a b Chaston, Joel D. (1996). "Susan (Mary) Cooper". In Caroline C. Hunt (ed.). Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 161: British Children's Writers Since 1960: First Series. Detroit: Gale . Retrieved 5 August 2013. Joel Chaston writes, "Reviewers noted that the book begins as a mystery-adventure story and becomes a sort of morality tale full of mysticism and elements of Arthurian legend. Because it later became a part of a series, Over Sea, Under Stone has continued to gain new readers. In a 1976 Horn Book essay, "A Second Look: Over Sea, Under Stone", Dwight Dudley Carlson argues that Cooper's superb abilities as a storyteller, the novel's clear delineation of good and evil, and the believability of the Drew children have contributed to its lasting success with young readers." [5] Publication history [ edit ] In chapter six, Barney tells what he knows about King Arthur. What could Barney add to his telling to help us better understand Over Sea, Under Stone and the other novels in The Dark Is Rising series?

Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.I found myself more annoyed with the tension technique that comes from the kids or adults misleading the three kids on purpose or people miscommunicating with each other. This was used too many times and it is something I'm biased against. For instance, Jane should be telling Uncle Merry, Simon, and Barney about the vicar and his interest in the map but she doesn't because she doesn't think it is important. She's pretty bright through most of the story so I'm not buying that reasoning. Later, she makes the connection and it is pretty obvious the device was used to move the story forward. This happens again with other characters such as Barney and Mrs. Palk and I found it contrived and boring after awhile.

Bill Hoover Jr.: Nephew to the housekeeper, he is a young, very unpleasant local, working for the Withers. As the birthstone for August, Peridot has a special place in many gemstone collections. However, with its gorgeous green hue, Peridot doesn’t need to be a birthstone to be favoured by the masses. Due to its color and overall appearance, Serpentine is sometimes confused with Jade and other green gemstones. However, we know just how special this gemstone is, and we hope you love our Serpentine jewelry collection just as much as we do. Mother usually paints outdoors, and father goes boating, or both travel out of town. Meanwhile, the children investigate the meaning of the map, encouraged, yet warned and sometimes "guarded", by Great Uncle Merry. They learn to read the diagram and work out the clues on the map, but they must work out of doors, where each child has a nasty encounter with the Dark and their progress is easy to observe. While looking for the first clue Simon is chased by Mr. Hastings and Bill Hoover, Jr. After the second clue leads them to the headland at night Simon, Jane and Great-Uncle Merry are ambushed and almost caught by followers of the Dark. Merriman is misdirected out of town, but the children anxiously follow their ancient guide "over sea and under stone" without him. Barney is kidnapped by Mr. Withers and his sister Polly, and must be rescued. The children eventually follow the clues to a cave beneath the headland and discover the Grail. Unfortunately they lose an important metal case that was lodged inside the Grail, which contained a coded manuscript that is the key to deciphering the markings on the outside of the Grail.Simon and Jane are near the standing stones when they hear what they think is an owl, "a friendless, inhuman, desolate sound," in chapter eight. Then, in chapter thirteen, they and Barney again hear this sound from near the beach. In both cases, the cry is not one of an owl, but of the enemy. Where else in Over Sea, Under Stone do people, events, or objects seem to be different than they actually are? I think I would have enjoyed this more as a child, but coming to it for the first time as an adult there were a couple of things I couldn't get over. First, the children were SO STUPID!!! The number of times they did dumb things that got them into trouble, like pulling out a secret artifact when you know an enemy is nearby, or not thinking to bring a flashlight to go exploring a cave... It ended up feeling to me like a lazy way to create conflict rather than letting the children be smart. 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