The Spiderwick Chronicles
#4033.94 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 2003–2004 Reading commitment Low Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi Last reviewed 2026-08-20
Overview
A middle-grade series about the Grace children's discovery of a hidden faerie world at their family's crumbling old estate, co-created and co-written by Holly Black and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.
Mythic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Spiderwick Chronicles Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Field Guide | 2003 | 1 | core | 3.93 (95,117 ratings) |
 | The Seeing Stone | 2003 | 2 | core | 3.93 (49,425 ratings) |
 | Lucinda's Secret | 2003 | 3 | core | 3.92 (41,885 ratings) |
 | The Ironwood Tree | 2004 | 4 | core | 3.96 (39,950 ratings) |
 | The Wrath of Mulgarath | 2004 | 5 | core | 3.98 (43,114 ratings) |
The original five-book middle-grade series, co-created and co-written with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, following the Grace children's discovery of a hidden world of faeries and other creatures at Spiderwick Estate.
Library / Expanded (3 works)
Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Nixie's Song | 2007 | N/A | |
 | A Giant Problem | 2008 | N/A | |
 | The Wyrm King | 2009 | N/A |
A follow-up trilogy featuring a new set of child protagonists (the Grace children's cousins) in the same world; registered Expanded Canon as a secondary continuation rather than the flagship series.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Spiderwick Chronicles? The Spiderwick Chronicles's Core Canon is 5 books, plus 3 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Spiderwick Chronicles? Publication order, starting with The Field Guide. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Spiderwick Chronicles finished? Complete (2003–2004).
- How much reading does The Spiderwick Chronicles take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~602 pages).
- How is The Spiderwick Chronicles ranked? #403 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 269,491 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #403?
Ranked #403 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.94 across 5 core books.
- Backed by 269k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 5 rated core books rate within 0.06 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #402, Inkheart (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 5 books · Complete · 269k ratings · Ranks #403 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- Lucinda's Secret (2003)
- The Field Guide (2003)
- The Seeing Stone (2003)
- The Ironwood Tree (2004)
- The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004)
Documented internal/story order
- The Field Guide (2003)
- The Seeing Stone (2003)
- Lucinda's Secret (2003)
- The Ironwood Tree (2004)
- The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004)
Awards (verified)
- No independently-verified awards on file for this universe yet.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.94 across 269,491 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit The Spiderwick Chronicles (Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi) accepted 2026-08-20
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-20
Rule: Core Canon is the original five-book series (The Field Guide through The Wrath of Mulgarath, 2003-2004). The follow-up trilogy Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles (2007-2009), featuring a new set of child protagonists in the same world, is Expanded Canon.