The Stranger Things Field Guide: Everything you need to know about the weird, wonderful and terrifying world of Hawkins and the Upside Down

by Nadia Bailey, Phil Constantinesco (Illustrator)

Let this unofficial field guide take you deep into the world of  Stranger Things —and discover everything you need to know about the world of Hawkins, the Upside Down, and the making of the cult Netflix series.

Stranger Things —that perfectly created television world of 80's Indiana complete with a mysterious government project, shadow monsters and a raft of big-personality, small-town characters—is celebrated in this volume. Entertaining, always informative and a huge amount of fun,  The Stranger Things Field Guide  explores the curious fictional world the Duffer Brothers created. With facts, stats and behind-the-scenes anecdotes galore, this is the perfect book for fans of the show.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

136 pages, Hardcover

Published November 13, 2018

Reviews

[Sanna G. Ståhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, quick and fun to read! I knew many of the things the reader was being told in this book, still it was an amazing and captivating read.

The illustrations are beautiful and I really liked getting to know the characters a little better.

I also enjoyed the fact that we got a sum up of every episode from season 1 and 2! It will come very handy now that season 4 comes.

⭐️ “Stranger Things field guide” gets 5/5 stars from me!

Thank to my lovely mom (@bok_ann) for gifting it to me! 😘

[Dademaru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una guida non ufficiale, semiseria sulle prime due stagioni di Stranger Things, con una non celata influenza del punto di vista e dei gusti dell'autrice.
La lettura è scorrevole, i disegni apprezzabili, le schede dei personaggi e i quiz non troppo convincenti, mentre i riassunti degli episodi risultano godibili.

Probabilmente ho aspettato troppo per leggerla, l'avrei gustata di più dopo la seconda stagione.
Al termine della quarta perde un po' di senso.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although unofficial and unauthorized, The Stranger Things Field Guide is, in my opinion, an absolute must read for fans of Stranger Things. Written by Nadia Bailey and with absolutely incredible illustrations by Phil Constantinesco, this little book is full to the brim of trivia and a unique look inside the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. I had been expecting it to just be a standard guide to Stranger Things with elements such as character profiles, location guides (and maybe a map of Hawkins), a chronology of events, and so forth, and while it is sort of that, it also features newspaper clippings, an essay written by Dustin for a school assignment, quizzes, etc., all complete with a humorous tone to match. (There even is a step-by-step guide telling you how to make your hair look like Steve's.) I think that the only part of the book that I didn't love is its guide to slang used in the series because several of the words defined are not words that I would consider to be slang and are words that are still commonly used today in 2022, making their inclusion in the book rather unnecessary (words such as freak, gross, jock, and weirdo). Overall, however, I had such a blast reading The Stranger Things Field Guide and recommend it to all fans of Stranger Things, especially since it's a very quick read.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A

Nadia Bailey's Stranger Things Field Guide is a blast! While it's essentially a Stranger Things encyclopedia, Baily adds creative elements that aren't found in other pop culture catalogs. Along with character profiles and series recaps, Bailey also includes quirky, interactive segments that breathe life into the fictional characters from Hawkins, Indiana.

Bailey provides Stranger Things-specific quizzes such as "Which Hawkins family do you belong with," and "What's your Dungeons & Dragons character class". I did these quizzes with my family, and everyone enjoyed the creative questions and answers included in each quiz.

Bailey also adds Stranger Things/character-specific documents such as an issue of the Hawkins High Student Newsletter, the recipe for Chief Jim Hopper's triple-decker Ego extravaganza, Dustin Henderson's "What I Did on my Holiday" essay, Steve Harrington's top secret guide to perfect hair, and Billy Hargroves thrash mix mixtape playlist.

There are several more treats in the Stranger Things Field Guide. It's an essential book for any Stranger Things fan wanting to connect with their favorite Hawkins characters while waiting for the next season of Stranger Things.

Phil Constantinesco's illustrations are top-notch, as well! They fit perfectly with the design and layout of the Stranger Things Field Guide, adding an extra layer of immersion for the reader.

[sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick read if you're already familiar with Stranger Things and a very informative introduction to the series if you aren't! I thought the different segments were imaginative and cool additions, like the quizzes, Eleven's style profiles and the episode-by-episode summaries with the trivia and music facts. The real selling point of the Field Guide however is the illustrations and graphic design/layout of the whole thing. There is so much visible detail that's been put into making the different textures and graphics look realistic to the show, which really helps make it feel like an actual field guide. Honestly, though, I don't know how a book like this that's entirely based on copyrighted property could legally be made and profited off of (a la Unofficial Bridgerton Musical), but then again, what do I know?!

[Morgan (youarethelibrarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom got this in her stocking from my dad for Christmas, since she doesn’t have the best memory when it comes to movies and tv shows. But I borrowed it today, and it covers characters from seasons 1 and 2. There’s a recipe for Eggo Extravaganza, a breakdown of Eleven’s powers, and of the creatures we’ve met so far from the Upside Down. There are profiles for our heroes and villains, important places in Hawkins, and more! I really liked the made-up newspaper articles that were included!

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fun and enjoyable read. It's more like a tribute to the television series and a guide/handbook for fans, as it doesn't give new information that's not already canon.

There are recaps, quizzes, episode guides for both seasons, character analysis etc presented in the form of newspaper clippings and articles, newsletters and more.

Wonderful for fans 🙂

[Clued-in With A Book (Elvina Ulrich) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, fun and entertaining read for Stranger Things aficionados! There's episode summaries from season one and two, characters profiles, trivias, monsters manual and so forth. The illustrations are somewhat ok, not too bad and I really enjoyed the contents of this field guide!

[Renee M. P. T. Kray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely laid out and illustrated. It doesn't tell you anything you don't already know, and it even gets some stuff wrong, but it's a nice pretty book to add to the collection.

[T. Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable fan read.

[Matthew Hundley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I good refresher course in all things Stranger Things. Love the illustrations. The writings a bit generic.

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun collection of episode summaries and fictional scrapbook entries about characters, locations, and events. Three Stars.

[Livvy Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun book :)

[Christine Moakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

After binging through the Netflix series, I needed some Stranger Things reading material and selected this book from the library. Enjoyable and quick read - fun book.

[Shannon Vanderhyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably would have enjoyed it more after season 2.

[Bryan Borgman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for all Stranger Things fans but chock full o spoilers so read this until you've watched the first two seasons.

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book as it gives you an overview and details with a bunch of quizzes and character profiles

[MaKayla Tyree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book,Great pictures

[Aleesha McNair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave an overview of characters, places and key moments within the seasons of Stranger things with the opportunity for quizzes. Perfect for anyone who wants to get a headstart on the show