their world is closer than you think.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Magic

146 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, has been creating children’s books for twenty years. From fanciful picture books like The Broken Ornament and The Spider & The Fly (a Caldecott Honor book), to chapter books like Kenny and The Dragon and The Search for WondLa, DiTerlizzi imbues his stories with rich imagination. With Holly Black, he created the middle-grade series, The Spiderwick Chronicles, which has sold over 20 million copies, been adapted into a feature film, and translated in over thirty countries. He teamed up with Lucasfilm to retell the original Star Wars trilogy as a picture book and his collaboration with celebrated author Mo Willems created the bestseller The Story of Diva & Flea. The Norman Rockwell museum’s retrospective, “Never Abandon Imagination”, featured artwork from the beginning of DiTerlizzi’s career as a contributing artist for Dungeons & Dragons and broke attendance records. He has been featured in Time magazine, USA Today, CNN, PBS, NPR the BBC and The Today Show.

Reviews

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was much better than I expected.
It's engaging and (beyond) fast to read. The entire 5 books series can be read/listened to in a day.
I think tiny humans and adults alike will enjoy these.
Did I mention Mark Hamill narrates (all 5 books) like a boss?

[jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So keep your eyes open. And when you see it, choose it! Because knowledge is good…just beware how you use it.”

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : The Moss by Cosmo Sheldrake

CWs: Magic, fantasy violence
STs: none

Y’all, it’s done! My summer has mainly consisted of me reading The Spiderwick Chronicles. I’ve written a review for each book and now I’m at the last and final book. It’s been an adventure, that I will say.

I really loved reading about the adventures of Jared, Simon, and Mallory. While at first I thought the books to be short and not very well written. Now? I mean, they got better! I believe I would have been obsessed with this series in middle school, maybe I was a little too late? Nonetheless, I still highly enjoyed this series. The story was simple but very entertaining. The illustrations will ALWAYS be amazing! If all I’m left with is just an incredible vibe, then I’ll take it!

I enjoyed getting to see Jared and his mother mend things in the end, as well as becoming closer to his siblings. You’ll realize that they don’t argue as much as the books continue. They become closer and find themselves, especially Jared. I really liked seeing him grow. Hogsqueal was my favorite, lol. He had such personality and sass. I also really liked Simon since we share similar traits. Getting to see Arthur and better understand his story was great. I have to admit, I got misty eyed at that ending!

To conclude, this story has been a very fun and light read for me as the summer comes to a close. It was easy, but adventurous. I believe the themes of family were wonderfully executed. I feel a little bit saddened to be done with the series since it was really a good time for me! But all things must come to an end, especially books *sobs*

At least the good thing with books is that it may end, but it’s only ever the beginning.

[Reem Alkhalaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

تنتقل السيدة جريس لمنزل الخالة لوسيندا بعد انفصالها عن زوجها لتبدأ حياة جديدة ، فيكون السكن في هذا المنزل هو أفضل حل بالنسبة لها ولأبنائها، ولكن تحدث أمور كثيرة لا تصدق خصوصاً بعد عثور جارد على كتاب مُخبأ في مَخبأ سري.

ربما يعتبر ما لخصته قليل جداً بالنسبة لخمسة أجزاء ولكن حقاً لا أريد افساد جمال السلسلة بذكر أحداثها.

حسناً ستستمتعون بها جداً سلسلة خيالية رائعة لن تشعروا بالملل أبداً وأنتم تقرأونها، كما ستعيشون الكثير من المغامرات المشوقة مع جارد سايمون ومالوري.

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estos sí son buenos libros infantiles... a mi "yo" de 17 le encantaron xD

La historia sigue a tres hermanos que de pronto se ven envueltos por los conflictos de una serie de hadas. La descripción de las hadas y las ilustraciones son preciosas, realmente te transportan a lo que está pasando en la historia. Me encantó que, incluso en un libro que está dirigido a menores, la particular forma de crear personajes de Black se notó, sobre todo en los gemelos.

Como dato extra, la adaptación cinematográfica deja a muchas hadas fuera pero aún así es una buena película para ver en familia.

[Faseeh Ilahi a.k.a Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun series with an epic conclusion. This was amazing and sweet at the same time. There were a lot of mythical creatures in these books which I loved and adored.

[Tori I · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 30 minutes ago I finished the last book of The Spiderwick Chronicles. This book is called The Wrath Of Mulgrath. This book was probably the best one out of all five. The best part of this book is at the end because you finally get to figure out some good and some bad things. The ending is super sad because Aunt Lucinda is out of the hospital and go to her aunt Lucinda's dad - Jared, Simon, and, Mallory's great great uncle. He has been gone a long time and gets wished back. He sees Lucinda hugs her, but he can't touch the ground or else he will turn to ash. He says his time is over touches the ground, turns to ash, and whirls up to heaven. That part made me cry because my great grandma died to and I felt so sad and just cried my heart out like aunt Lucinda. Aurthur Spiderwick gets freed by.... wait I am not going to spoil it. I guess you will have to read the book for yourself. I gave this book five stars because it has made me want to read it all the time and can't wait to read whenever I can. Over all this series has been my favorite books of all time and can't wait to read Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles. This book is outstandingly amazing!

[P · Rating 3 out of 5]

ตัวร้ายตายง่ายมากจนน่าตกใจ ฮ่าๆ แปลงร่างเป็นนกแล้วโดนกินเฉยเลย เรานี่นั่งขำอยู่นานกว่าจะอ่านต่อได้ สำหรับเล่มนี้เราชอบตอนจบ ลูซินด้ากับสไปเดอร์วิก เราว่าเป็นตอนจบที่ดูมีอะไรดี หลังจากห้าเล่มที่ผ่านมาเราให้น้ำหนักหนังสือชุดนี้พอๆกับนิทานก่อนนอน เพราะทั้งปม ตัวละครและก็อะไรอีกหลายๆอย่าง มันไม่หนักพอที่จะทำให้เราเรียกหนังสือชุดนี้ว่าเป็นนิยายได้เต็มปากเต็มคำเลย แต่ก็ถือว่าเอามาอ่านตอนว่างๆแก้เบื่อได้ดีจริงๆแหละ

เมื่อแม่ของพี่น้องเกรซถูกจับตัวไป จาเร็ด ไซม่อนและมัลลอรี่จึงต้องออกเดินทางมุ่งหน้าสู่อันตรายเพื่อตามหาแม่ของพวกเขาให้ทันเวลา ระหว่างทางสามพี่น้องได้พบกับก็อบลินและเมื่อมาถึงที่อยู่ของมุลการาธ เด็กๆก็ได้พบกับแม่และพ่อตัวปลอมของพวกเขาที่กลายร่างเป็นมุลการาธ เมื่อสามพี่น้องปราบมุลการาธลงได้แล้ว จาเร็ดก็ทำตามสัญญาที่ได้ให้ไว้กับพวกเอลฟ์ว่าเขาจะเอาหนังสือภาคสนามไปมอบให้ แต่พวกเอลฟ์ไว้ใจจาเร็ดให้เก็บหนังสือนั้นไว้กับตัว ส่วนป้าลูซินก้าก็คือพบกับพ่อของตัวเอง อาร์เธอร์ สไปเดอร์วิกในที่สุด เขาตัดสินใจที่จะกลายเป็นเถ้าถ่านเมื่อเขาเยื้องย่างออกมาจากดินแดนแห่งเอลฟ์เพื่อที่จะพบหน้าลูกสาวของเขาเป็นครั้งสุดท้าย

[~ Giulia ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know someone who's an inveterate non-reader, you can count the number of books they've ever read on your fingers (and not even using all of them); 5 of said books are these books. For that alone this whole series would deserve 5 stars.

In this conclusive instalment we have the final confrontation with the orc and the story of the Grace family gets satisfactorily wrapped up. It was especially nice meeting again many characters introduced in the previous books.

I wish I had read it as a child, but not because it wasn't perfectly enjoyable even as an adult :)

[Melcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth and final book of The Spiderwick Chronicles saga, I had a great time re-reading these after coming across them as a kid. The best part is always the illustrations which are divine and have a lot of character. The story wraps up nicely and overall I really found these book quite fun

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so on to the end of the series and the natural conclusion to the story - however as mentioned in the previous books review (the Ironwood tree) the story has taken a different direction to the film and one which I guess in some ways is a little more bleak but in others I think a lot more realistic.

The story does rely more on the children's character rather than knowledge and special insight given by the book which I think is far better (the film seem to spend too much time relying on the book rather than anything else).

The illustrations are very reminiscent of Chris Riddle (well they do to me) and so I think give an air levity which otherwise could have presented as quite an oppressive story. That said reading this book did feel like a conclusion was reached rather quickly and could have even supported more books (then again you never know if a series concludes due to the authors choice or the publishers insistence).

There is a second connected series which I will give a go at some point - it will be interesting on how the introduce and then continue the lore presented in these books.

[PilesOfPages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sin dudas, el mejor de la saga.

Este libro tiene toda la acción y aventura que necesitaba. Nuevamente se muestran nuevas criaturas mágicas, sabemos mas del villano y sus intenciones y conocemos el desenlace de esta historia. A pesar de que no me convenció mucho como terminó esa "batalla final", entiendo y acepto que es por estilo y el público a quien esta dirigido.

Sigo pensando que todos los libros pudieron formar un solo libro completo, en lugar de varios libritos cortos que parecían capítulos, pero claro está, fue decisión de los autores. No niego que me arrepiento de no haber leído estos libros mas joven, se que los habría disfrutado mas. De igual forma me gustó mucho esta saga, perfecta para quienes buscan una lectura ligera y entretenida.

[Omar · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I finished all the books and watched the movie yesterday. The movie used books 1-3 and 5. As always the books are always better than the movie. With that said... I have to admit I enjoyed the movie as well. It rarely happens that I can like both, but this was one of those occasions. The movie... without giving away too much, allows you to see more of the faeries than the book touched upon. It also changes a few things here and there as well. In the end you have a good book series as well as a good movie.

[Haniye · Rating 2 out of 5]

قابل پیش بینی
از اول تا آخر

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun quick series!

[Kaytlin Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! That finale is nothing like the movie and I love it! Like there was so much more to the ending...I mean, the movie is still good and I understand they didn't have time for everything...but wow! Loved this one!

Characters:
Again, they are all so great! Mallory is awesome in this one with her sword and her big sister don't you dare touch my brother vibes! I love it! I feel like that's how I come across with my younger sisters, minus I don't have a cool sword to swing around.😂
Jared was great!
Simon was just awesome! I loved him! He was so brave!
Thimbletack and Hogsqueal were both great additions.
Bryon was so cool!

Language:
One use of H e double hockey stick in a chapter title...but just in the phrase, "In Which all he** breaks out"

Romance:
N/A

Overall:
This such a fun series! I loved reading them! Just so quick and fun and full of illustrations! Awesome for readers ages 7+ minus the a word in book 3 and the one word in book 5...but other than those great. They would make really good read alouds! For reading alone, probably 9 to 10 and up.😁

[Mehdi STR · Rating 4 out of 5]

🟣 فرض کنید همراه خونواده‌تون به یک خونه‌ی بزرگ و قدیمی نقل مکان کردید. البته پدر خونواده همراهتون نیست، چون با مادرتون به اختلاف خورده.
و همینطور فرض کنید این خونه‌ی بزرگ کنار یک جنگل و به دور از شهر قرار داره.
حالا واکنشتون چیه اگر به محض ورود به خونه با اتفاقات عجیبی توی اون رو به رو بشید؟
مثلا دزدیده شدن وسایل یا شنیدن صدای حرکت کردن چیزی توی دیوارهای خونه.
اشتباه نکنید، این یک داستان ترسناک نیست.
این داستان خونواده‌ی گریسه.
داستان دو برادر دوقلو به اسم جارد و سیمون به همراه خواهر بزرگترشون یعنی ملوری.
ماجرا از این قراره که جارد گریس کتابی مرموز به اسم "کتاب راهنما" رو توی یک اتاق مخفی از خونه پیدا می‌کنه و این کتاب درواقع متعلق به صاحب قبلی خونه بوده که اتفاقا با بچه‌ها و مادرشون نسبت فامیلی هم داشته. مردی به اسم آرتور اسپایدرویک.
اما پیدا شدن کتاب ک برداشتن اون، مشکلات و دردسرهایی رو برای جارد و خونواده‌ش ایجاد می‌کنه و حالا جارد به همراه برادر دوقلو و خواهر بزرگترش باید سر از اسرار این کتاب، آرتور اسپایدرویک و حوادثی که پیش میاد در بیاره...

🖊 ماجراهای اسپایدرویک در مجموع کار خوبیه. خصوصا برای رده‌سنی نوجوان.
ایده و قلم جذابی داره و کار به‌شدت راحت خونی هستش، اما خالی از ضعف هم نیست.

🟪 اولا که تمام پنج جلد می‌تونست توی یک جلد بلند قرار بگیره و ما شاهد یک تک جلد خفن و جذاب توی ژانر فانتزی باشیم‌. با این حال به هر دلیلی نویسنده‌های اثر، یعنی هالی بلک و تونی دیترلیزی تصمیم بر این گرفتن که اثرشون رو به پنج جلد نسبتا کوتاه و صد صفحه‌ای تقسیم و منتشر کنن. که خب چون استقلال داستانی ندارن و همه‌شون در کنار هم باعث کامل شدن یک داستان می‌شن، بار مجموعه رو نداره و احتمالا به همین خاطر هم بود که کل داستان توی یک فیلم سینمایی اقتباس شد.

🟪 دوم اینکه ایده‌ی داستان خوب بود و با وجود دو نویسنده، خیلی بیشتر از اینا می‌تونستن روی اون مانوور بدن. اما جزییات خیلی کمه و روند پیش‌روی داستان سریع.
بعضی جاها هم سطحی و کلیشه‌ای پیش رفت. خصوصا جلد چهارم که کلا به نظر من اضافه بود و نبودنش ضربه‌ای به داستان وارد نمی‌کرد و بگذریم که خیلی موارد هم بی‌ منطق بود توی اون جلد.

🟪 با همه‌ی این حرفا در مجموع کار خوبی بود و دوستش داشتم. نثر و قلم خوش‌خوانی داشت و وجود تصاویر مرتبط با داستان‌ هم این خوانش رو راحت‌تر کرده بود. از این بابت موقع خوندنش اصلا خسته نمی‌شید.
به کسایی که فانتزی‌های شهری یا ماجراجویانه دوست دارن پیشنهادش می‌دم و در درجه اول رده‌سنی نوجوان.

[C.P. Cabaniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the final installment in the Spiderwick Chronicles and overall I was very pleased. Jared faces some of the inner struggles that we have seen in the previous novels and finally faces down some of his demons. The sibling relationship between Jared, Simon, and Mallory continues to be a highlight of the series.

We get a lot of both Thimbletack and Hogsqueal in this final installment, which I appreciated. These two are a lot of fun and it was nice to have them around more. We also get to see some other familiar faces, some are not so welcome.

I honestly love the writing in these stories and that makes me want to seek out other stories by these writers to see if they live up to this series. Everything was vivid and well thought out. Sure, it could have gone deeper and become lengthy middlegrade or young adult novels, but I think they are perfect as they are.

If you haven't tried this series I highly recommend them. Read them with your children, your nieces and nephews, students, or by yourself, it really doesn't matter. They are very enjoyable and I think appeal to a wide range of ages. My sister and I both enjoyed them all very much as adults and I wish that I had had them as a child.

[Cami L. González · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estuvo bien, al fin llegamos al final de la historia de los hermanos Grace y su lucha contra Mulgarath. Siento que, dentro de todo, cumplió con lo que se esperaría de un final de este tipo, pues tuvo escenas más emotivas con los padres y Jared aceptando su relación con su padre, además de tener varias escenas de acción y un cierre bastante redondo.

Tuvo un final distinto al de la película con respecto a la tía Lucinda y su padre, lo que me gustó mucho más. Fue más triste, pero a la vez algo más realista. Siento que cerraron todo con cuidado, las relaciones con las distintas especies, entre ellos y todo eso. Aun así los temas de manejo de ira de Jared, aunque solo los insinuaron no quedaron en nada (que sé que no se podían solucionar de golpe, pero podrían haber dado a entender que estaba trabajando en ello).

La ira de Mulgarath es el cierre de la aventura de los hermanos Grace, un final redondo que cumple con su dosis de acción, de humor y de emotividad.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can honestly say that this series is one that was really let down by the film adaptation. Back when the film was released I found myself excited for what was to come, only to be extremely disappointed with what we were given. If you’re someone who enjoyed the film then I really do suggest that you read the books to find out just how great they actually are rather than taking the film standpoint on it.

The final book in the series is yet another fast mover, bringing the series to an end through the characters dealing with the creatures in a way that I will not be sharing with you (honestly, there is no point in saying too much and ruining it for you). Just know that you finally get to figure out a number of things (both positives and negatives). I will, however, warn you: the ending is tragically beautiful so be careful on that front.

[Tawfek · Rating 3 out of 5]

نهاية السلسلة
بيتعاون الاطفال لكي ينقذوا امهم من مولجاراث
توقعت إن الأب هيكون مولجاراث متحول
الجريفين كان مهم جدًا الجزء ده في القضاء علي التنانين
التعاون بين الأطفال و بين ثيمبلتاك و هوجسكويل كان ممتاز
فكرة ان الأسرة كلها اتجمعت في الآخر مع لوسيندا و ثيمبلتاك و هوجسكويل لطيفة جدًا
و لكن ما زلت أعتقد إن كل او أغلب الجنيات في الرواية أشرار جدًا حتي اللي احتجزوا أرثر
الرواية انتهت بموت آرثر و لكنه مات و هو راضي لكي يحتضن ابنته لمرة أخيرة <3

[Lupe Dominguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great conclusion to the series! I really enjoyed this series. The fantasy angle was well developed and the story was fast paced but not rushed. The ending was perfect and bittersweet but I loved it. So good!! So glad I let my son read them!

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruised and battered, Jared, Simon, and Mallory return home to find the mansion ransacked and learn that Mulgarath has made off with both the Spiderwick Guide and their mother. With only the help of Thimbletack, Hogsqueal, and Byron, the Grace kids have to defeat Mulgarath and his goblin army. Before that, they'll need to win over some extra backup from fairyland.

The Grace kids have been tormented by the inhabitants of the fairy world for quite some time now, but when Mulgarath kidnaps their mother, things get personal. The final book was the best in my opinion. It wrapped things up in a neat way and the final confrontation between the Grace kids and Mulgarath resolved a lot of other issues that have been going on since book one such as the rocky relationship between the siblings, the misunderstandings between the Grace kids and their mom as well as the mystery of Arthur and the fairies. The fight scenes were cool, the art was great and things were surprisingly gruesome at times. It was a simple and enjoyable fantasy adventure.

***

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[Joseph Brink · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good series, age I wish there were more books in this sort of format.

If you are unfamiliar with the format of the Spiderwick Chronicles, the books are done in the style of the classic Victorian penny dreadfuls and are also done in a serial format with very short books that all together are the length of your typical novel. But the best feature of this unique format is the artwork. This book has SO MUCH ART. There are amazing drawings on nearly every page. And I love the art so much. I wish more books besides picture books had this much art...

Anyways, storywise, this was one of the most fun story concepts I've ever seen and it has so much potential. But, because of how short the series and books were, there wasn't a super developed plot. What plot there was was good and the characters were really good, but I think there should have been twice as many books. There just was very little actual story... which was sad.

I will probably read the "Beyond Spiderwick" series and want to watch the movie based on the books as well as the upcoming Disney+ series whenever it comes out.

[~Bellegirl91~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was DEFINITELY a quick listen to and actually glad Libby had the audiobooks and also to know Luke Skywalker aka Mark Hamill read these? HECK YES!! AND he did so good. They were just too short Haha. But they were surprisingly good and fun reads.

Ik my family has had the movie for years back when it came out on dvd and my siblings used to watch it but I'd only seen a few seconds of it. All I remember was seeing little Freddie Highmore and how Mallory was looking through a weird thing and trying to fight off weird creatures in the leaves 🤷‍♀️😅

But now I understand what was happening I kinda want to watch it now and this time all the way through since my siblings actually liked it. So overall, this series was definitely fun and cute and each one seemed like it was getting better than the one before which I was enjoying! 😀

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice end to the series.

[hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[ponczeq_book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cała otoczka serii robi 80% całej roboty. Ilustracje i kieszonkowość wydania tworzy aurę magicznej przygody, w którą każde dziecko dałoby się ponieść.
Suma sumarum oczywiście jestem za stara na tą serie, ale głupotą byłoby jej nie docenić.

[GRIS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supuestamente estas son historias para niños, pero he de decir que ha habido algún tema serio que sería difícil de explicar (no diré cuales, obviamente. No quiero spoilear). Pero dejando esto aparte, ha sido una bonita historia de hadas y ogros, que de vez en cuando se agradecen. Me ha gustado mucho como han unido el mundo "real" con la magia, y las ilustraciones en todos los libros han sido preciosas, y además ayudan a meterte en situación. En resumen ha sido, en general, una buena experiencia. Bastante recomendados si tienes un rato libre y quieres leer algo ligero.

[Furi Hanifah Zanuardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akhirnya, bisa menamatkan kisah spiderwick. Makhluk-makhluknya aneh-aneh, sejak pertama si buat bingung dengan kebiasaan dari para makhluk anehnya.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad conclusion to the series at all. I just wish the world could have been more fully explored and not limited to a backyard.