Over Sea, Under Stone (Dark Is Rising Sequence)

Product Information

And sometime in the last few decades, the NLS re-recorded the books and reissued the titles. Those old cassettes were wearing out, I'm sure, even the master copy. The prices of Pearls fluctuate depending on where they’re found – Pearls formed in salt water are valued much higher than freshwater Pearls. On a side note, while this story is set in a fictional Cornish village, among the events are a carnival and a floral dance (though this was not in spring) which reminded me very much of the spring festival Flora Day in Helston which I recently came across in another book set in Cornwall. I wonder if this was the inspiration?

It starts out feeling very Narnia-esque; a family siblings go to stay with an eccentric uncle professor and then the kids discover a passage behind the wardrobe. Even if that wasn't the world's biggest Narnia nod, it's still clever and sweet. Once the kids found the map in the attic, it felt very Boxcar Children-esque (my favorite books when I was a kid). They have to work out the clues to solve this mystery before the bad guys get there first (and how bad they were -- creepers!) And by the halfway point it had just morphed into a full-on Grail quest and I'm over here fist pumping. :DUpdated review---Wow! I can't believe I read this almost 7 years ago and still haven't returned to finish the series until now. It really is a great start to a story. Once again, I loved traipsing through the Cornish countryside with Simon, Jane, and Barney. The addition to this story of some King Arthur archaeology is fantastic and still one of the points I love best about this book. I listened to it this time on audiobook, which enhanced the experience. Alex Jennings was the narrator and all I can say is it's fantastic!

Over Sea, Under Stone is set in Cornwall. Research this area of England. Does the novel accurately show Cornwall's customs, legends, and landscape?

Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2011-09-02 17:33:22 Boxid IA143101 Boxid_2 BL11203T Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Donor Over Sea, Under Stone is a young adult fantasy novel published in 1965 by the English author Susan Cooper. It is the first of five books in Cooper's The Dark is Rising series. It tells the story of the three Drew children who while on holiday discover secrets related to the legend of King Arthur. The ocean is a magical place, and we believe that some of the world’s most magnificent gemstones are found under the waves. So, let us bring you ten of our stones that either come from, or are inspired by, our vast oceans. Pearl This is probably the fifteenth time I've read Over Sea, Under Stone, give or take a few times. Someone I knew recommended skipping it, since it's the most childish book in the series -- written, if I recall correctly, well before the other four, and most definitely aimed at kids. The scenario reminds me a little of a faintly Arthurian Enid Blyton story: three kids are on holiday and stumble into a mystery. On the other hand, it's much fuller than an Enid Blyton story. It's a fantasy story, at its most basic, really: the Dark vs. the Light. There's hints at an underlying story about King Arthur. Over Sea, Under Stone is a contemporary fantasy novel written for children by the English author Susan Cooper, first published in London by Jonathan Cape in 1965. Cooper wrote four sequels about ten years later, making it the first volume in a series usually called The Dark Is Rising Sequence (1965 to 1977). [1] In contrast to the rest of the series, it is more a mystery, with traditional fantasy elements mainly the subject of hints later in the narrative. [3] Thus it may ease readers into the fantasy genre. [3] Plot [ edit ]

Tanzanite is a true natural phenomenon, and the privilege that comes with owning such a stone is completely unmatched.What impressed me more was Cooper’s dedication to deductive reasoning and methodical planning on the part of the children. Too many books pitched at young adults have shallow, even insipid plots that require little originality or problem solving on the part of the protagonist. The adventure usually consists of a series of physical feats, and the mental obstacles, if any, are tired and repetitive. Here, the children face a number of obstacles that they overcome through rigorous reasoning and ingenious innovation. For example, at one point they use a ball of cotton thread Jane has to hand to try to measure the depth of a hole they find. Another scene has them reasoning out how the relative placement of three standing stones on a slope affects their apparent heights, and thus the heights of the shadows they cast. By including these details and showing the children’s thinking process, Cooper exposes her younger audience to deductive reasoning. I devoured juvenile mystery series as a boy— Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Encyclopedia Brown were among the best—and I could see myself enjoying this dimension of Over Sea, Under Stone.