Seeing Stone Movie Tie-in Edition

Chapter One: IN WHICHMore Than a Cat Goes Missing The late bus dropped Jared Grace at the bottom of his street. From there it was an uphill climb to the dilapidated old house where his family was staying until his mother found something better or his crazy old aunt wanted it back. The red and gold leaves of the low-hanging trees around the gate made the gray shingles look forlorn. The place looked as bad as Jared felt.He couldn't believe he'd had to stay after school already.It wasn't like he didn't try to get along with the other kids. He just wasn't good at it. Take today, for example. Sure, he'd been drawing a brownie while the teacher was talking, but he was still paying attention. More or less. And she didn't have to hold up his drawing in front of the whole class. After that, the kids wouldn't stop bothering him. Before he knew it, he was ripping some boy's notebook in half.He'd hoped things would bebetterat this school. But since his parents' divorce, things had gone from bad to worse.Jared walked into the kitchen. His twin, Simon, sat at the old farmhouse table with an untouched saucer of milk in front of him.Simon looked up. "Have you seen Tibbs?""I just got home." Jared went to the fridge and took a swig of apple juice. It was so cold that it made his head hurt."Well, did you see himoutside?"Simon asked. "I've looked everywhere."Jared shook his head. He didn't care about the stupid cat. She was just the newest member of Simon's menagerie. One more animal wanting to be petted or fed, or jumping on his lap when he was busy.Jared didn't know why he and Simon were so different. In movies, identical twins got cool powers like reading each other's minds with a look. It figured that the most real-life twins could do was wear the same-size pants.Their sister, Mallory, thundered down the stairs, lugging a large bag. The hilts of fencing swords stuck out from one end."Hey, good job getting detention, nutcase." Mallory slung the bag over her shoulder and walked toward the back door. "At least this time, no one's nose got broken.""Don't tell Mom, okay, Mal?" Jared pleaded."Whatever. She's going to find out sooner or later." Mallory shrugged and headed out onto the lawn. Clearly this new fencing team was even more competitive than the last. Mallory had taken to practicing at every spare moment. It bordered on obsessive."I'm going to Arthur's library," Jared said, and started up the stairs."But you have to help me find Tibbs. I waited for you to get home so you could help.""I don'thaveto do anything." Jared took the stairs two at a time.In the upstairs hall he opened the linen closet and went inside. Behind the stacks of mothball-packed, yellowed sheets was the door to the house's secret room.It was dim, lit faintly by a single window, and had the musty smell of old dust. The walls were lined with crumbling books. A massive desk covered in old papers and glass jars dominated one side of the room. Great-Great-Uncle Arthur's secret library. Jared's favorite place.He glanced back at the painting that hung next to the entrance. A portrait of Arthur Spiderwick peered down at him with small eyes half hidden behind tiny, round glasses. Arthur didn't look that old, but he had a pinched mouth and he seemed stuffy. He certainly didn't seem like someone who would believe in faeries.Opening the first drawer on the left-hand side of the desk, Jared tugged free a cloth-wrapped book:Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around Us.He'd only found it a few weeks before, but already Jared had come to think of it ashis.He kept it with him most of the time, sometimes even sleeping with it under his pillow. He would have even brought it to school, but he was afraid someone would take it from him.There was a faint sound inside the wall."Thimbletack?" Jared called softly.He could never be sure whenBlack, Holly is the author of 'Seeing Stone Movie Tie-in Edition' with ISBN 9780689859373 and ISBN 0689859376.