Empowering Bright & Gifted Children

 

Author: Susan Cooper

Interest Level: Middle Grades (4-8)
ATOS Reading Level: 5.3-6.2
AR Points: 6.0-14.0 each
Publisher Recommended Age: 12+
Publisher: Simon Schuster/Simon Pulse
Book Type: 5 Book Set includes 5 Trade Paperback books

 

 

The Dark Is Rising is the name of a five-book series of children's novels by Susan Cooper originally published in the 1960s and 1970s. The series is written as contemporary fantasy, and depicts the struggle between the forces of good, called The Light, and the forces of evil, known as The Dark.

 

The series is based on the Arthurian mythos, and is written primarily for older children and young adults. One of the books won the Newbery medal, and another was a Newbery Honor book. The Dark Is Rising is also the title of the second book in the series, whose main character is an eleven-year-old boy who learns that he is an Old One, destined to wield the powers of The Light in an ancient struggle with The Dark. Children, both magical and ordinary, feature prominently in the struggle portrayed in the five books.

 

In 2005, following the successful motion picture adaptations of other fantasy classics, it was announced that the series was being developed as a major motion picture. The film adaptation The Seeker, which introduces significant plot and character changes from the book, was released on October 5, 2007.

 

 

 

Three children on vacation in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript which sends them on a dangerous quest that entraps them in the eternal battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark. In this tale, Susan Cooper introduces us to Merriman, a pivotal character for the forces of the Light and also ties him with the three young mortal children in a quest by the sea which will lead them over sea and under stone to find a grail of legend to help the Light in its struggle against the Dark.

 

School Library Journal: "This is an outstanding...classic tale that all young...and adults will thoroughly enjoy." Grades 5-7

 

 

In this book, Will Stanton begins to have strange experiences on his eleventh birthday, just before Christmas. He soon learns he is one of the Old Ones, a guardian and warrior for The Light. He learns that he must help find the four Things of Power for The Light in order to battle the forces of The Dark. This book is the key book for the main character, Will Stanton. It is in this book that he joins one of the Things of Power, the Circle of Signs, by finding the additional five mandala (he has been given one earlier) and uses it to ward off the forces of The Dark. The book features elements of English folklore that are especially associated with the Thames Valley with Herne the Hunter making an appearance. This book received the 1974 Newbery Honor.

 

 School Library Journal: "Will searches for the six magical signs that will be needed for the battle between the Dark and the Light." Grades 5+

 

Psychology Today: "Susan Cooper is one of the few contemporary writers who has the vivid imagination, the narrative power, and the moral vision that permit her to create the kind of sweeping conflict between good and evil that lies at the heart of all great fantasy. Tolkien had it. So did C. S. Lewis. And Cooper writes in the same tradition."

 

 

This story returns to the characters introduced in Over Sea, Under Stone, uniting them with Will Stanton, and involves a quest for magic from beneath the sea. Jane Drew witnesses the creation of a ritualistic offering known as the 'Greenwitch', and senses both great power and great sadness in it. She wishes that the Greenwitch could be happy, and that wish has important consequences later when it turns out that the Greenwitch possesses something that will unlock the secrets of the Grail.

 

School Library Journal: "This exciting and beautifully written story is filled with magic and mystery." Grades 4-7

 

 

There is a Welsh legend about a harp of gold, hidden within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes -- a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knew nothing of this when he came to Wales to recover from a severe illness. But when he met Bran, a strange boy who owned a white dog, he began to remember. For Will is the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil, the Dark. And it is Will's task to wake-with the golden harp -- the six who must be roused from their long slumber in the Welsh hills to prepare for the last battle between the Dark and the Light. The Grey King was awarded the 1976 Newbery Medal. Welsh folklore is an important point in the book.

 

 

The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. Six individuals have come together to drive it back for good: Will, the Sign seeker; Bran, the raven boy; Jane, Simon, and Barney, the grail seekers; and Merriman, the wise mentor who unites them all. Together they stand ready to face the Rider and the full force of the Dark. But the last object of power must first be found. A sword of legend magically forged of pure crystal remains hidden in the Welsh hills. Without it, the Light has no hope against the Dark. Will and his companions must travel through time and space in an epic clash of magical powers that will decide the fate of us all.

 

 

Susan Cooper is best known for her acclaimed sequence of fantasy novels known as The Dark Is Rising which includes OVER SEA, UNDER STONE; THE DARK IS RISING (1974 Newbery Honor book); GREENWITCH; THE GREY KING (1976 Newbery Award book); and SILVER ON THE TREE.

 

Her novels for young readers also include SEAWARD and DAWN OF FEAR. She has written three books for younger children as well: THE SILVER COW, THE SELKIE GIRL, and TAM LIN, all illustrated by Warwick Hutton. In collaboration with actor Hume Cronyn, she wrote the Broadway play Foxfire and -- for Jane Fonda -- the television film The Dollmaker, for which they received the Humanitas Prize in 1985.

 

Born in Buckinghamshire, England, Susan Cooper moved to the United States in 1963 and now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.