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The Dark Is Rising facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Author Susan Cooper
Series The Dark Is Rising Sequence
Publisher Macmillan
Publication date
1973
Awards Newbery Honor
Preceded by Over Sea, Under Stone 
Followed by Greenwitch 

The Dark is Rising is a 1973 children's fantasy novel by Susan Cooper. The second in The Dark Is Rising Sequence, the book won a Newbery Honor.

Plot

Will Stanton begins to have strange experiences on his 11th birthday, just before Christmas. He soon learns he is one of the Old Ones, a guardian and warrior for the Light, who must help find the four Things of Power for the Light in order to battle the forces of the Dark. The first of these Things of Power is the Circle of Six Signs (magical mandalas). Will collects the six signs which become the Circle of Signs, by finding the additional five mandalas (he has been given one earlier) and uses the completed Circle to ward off the forces of the Dark.

This book is where the protagonist Will Stanton, a main character in The Dark is Rising Sequence, is introduced. The book features elements of British folklore that are especially associated with the Thames Valley, with Herne the Hunter making an appearance.

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