Greenwitch (Puffin Books) [Paperback]

Susan Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1977 | Series: Puffin Books

This is the third book in the fantasy series, "The Dark Is Rising". The children are on holiday in Cornwall, still on the quest for the stolen grail. Jane goes to the ancient ceremony when the Greenwitch is pitched into the sea, and she makes a perilous wish - but one which unexpectedly brings great good.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 4-7--In this third book in Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising sequence (McElderry, 1985), Simon, Jane, and Barney return to Cornwall with their Uncle Merry after learning that the grail they had found in Over Sea, Under Stone (Harcourt, 1966) has been stolen from the British Museum. Will Stanton and his American uncle come to Cornwall as well, and initially there is some tension between the children. The locals are preparing for a celebration in which the women fashion a being from sticks and leaves and toss it into the sea. Jane's kindness wins the favor of this mystical effigy and it yields its secret the manuscript that will make it possible to decipher the writing on the grail. Although the grail has been stolen by the Dark, it is found and the writing proves to be the prophetic rhyme whose words will be fulfilled in the next books. The story requires some knowledge of the previous books, and only becomes complete after reading the subsequent books. This exciting and beautifully written story is filled with magic and mystery. It is unfortunate that the man who stole the grail identifies himself as part Romany, or Gypsy, thus reinforcing a negative stereotype. Alec Jennings does a superb job of reading this tale, as he has done with the first two books in the series. His expression and pacing suit the story well, and he is at ease with Cornish names and words. There are two places where editing cuts words short: when Merry tells the children to "look it up" it sounds like "crit up," and when the thief tells Barney to "open the box" it sounds like "pen the box." These quibbles aside, the technical quality is excellent. Libraries in which this series is popular will want this recording if they are buying the others in the sequence. Otherwise, The Dark Is Rising (Aug. 1999, p. 68) and The Grey King (Oct. 2001, p. 89) are more vital purchases.
Louise L. Sherman, formerly Anna C. Scott School
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"When most people hear 'large-print book,' they immediately think senior citizen. But large-print editions of popular children's books -- from the powerhouse Harry Potter series to timeless classics like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -- are now making their way onto the shelves of the Children's Department at the Canton Library. . . . Although large-print editions are targeted to the visually-impaired or dyslexic child, they can also be used by standard-vision readers. So Kershner [Children's librarian at the Canton Public Library] has decided against creating a special section in the Children's Department (as exists in the Adult Department) opting instead to intersperse large-print books on the shelves with the regular print versions of the same titles."
-- The Observer and Eccentric (October 2000) (The Observer and Eccentric )

"Thorndike Press has helped me not only find books I want to read, but they also look like regular books. That's important when you're a kid and you can only read Large Print, you want your book to look like all the other books. I'm reading a lot more now that we have found Thorndike Press."
-- Jim Bernardin, Islamorada, FL

"Everyone loves to read, there's nothing like curling up with a good book. We're a reading family, so when our son was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease and only able to read Large Print, it was particularly difficult. Books on tape are wonderful but they don't fill the void of actually reading a good story. Large Print books have been around a long time for older people, but to find a good novel for a young person in Large Print began to feel nearly impossible. The books that Thorndike Press publishes have truly made a difference in my son's reading life. He can enjoy current novels as well as some of the classics that he missed reading when it became too difficult with regular print."
-- Sara Bernardin, Islamorada, FL

"Susan Cooper is one of the few contemporary writers who . . . create the kind of sweeping conflict between good and evil that lies at the heart of all great fantasy."
-- Psychology Today --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Puffin Books; First edition & printing in this form edition (January 27, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140309012
• ISBN-13: 978-0140309010
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,846,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

SUSAN COOPER is best known for her acclaimed sequence of fantasy novels known as The Dark Is Rising which includes OVER SEA, UNDER STONE; THE DARK IS RISING (1974 Newbery Honor book); GREENWITCH; THE GREY KING (1976 Newbery Award book); and SILVER ON THE TREE. Her novels for young readers also include VICTORY, GREEN BOY, KING OF SHADOWS, THE BOGGART and its sequel THE BOGGART AND THE MONSTER, SEAWARD and DAWN OF FEAR. She has written books for younger children as well, including the Celtic retellings THE SILVER COW, THE SELKIE GIRL, and TAM LIN, all illustrated by Warwick Hutton, and FROG, illustrated by Jane Browne. In collaboration with actor Hume Cronyn, she wrote the Broadway play Foxfire and--for Jane Fonda--the television film The Dollmaker, for which they received the Humanitas Prize in 1985. Born in Buckinghamshire, England, Susan Cooper moved to the United States in 1963 and now lives in Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book One continued, January 25, 2006

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greenwitch (Mass Market Paperback)

The third continues from Book one

Along the Cornish shore

With Simon, Jane and Barney Drew

And Merriman once more

Someone's made off with the Grail

It's got to be the Dark

This time Will Stanton's in the mix

And Barney makes his mark

The Grail requires a secret code

To understand the writing

This fell into the deep blue sea

while Light and Dark were fighting

The Greenwitch claims a soggy prize

They need to get it back

While Jane tries her best to be nice

The Dark starts to attack

A lone dark minion on a quest

Gets greedy with his role

He stirs up all the Wild Magic

Before losing control

Will they locate the precious Grail

And break its ancient code?

And will the Greenwitch be appeased

Surrendering her load

For younger fans of fantasy

This series is a must

So go tell your Librarian

"Susan Cooper - or bust!"

Amanda Richards, January 26, 2006

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanted, April 19, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greenwitch (The Dark is Rising Sequence) (Mass Market Paperback)

The middle book of the "Dark is Rising" sequence suffers a little from the middle-book syndrome, and a few items in it feel slightly strained. However, these are quickly swamped under by an unusual, well-written story and great character growth.

When a golden chalice (first found by the Drews in "Under Sea Over Stone") is stolen from its museum, the mysterious Old One Merriman enlists their help and the help of the youngest Old One, Will Stanton. At first, the kids don't really get along; things seem fairly uneventful, except for Jane participating in an ancient ritual in which the women of the village get together and weave a vaguely humanoid figure, the Greenwitch. The Greenwitch is then thrown into the sea, after people touch it and make a wish. Jane, followed by strange impressions of the Greenwitch, makes a very unusual wish indeed.

But then her brothers and Will bump into someone else -- a strange painter who steals a picture of Barney's, and then lures the Drew boys into his home. He's a member of the Dark, and he forces Barney to scry out a message about the Grail for him. Then a strange, wild chaos strikes the town, with a ghost ship and the angry Greenwitch herself...

While this book is not the best of the series (the second takes that honor), it nevertheless is an excellent piece of work, as fantasy and as a study of the characters. The first chapter was a little weak; it felt too much like a part of "Over Sea Under Stone." However, this ceases as soon as Will comes on to the scene. The book then takes on a tone that seems, somehow, to balance out between "Dark is Rising" and "Over Sea Under Stone."

The Drews are better fleshed out and individualized in this book. Jane proves that Cooper is one of the few fantasy writers who can create genuinely strong female characters; this is, in a sense, her book. Barney's abilities aside from his siblings are explored, giving them all a sense of being separate people. Will is clearly more comfortable with his role as an Old One, as he is more knowledgeable and smoother at handling situations with the Dark. At the same time, he's also able to shift into being a preteen boy, tapping Morse code to the Drew kids through the wall. (I think that I would have a crush on Will if he weren't about nine years too young)

The writing in this book is versatile, becoming dreamy, stark, magical, frightening, or ordinary as the scene requires. The underwater scene with Tethys was one of the best written fantasy scenes I've ever read, while we are also given a horrific nightmare (Jane's) and the chilling pirate ship attacking a modern-day town when reality goes out of whack. Though the Greenwitch ceremony is women-only, Cooper doesn't bash the reader with any ideas; the Greenwitch herself is intriguingly written, childlike and possessive and kind of needy.

This is a nice part of an amazing series, and definitely worth the read.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Power from the Greenwitch, lost beneath the sea . . ., December 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Greenwitch (Mass Market Paperback)

Simon, Jane and Barney are horrified when they learn that the Grail they tried so hard to find a year ago has now been stolen by the powers of the Dark. They are even more horrified to learn that the Dark may use the Grail to discover the manuscript needed to understand the message vital to the Light which is etched on the side of the Grail. They decide that, along with their Great-Uncle Merry, they must return to Cornwall, exactly where they went a year before, and stop the Dark from succeeding. But when they get there, they are annoyed by the fact that Will Stanton is there as well, seemingly getting in the way and stopping them. But what they don't realise is that Will and Merriman(their Great-Uncle) are Old Ones, here to stop the Dark just as much as they are. But now the Dark has angered the Greenwitch and her mother Tethys, and where is Great-Uncle Merry, and why has Jane seen Will wearing a cloak and, with her Great-Uncle, challenging the Dark. . .?

This book concentrates much more on Jane than the first book, and shows that sometimes all you need is a little bit of love and caring to win over someones' heart - as shown in Jane's immortal words: 'I wish you could be happy.'

Don't we all.