The Dark is Rising Sequence 5 Books Collection Set (Over Sea Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, Silver on the Tree)

Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil -- Dark. They are not at first aware of the strange powers of another boy brought to help, Will Stanton -- nor of the sinister significance of the Greenwitch, an image of leaves and branches that for centuries has been cast into the sea for good luck in fishing and harvest. Their search for the grail sets into motion a series of distubing, sometimes dangerous events that, at their climax, bring forth a gift that, for a time at least, will keep the Dark from rising. School Library Journal Gr 4-7-In this third book in Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising sequence (McElderry, 1985), Simon, Jane, and Barney return to Cornwall with their Uncle Merry after learning that the grail they had found in Over Sea, Under Stone (Harcourt, 1966) has been stolen from the British Museum. Will Stanton and his American uncle come to Cornwall as well, and initially there is some tension between the children. The locals are preparing for a celebration in which the women fashion a being from sticks and leaves and toss it into the sea. Jane's kindness wins the favor of this mystical effigy and it yields its secret the manuscript that will make it possible to decipher the writing on the grail. Although the grail has been stolen by the Dark, it is found and the writing proves to be the prophetic rhyme whose words will be fulfilled in the next books. The story requires some knowledge of the previous books, and only becomes complete after reading the subsequent books. This exciting and beautifully written story is filled with magic and mystery. It is unfortunate that the man who stole the grail identifies himself as part Romany, or Gypsy, thus reinforcing a negative stereotype. Alec Jennings does a superb job of reading this tale, as he has done with the first two books in the series. His expression and pacing suit the story well, and he is at ease with Cornish names and words. There are two places where editing cuts words short: when Merry tells the children to "look it up" it sounds like "crit up," and when the thief tells Barney to "open the box" it sounds like "pen the box." These quibbles aside, the technical quality is excellent. Libraries in which this series is popular will want this recording if they are buying the others in the sequence. Otherwise, The Dark Is Rising (Aug. 1999, p. 68) and The Grey King (Oct. 2001, p. 89) are more vital purchases.-Louise L. Sherman, formerly Anna C. Scott School Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. The Drew siblings must face a powerful creature from the ocean depths to reclaim the golden grail in this third installment of Susan Cooper's epic and award-winning The Dark Is Rising Sequence, now with a brand-new look!The priceless golden grail that Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew worked so hard to recover has been stolen by forces of evil. Great-Uncle Merry takes the siblings back to Trewissick in Cornwall, where he expects the Dark has hidden the grail. There, they are joined by Will Stanton, a mysterious boy with astounding powers. But there are more forces at play than they realize, and when the village women create the disturbing ritual creature called the Greenwitch—an ancient image made of leaves and branches and cast into the sea for good luck in fishing—Jane must face the unknown without help. The Greenwitch springs to life with vengeful power and is called forth from the ocean depths by the Dark to set loose the unpredictable Wild Magic of the earth. To prevent this dreadful entity from unleashing devastating damage, Jane must convince Greenwitch to turn toward the Light. But can she ever hope to tip the balance against the Dark? Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil -- Dark. They are not at first aware of the strange powers of another boy brought to help, Will Stanton -- nor of the sinister significance of the Greenwitch, an image of leaves and branches that for centuries has been cast into the sea for good luck in fishing and harvest. Their search for the grail sets into motion a series of disturbing, sometimes dangerous events that, at their climax, bring forth a gift that, for a time at least, will keep the Dark from rising. Third in The Dark is Rising series. Jane's invitation to witness the making of the Greenwitch begins a series of sinister events in which she and her two brothers help the Old Ones recover the grail stolen by the Dark Several Celtic works of art were stolen from the British Museum yesterday, one of them worth more than 50,000.