The Caretaker's Guide to Fablehaven

The Caretaker's Guide to Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Blurb:

They existed only in your imagination …. Until now!

With over 3 million copies in print, the Fablehaven series by New York Times best-selling author Brandon Mull is one of the most popular middle-grade fantasy series to date. Now, first time ever, The Caretaker’s Guide to Fablehaven provides a visual discovery of the series, and is loaded with insider’s knowledge and hand-scrawled notes. Readers can actually see the mystical creatures from the series like dragons – each one has a name, a special power, and looks distinctly different from the others, but until this book there was no illustrated guide. The book is also a springboard to the Fablehaven sequel series, Dragonwatch (releasing Fall 2016) and features clues to the characters and creatures fans will find in the upcoming books.

My Review:

What is a KArKADAnn you ask? Well, let me tell you. "A creature of Living Mirage, the karkadann is a formidable animal resembling a rhinoceros with one sentient horn. It is known for its fearsome roar and its speed in charging opponents." And what is a THylACine? Well, I know that one too! "Also known as Tasmanian tigers, thylacines look like large, striped greyhounds with long tails. Some of these creatures are gifted with the power of speech. Many thylacines reside at Obsidian Waste."And how do I know about these creatures, you ask? Well, let me tell you. I just finished reading The Caretaker's Guide to Fablehaven. It is a book written over time by all the different caretakers at Fablehaven. In it you will find descriptions of just about every creature or living thing that you will find at the preserves around the world. These descriptions usually include a picture (Done by the amazing Brandon Dorman!) and anything you would need to know about this creature, demon, or plant. This will help prepare you for your future caretaking job, or it will help you as a visitor to a preserve to know what is friendly and what is not. These descriptions are well written and very informative. Here is a quote from Grandma Sorenson that is in the guide:

 "Running toward danger is foolhardy....But so is closing your 

eyes to it. Many perils become less dangerous once you 

understand their potential hazards."

The following quote by Coulter is very helpful:

"I tell my secrets only to people I know I can trust. 

Otherwise the secret becomes a rumor just like that."

And one more from Dale:

"Smart people learn from their mistakes.

But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes

of others."

For Fablehaven fans, this is a great addition to the series. It would have been very helpful to have while reading the series, so that at a glance you could figure out what the different creatures are that you  are reading about. So run, don't walk, to get your copy of The Caretaker's Guide to Fablehaven. Don't leave home without it.....you never know what you will run into (It's a scary world out there)!

Rating: PG (Clean! Some of the creatures are scary or evil.)

Recommendation: Second to third grade and up. My boys read Fablehaven when they were in second grade, so this follows suit. It may be too difficult for a second grader, so third grade may be more appropriate.

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.