New Releases by Susan Cooper

On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that -- the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril. This is the first volume of Susan Cooper's brilliant and absorbing fantasy sequence known as The Dark Is Rising.

In this seasonal treasure, Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper’s beloved poem heralds the winter solstice, illuminated by Caldecott Honoree Carson Ellis’s strikingly resonant illustrations. So the shortest day came, and the year died . . . As the sun set on the shortest day of the year, early people would gather to prepare for the long night ahead. They built fires and lit candles. They played music, bringing their own light to the darkness, while wondering if the sun would ever rise again. Written for a theatrical production that has become a ritual in itself, Susan Cooper’s poem "The Shortest Day" captures the magic behind the returning of the light, the yearning for traditions that connect us with generations that have gone before — and the hope for peace that we carry into the future. Richly illustrated by Carson Ellis with a universality that spans the centuries, this beautiful book evokes the joy and community found in the ongoing mystery of life when we celebrate light, thankfulness, and festivity at a time of rebirth. Welcome Yule!

“A welcome addition to the Boggart series.” —Booklist The Boggart is back for a new adventure filled with magic and mayhem from Newbery winner Susan Cooper. Magic is in the air when Allie and Jay Cameron visit their ancestors’ ancient Castle Keep in Scotland, tucked in its unspoiled loch. The twins wake the mischievous shape-shifting Boggart and his infamous cousin Nessie, of Loch Ness fame. But a summer of fun-loving trickery with the Old Things is invaded by a dangerous real estate developer called William Trout. Trout has big plans for a luxury resort on the loch, and little regard for its people or the law. Bulldozers get to work. The future of the loch, its seals, and all its beauty are threatened. The twins and Angus Cameron, their grandfather, mobilize to save his shop and the loch, but it’s soon clear they will need help of a different sort… In a race against time, the Boggarts recruit help from other Old Things of Scotland: hair-raising creatures of the Wild Magic. But are the Blue Men of the Minch and the Nuckelavee too terrifying for humans to handle? How can they drive out the invader? What’s certain is that Mr. Trout is in for a wild ride in this comical, page-turning adventure from Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper.

At the end of a winter-long journey into manhood, Little Hawk returns to find his village decimated by a white man''s plague and soon, despite a fresh start, Little Hawk dies violently but his spirit remains trapped, seeing how his world changes.

In this classic adventure from Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper, two strangers embark on a quest for the sea that’s filled with mystery, fantasy, and danger. His name is West. Her name is Cally. They speak different languages and come from different countries thousands of miles apart, but they do not know that. What they do know are the tragedies that took their parents, then wrenched the two of them out of reality and into a strange and perilous world through which they must travel together, understanding only that they must reach the sea. Together, West and Cally embark upon a strange and sometimes terrifying quest, learning to survive and to love—and, at last, discovering the true secret of their journey.

Only in the world of the theater can Nat Field find an escape from the tragedies that have shadowed his young life. So he is thrilled when he is chosen to join an American drama troupe traveling to London to perform A Midsummer Night''s Dream in a new replica of the famous Globe theater. Shortly after arriving in England, Nat goes to bed ill and awakens transported back in time four hundred years -- to another London, and another production of A Midsummer Night''s Dream. Amid the bustle and excitement of an Elizabethan theatrical production, Nat finds the warm, nurturing father figure missing from his life -- in none other than William Shakespeare himself. Does Nat have to remain trapped in the past forever, or give up the friendship he''s so longed for in his own time?

A historic connection has the power to change the future in this classic, gripping novel from Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper. Sam Robbins is a farm boy, kidnapped to serve on HMS Victory, the ship on which Lord Nelson will die a hero’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Molly Jennings is a twenty-first-century English girl who’s been transplanted to the United States by her stepfather’s job and is fighting her own battle against loss and loneliness. Two different lives, two centuries apart, are linked by a tiny scrap of fraying cloth that’s tucked into an old book. It draws Molly into Sam’s world, to a moment in time that changed history—a frightening shared moment that holds the key both to secrets from the past and hope for the future.

An ancient Welsh tale is given new life in this magical picture book from the author of The Dark Is Rising series. When young Huw plays his harp on the mountains above his father’s farm, he does not realize that the magic people of Wales, the Tylwyth Teg, are listening from within the Bearded Lake. But suddenly, among his father’s herd of black cattle, Huw finds a wonderful silver cow, sent up from the lake as a gift. It makes his father a rich man—until one day the farmer becomes greedy, and the Tylwyth Teg take their revenge. Written in the soft, musical rhythm of Welsh speech and enriched by Susan Cooper’s own imaginative gifts, this old tale takes on new life. Warwick Hutton’s marvelously evocative illustrations capture the beauty of the Welsh countryside, the crafty greed of the farmer, and the magic of the Tylwyth Teg. Readers will return to this timeless retelling of a Welsh folktale again and again.

A portrait of Christmas Revels founder John Langstaff reveals influences that shaped the creation of his popular annual celebration, from his mischievous choirboy experiences and early career as a recital singer to his World War II injury and subsequent work as a recording artist, television performer, teacher and children''s author. By the Newbery Medal-winning author of The Grey King.

YA. An eleven-year-old boy searches for six magical signs in order to save the world from the threatening evil of the Dark.

Three English children, fascinated by the war air raids, gradually become aware of true fear and horror when they seek vengeance on an opposing gang that destroyed their hideaway.

Only a child can find the way to bring Saint George back to the play. The Boy works for the Magician, and he wants more than anything to learn magic. But the Magician always says, "Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right." So the Boy has to be content with polishing the Magician''s wand, taking care of the rabbits the Magician pulls out of hats, and doing his favorite job: operating the puppets for the play Saint George and the Dragon, which the Magician always performs as part of his act. Until one day the Saint George puppet disappears, and the angry Magician hurls the Boy into the strange Land of Story to find Saint George. His quest is full of adventures with oddly familiar people, from the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe to the Giant at the top of Jack''s beanstalk. But the Boy''s last adventure is the most amazing of all -- and changes his life forever.

Twelve-year-old Trey and his seven-year-old brother Lou, who does not speak, cross the barrier between two worlds, that of their island in the Bahamas, and a land called Pangaia, and play a mysterious role in restoring the natural environment in both places.

Will Stanton must face a powerful agent of the Dark in this Newbery Medal–winning fourth installment of Susan Cooper’s epic The Dark Is Rising Sequence, now with a brand-new look! There is a Welsh legend about a harp of gold, hidden away within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes—a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knows nothing of this when he comes to Wales to recover from a severe illness. But when he meets the strange boy Bran and his white dog, memory wakes in Will. For Will is the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil, the Dark. It is his task to use the golden harp to wake the six who must be roused from their long slumber in the Welsh hills to prepare for the last battle between the Dark and the Light. But first, with help from Bran, Will must face his most terrifying opponent yet: the Grey King.

When the Scottish owner of Castle Keep died, the ancient castle went to his Canadian great-nephew, Robert Volnik. There was no way the Volniks could keep the castle, so it was sold to an Edinburgh lawyer, Mr. Maconochie. Two years later, Emily Volnik and her younger brohter Jessup return to the castle for a visit. To their delight, the Boggart, a mischievous shape-shifting spirit who has lived in the castle for centures, playing tricks on the owners, is still there, making Mr. Mac coubt his won sanity as strange things happen. At Jessup''s urging, Mr. Mac takes them and Tommy Cameron, a local friend, on a comping trip to Loch Ness, Where a new expedition with advanced underwater equipment is planning another search for the Loch Ness Monster. The boggart comes along, and, on thier first night there, he is entranced to rediscover Nessie, a boggart cousin who has long forgotten how to change shape and remains in the prehistoric-monster form he long ago adopted. Beautifully imagined and beautifully written, this is an unforgettable adventure, filled with humor, suspense, and wonderful characters. It is a stunning companion to Susan Cooper''s earlier book, The Boggart.

In a tumbledown castle in the Western Highlands of Scotland lives the Boggart. He is invisible -- an ancient mischievous spirit, solitary and sly, born of a magic as old as the rocks and the waves. He has lived in Castle Keep for centuries, playing tricks on the owners. But the last Scottish owner has died and left the castle to his great-nephew Robert Volnik of Toronto, Canada. The Volnik family -- including Emily and her nine-year-old computer genius brother Jessup -- visit Castle Keep, and when they return to Toronto, they unwittingly take the Boggart with them. The astonishments, delight, and horrors that invade their lives with the arrival of the Boggart fill this swiftly moving story. The collision of modern techology and the Old Magic brings perils nobody could have imagined -- and, in the end, an amazing and touching solution to the problem of the Boggart who has found himself on the wrong side of the ocean. Sometimes extremely funny, sometimes wildly scary,and always totally absorbing, this remarkable story -- brilliantly imagined and beautifully written -- marks the return of the Newbery Award winner Susan Cooper to the field of novels for young readers. An outstanding achievement, The Boggart will work its special magic on all who read it.

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.

In this conclusion of a tale begun in "Over Sea, Under Stone," Will Stanton, the Welsh boy Bran, and the Drew Children try to locate the crystal sword that alone can vanquish the strong forces of the Dark.

The dragon in Matthew's picture book comes to life and takes him for an amazing nocturnal ride.