Susan Cooper
1973
I read this book way back in 1986, when I was 13 years old, and this is what I wrote about it in my journal:
"I liked it because of the way it made you think while telling a neat story with lots of good description. It's more alive than some fantasy and I like the way it mixes magic with real life."
My husband read this book to my children last fall. The prose is stunning! Lyrical! Beautiful! Weaving together the ancient mythology of the British Isles with contemporary characters and settings, Susan Cooper wraps Christmas holiday for the Stanton Family in an epic battle between dark and light. As a child I loved the magic and the adventure. As an adult I love the poetic language and the story built on the power of folklore.
When I found this book way back when I gave it to my brother and my sister and told them they just had to read it. We all read the entire series within a week or two, and then adapted Susan Cooper's magical version of the world into our own imagination games for years. I'm glad now to share it with my children.
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Oh, I treasure these books! I adore the entire series!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that when I was in college, three of my friends and I got together and designed a scavenger hunt date night based on this book. We wrote parodies of the rhymes and hid six signs around the campus - the Sign of the Bagel, the Stop Sign, the Sine, the Cosine, the Sign of the Times, and one other which I have forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI married the guy I asked out on that date, so I owe a lot to Susan Cooper.
Oh, wow! What a connection :) (Haha "The Sine, the Cosine!" HEHEHE!)
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