Synopses & Reviews
On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift -- that he
is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of
evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical signs that will one day aid
the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas,
while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.
Review
Psychology Today
"Susan Cooper is one of the few contemporary writers who has the vivid imagination, the narrative
powers, 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."
Synopsis
On his birthday Will Stanton finds himself endowed with strange powers, released from the hold of ordinary times and entrusted with a quest to unite the six Signs of Light so he can stem the rising power of the Dark. Newbery Honor book; ALA Notable Children's Book; Carnegie Medal Honor Book; Kate Greenaway Medal Honor Book; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award.
About the Author
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.