The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Winner, 1976 Newbery Award
Quick Summary
When Will Stanton arrives in North Wales just before Halloween, he learns that he is the last-born of the Old Ones, servants of the Light who must help save the world from the forces of evil.
Favorite Quote
The fish covering the whole swaying surface of the lake began to change; the flickering silver, fish after fish leapt into the air and curved down again, until the lake seemed no longer burdened with a great weight of sluggish creatures, but alive and dancing with bright streaks of silver light.
About the Author
Susan Cooper is best known as the author of the five-book fantasy series, The Dark Is Rising. (The Grey King is the fourth book.) Born in England, she worked as a reporter for the London Sunday Times before moving to the United States.
My Project
For this design, I began with a background of music notes. I painted a gray sky and rolling green hills with a crackle finish to give the piece an old look. I added a fancy brass lock and stamped some music notes on brass to show through the hole. In part, I wanted to symbolize the scene where the main character opens an old chest to find a harp that he'll use in his quest. At the same time, I think of this whole book as having two faces, the serene countryside that everyone sees and the special events that can only be viewed by a select few who know how to unlock the secrets.
This is the first project where my design was influenced in part by the reading list schedule. I had thought originally of doing something with wolves, but I realized that the one of the next books on the list was Julie of the Wolves and figured I should wait.
Final Thoughts
It is surprising to me that a book in the middle of a long series won this award, although it does read well as a standalone book. I can see this book appealing to boys who enjoy adventure books.
The writing is very lush and descriptive, especially in terms of the Welsh setting: "They careered along in a happy, lunatic chase through the valley; over open slopes, down into hollows, up over ridges, in and out of rounded, lichened rocks; through grass and bracken and heather and gorse, and quite often, on damper ground near one of the little streams that fed the river, through reeds and iris leaves." The book did have a classic, old-fashioned feel to me. The most modern item mentioned seemed to be the Land Rover that the adults drove. (I did a little research and was surprised that the vehicle brand was launched in 1948.)
Your Turn
If you read this book, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.