The Dark Green Tunnel

by Allan W. Eckert

Book Overview

This is a fantasy, a la C.S.Lewis, about twins (boy and girl) who find their way into a parallel world in which there are strange creatures, strange people, strange topography, and evil kings and warlocks trying to rule the entire land of Messmeria. The twins join the "good" forces to help overcome the evil ones.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316208817
• ISBN13: 9780316208819
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

An imaginative fantasy quest through a C.S. Lewis world!

This is the greatest book I have ever read...in other words, my most favorite of all books! It has absolutely everything I dream of in a fantasy novel: an entrance to another world; fantastic and outer-worldly creatures, characters and obstacles; an imaginative and original plot combining the elements of fantasy, fiction, adventure, mystery and suspense; and an almost perfect combination of surrealistic lands and characters. Even though this is the only book of Allan's that I have read, I believe that this is the most different from his others. No other novel I have read let me enter such an incredible world as this one or make my own imagination stronger than it had ever been before! To summarize this enchanted adventure, the two main adventurers-Laura and Barnaby-set off to a secret spot (known by their cousin and the third adventurer, William) in the Florida Everglades. As their small motorboat ventures further in, William's secret owl reveals a hidden passage through the side of the walls of the cavernous secret spot, just large enough for the boat. As they make their way through the dark green tunnel, a whole other world is discovered through these three children and an incredible adventure is about to begin! There is only one problem...Laura and Barnaby are twin brother and sister...and in this new world, twins are forbidden! - - - typed this one back in high school; just wanted to reclaim it as my own, not just "a reader"...wasn't wearing any shoes either...

Fantastic read

Nearly 20 years ago my 5th grade teacher read this book to my class and it still remains one of my favorite books of all time. I looked for this book for years and am so happy that it was finally reprinted. This is a book that you can read with your children and thoroughly enjoy. I also recommend the Redwall series...another fantastic set of books for children and adults alike. Forget about Harry Potter, which tends to be a little frightening for children. This book and the Redwall series are some of the greatest children books of all time!!!

Happily re-released

I first encountered this book about 15 years ago. After much searching in the past 5 I was overjoyed at it's re-release. The book is a wistful journey, fraught with the type of characters which abound in the Chronicles of Narnia, but without as many religious undertones. The creatures created by Eckert are reminiscent of the fantasy epics "Labyrinth" and "The Never Ending Story." The book is as fantastical now as it was waaaaaay back in grade school. My only regret is that it took so long to be re-published.

I LOVED this book!

This book was wonderful! It is the story of the twins Lara and Barnaby and their cousin William (I think that's what his name was, I haven't read the book for a while) who go into the world of Mesmeria one day by following an owl through the Everglades, only to find that they're destined to save this land.This book is an incredible fantasy (take it from a fanatic bookworm) that I completely loved, and the sequel "The Wand: Return to Mesmeria" is just as good...

An imaginative fantasy quest through a C.S. Lewis world!

This is the greatest book I have ever read...in other words, my most favorite of all books! It has absolutely everything I dream of in a fantasy novel: an entrance to another world; fantastic and outer-worldly creatures, characters and obstacles; an imaginative and original plot combining the elements of fantasy, fiction, adventure, mystery and suspense; and an almost perfect combination of surrealistic lands and characters. Even though this is the only book of Allan's that I have read, I believe that this is the most different from his others. No other novel I have read let me enter such an incredible world as this one or make my own imagination stronger than it had ever been before! To summarize this enchanted adventure, the two main adventurers-Laura and Barnaby-set off to a secret spot (known by their cousin and the third adventurer, William) in the Florida Everglades. As their small motorboat ventures further in, William's secret owl reveals a hidden passage trhough the side of the walls of the cavernous secret spot, just large enough for the boat. As they make their way through the dark green tunnel, a whole other world is discovered through these three children and an incredible adventure is about to begin! There is only one problem...Laura and Barnaby are twin brother and sister...and in this new world, twins are forbidden