I would definitely recommend this book as part of anyone’s library. Honestly, it is hard to find non-political and non-religious children’s books that are as fun, clean, and straight forward as this. It has clear good and bad characters with a theme of good versus evil. There is no cursing, violence, or sexual contact at all. The story is fun and perfect for-middle-school readers. Of course, the Dark learns of their discovery and are soon after the children. In the old house they are staying at, they discover a map and follow clues with the help of their great-uncle. The book follows three children, Simon, Jane, and Barney as they go on vacation with their parents and great-uncle Merrimack Lyon to Trewissick in Cornwall. Instead, this story is more of a mystery, a hunt for the holy grail.

At first reading, though, you may even explain some of that as military level mind games. As you read more into the series, you can look back to the first book and see a bit more magic in the way the Dark controls people. This first book is a little different than the rest because the magic in it is mostly hinted at. Some times I review a whole series at a time, but these classic young adult fantasy fiction books have been around since the 1960s and are often recommended individually, especially the first two in the series. “Over Sea, Under Stone” by Susan Cooper is the first book in The Dark is Rising Series.

Under stone over sea