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The Cooper Kids Adventures #1-4
The Cooper Kids
Four-volume set of Frank Peretti's "Indiana Jones-style" adventure stories that build sound values in kids while keeping them glued to their seats.
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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409 people want to read
About the author
Frank E. Peretti
85 books3,782 followersFROM HIS WEBSITE:
With more than 12 million novels in print, Frank Peretti is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon and has been called “America’s hottest Christian novelist.”
Peretti is a natural storyteller who, as a youngster in Seattle, regularly gathered the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions. After graduating from high school, he began playing banjo with a local bluegrass group. He and his wife were married in 1972, and Peretti soon moved from touring with a pop band to launching a modest Christian music ministry. Peretti later spent time studying English, screen writing and film at UCLA and then assisted his father in pastoring a small Assembly of God church. In 1983, he gave up his pastoring position and began taking construction jobs to make ends meet. While working at a local ski factory, he began writing This Present Darkness, the book that would catapult him into the public eye. After numerous rejections from publishers and a slow start in sales, word-of-mouth enthusiasm finally lifted This Present Darkness onto a tidal wave of interest in spiritual warfare. The book appeared on Bookstore Journal’s bestseller list every month for more than eight years. Peretti’s two spiritual warfare novels, This Present Darkness (1998) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), captivated readers, together selling more than 3.5 million copies. The Oath was awarded the 1996 Gold Medallion Award for best fiction.
For kids, Peretti wrote The Cooper Kids Adventure Series (Crossways and Tommy Nelson), which remains a best-selling series for children with sales exceeding 1 million copies. In August 2000, Peretti released the hilarious children’s audiocassette series titled Wild and Wacky Totally True Bible Stories, reprising his role as Mr. Henry, the offbeat substitute Sunday School teacher found in two Visual Bible for Kids videos.
Peretti released his first-ever non-fiction book, The Wounded Spirit in 2000, which quickly became a best-seller. The book addresses the pain of “wounded spirits” and was written as a result of painful childhood experiences.
Frank Peretti and his wife, Barbara Jean, live in the Western U.S. In spite of sudden fame and notoriety, Frank still lives a simple, well-rounded life that includes carpentry, banjo making, sculpturing, bicycling and hiking. He is also an avid pilot.
With more than 12 million novels in print, Frank Peretti is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon and has been called “America’s hottest Christian novelist.”
Peretti is a natural storyteller who, as a youngster in Seattle, regularly gathered the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions. After graduating from high school, he began playing banjo with a local bluegrass group. He and his wife were married in 1972, and Peretti soon moved from touring with a pop band to launching a modest Christian music ministry. Peretti later spent time studying English, screen writing and film at UCLA and then assisted his father in pastoring a small Assembly of God church. In 1983, he gave up his pastoring position and began taking construction jobs to make ends meet. While working at a local ski factory, he began writing This Present Darkness, the book that would catapult him into the public eye. After numerous rejections from publishers and a slow start in sales, word-of-mouth enthusiasm finally lifted This Present Darkness onto a tidal wave of interest in spiritual warfare. The book appeared on Bookstore Journal’s bestseller list every month for more than eight years. Peretti’s two spiritual warfare novels, This Present Darkness (1998) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), captivated readers, together selling more than 3.5 million copies. The Oath was awarded the 1996 Gold Medallion Award for best fiction.
For kids, Peretti wrote The Cooper Kids Adventure Series (Crossways and Tommy Nelson), which remains a best-selling series for children with sales exceeding 1 million copies. In August 2000, Peretti released the hilarious children’s audiocassette series titled Wild and Wacky Totally True Bible Stories, reprising his role as Mr. Henry, the offbeat substitute Sunday School teacher found in two Visual Bible for Kids videos.
Peretti released his first-ever non-fiction book, The Wounded Spirit in 2000, which quickly became a best-seller. The book addresses the pain of “wounded spirits” and was written as a result of painful childhood experiences.
Frank Peretti and his wife, Barbara Jean, live in the Western U.S. In spite of sudden fame and notoriety, Frank still lives a simple, well-rounded life that includes carpentry, banjo making, sculpturing, bicycling and hiking. He is also an avid pilot.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 22, 2008
I completely loved these books when I read them. At the time (5th grade?) I hated reading, but these books were really addicting. They were suspenseful and just really exciting! I hear the Peretti books for adults are really terrifying! I honestly haven't worked up enough guts to read one yet.
October 23, 2008
Yet again, another book from Peretti's series for children. Being an elementary student, I remember being very obsessed with this book, constantly reading it until I finally found out how it all ended.
This is, of course, great for kids, and it has a nice message in it that Frank Peretti always manages to get into his stories without shoving it down your throat.
This is, of course, great for kids, and it has a nice message in it that Frank Peretti always manages to get into his stories without shoving it down your throat.
June 28, 2018
I enjoyed this series as a kid. I remember Peretti as being great at adventure and paranormal suspense. I had theological quibbles with his content even back then, and I'm sure I'd have philosophical quarrels if I reread them now, but at the middle-grade level these were fun!
December 31, 2022
This book has lived “rent-free”, as the kids say, in my mind since I first read it as a young lad. I am delighted to say it still captured my imagination, but I definitely notice large levels of “cheese” that I didn’t sense before.
Great book!
Great book!
August 31, 2016
I reread these four books more than any others as a kid. I hadn't seen the Indiana Jones movies yet, so I didn't catch the plot elements borrowed from them. I was enthralled by the archaeological dig locations, the mysterious secondary characters, the coolness of fourteen-year-old Jay and thirteen-year-old Lila as they traveled with their dad and survived all sorts of peril (let's see ... snakes, scorpions, a scary old soothsayer, an earthquake, ... and that's just the first book).
One of the things that appealed to me most was the fact that Jay and Lila are the only teen characters in the series. They inhabit the world of adults, are given adult responsibilities, and with all the life-or-death stuff going on, they don't have time to be headstrong and annoying (granted my kid-reader perception was a bit outside the norm).
As I look back, the best of these books is probably the fourth, Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea. I loved Meaghan Flaherty (and when the next four were released, a few years after I had outgrown the series, I read them anyway in the hopes of meeting her again; alas, she is never even mentioned). Craft-wise, the best thing about this book is the new layer peeled away of family struggle for the heretofore flawless Coopers. The loss of Jay and Lila's mother (backstory from before Book 1) is dealt with at last, and we learn that Dr. Cooper hasn't always dealt well with his grief, that his kids have sometimes felt alienated from him because of this. This character arc affected me as an aspiring writer of twelve years old, revealing the craft truth that characters with flaws and inner struggle are always more compelling than characters without them.
My boxed set is battered from many a vacation trip, and I will treasure always the grand adventures and the stalwart faith of the Cooper family.
One of the things that appealed to me most was the fact that Jay and Lila are the only teen characters in the series. They inhabit the world of adults, are given adult responsibilities, and with all the life-or-death stuff going on, they don't have time to be headstrong and annoying (granted my kid-reader perception was a bit outside the norm).
As I look back, the best of these books is probably the fourth, Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea. I loved Meaghan Flaherty (and when the next four were released, a few years after I had outgrown the series, I read them anyway in the hopes of meeting her again; alas, she is never even mentioned). Craft-wise, the best thing about this book is the new layer peeled away of family struggle for the heretofore flawless Coopers. The loss of Jay and Lila's mother (backstory from before Book 1) is dealt with at last, and we learn that Dr. Cooper hasn't always dealt well with his grief, that his kids have sometimes felt alienated from him because of this. This character arc affected me as an aspiring writer of twelve years old, revealing the craft truth that characters with flaws and inner struggle are always more compelling than characters without them.
My boxed set is battered from many a vacation trip, and I will treasure always the grand adventures and the stalwart faith of the Cooper family.
September 7, 2015
Waw! The door in the Dragon's Throat was beautifully written. My second shot at Frank's work and l found it very taut and engagingly entertaining.The book was not supposed to be funny but I laughed to a point that l was feeling embarrased, hugely because of the author's diction.
The main actor of the book, Dr. Cooper, an archaeologist and his well-trained teenagers were invited to dig away and find what was locked behind a mysterious door hidden deep within a crater located in the vast wilderness of the land of Prugue. All previous attempts to unearth what was hidden behind the ominous door failed and no one ever made it alive to tell the tale.
The President of the country believes the door will unlock untold treasures that will make him the richest of all and he had his own personal plans.
What lies behind the door is more than meets the eye; It's a secret kept from the foundation of the world that will be released at the right time and by the right personality.
Recommended for adventure and YA fantasy lovers. So good I'm already looking for book 2!
The main actor of the book, Dr. Cooper, an archaeologist and his well-trained teenagers were invited to dig away and find what was locked behind a mysterious door hidden deep within a crater located in the vast wilderness of the land of Prugue. All previous attempts to unearth what was hidden behind the ominous door failed and no one ever made it alive to tell the tale.
The President of the country believes the door will unlock untold treasures that will make him the richest of all and he had his own personal plans.
What lies behind the door is more than meets the eye; It's a secret kept from the foundation of the world that will be released at the right time and by the right personality.
Recommended for adventure and YA fantasy lovers. So good I'm already looking for book 2!
June 12, 2017
Read these several times over as a kid. Loved them!
May 29, 2025
I loved this series!! I first read The Door in the Dragon's Throat in fourth grade and begged my Mom to buy me the series. These books are suspenseful, well-written, and have good Christian themes! They can be a little dark and scary for young children, but they were some of the first books to capture my attention and influence a love for reading. I also remember that after reading them with my class, we would have "book talks" after each couple of chapters. I LOVED these book discussions and couldn't wait to get to class to read the next chapter. Kids can also learn about the struggle between spiritual light and darkness in these books, and that God is greater than all spiritual dark forces of the enemy.
Note: Frank E. Perretti also reads them aloud for the audiobooks. It is a great listen too.
I would recommend this to any parent that is looking for a well-written, Christian book series to introduce their son/
daughter to!
Note: Frank E. Perretti also reads them aloud for the audiobooks. It is a great listen too.
I would recommend this to any parent that is looking for a well-written, Christian book series to introduce their son/
daughter to!
August 23, 2021
No. Just - no - on this one. I've been perusing lists of top Christian literature for late elementary/middle school kids and checking out what's available from the library. I'm making a point to read the books for myself as I want to be careful. This one - I can't count how many times I groaned, but I forced myself to finish it. From the constant reminders of how ruggedly "handsome" the doctor is to the overt scripture pushing, the story is somehow predictable but hard to read at the same time. I'm all for addressing spiritual warfare and history around ancient cultures (fictional or otherwise) but there are other books that do a better job. Really was hoping the Cooper Kids (who are teens btw) would be a good fit/read.
December 27, 2018
Our 8-10 year olds loved this, science fiction, a little thrill, they couldn't put it down. Very short book though, you will read through each of them n an hour or so.
November 21, 2010
Review by Jill Williamson
Jay and Lila and their archaeologist father, Dr. Cooper, enter the tombs of Anak in search of a missing coworker. Instead, they stumble onto a village where the people follow a bizarre religion. These Anakim people believe that Anak Ha-Raphah is their god and will destroy them if he becomes angry. And Dr. Cooper’s meddling in the tombs has angered the god. But Dr. Cooper is not afraid. He must discover what became of his coworker and no false religion will stop him.
Peretti is a genius storyteller. Even adults would enjoy these Cooper Kids Adventure classics that follow Dr. Cooper and his children as they explore this planet for history that proves the Bible is fact. As always, Peretti writes fast-paced, scary stories of good vs. evil. I enjoyed watching this mystery unfold. If you’ve never read a Cooper Kids book, I highly recommend them for readers ages 10 to adult.
Jay and Lila and their archaeologist father, Dr. Cooper, enter the tombs of Anak in search of a missing coworker. Instead, they stumble onto a village where the people follow a bizarre religion. These Anakim people believe that Anak Ha-Raphah is their god and will destroy them if he becomes angry. And Dr. Cooper’s meddling in the tombs has angered the god. But Dr. Cooper is not afraid. He must discover what became of his coworker and no false religion will stop him.
Peretti is a genius storyteller. Even adults would enjoy these Cooper Kids Adventure classics that follow Dr. Cooper and his children as they explore this planet for history that proves the Bible is fact. As always, Peretti writes fast-paced, scary stories of good vs. evil. I enjoyed watching this mystery unfold. If you’ve never read a Cooper Kids book, I highly recommend them for readers ages 10 to adult.
March 25, 2021
As an older elementary/middle school child I really enjoyed these books. The first four books in the series are The Door in the Dragon's Throat, Escape from the Island of Aquarius, The Tombs of Anak, and Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea. Out of the four original Cooper Kids Adventure Series books I enjoyed Escape from the Island of Aquarius and The Tombs of Anak the most as a child. They can be a little scary (Peretti does a great job with plot tension). If you are unfamiliar with Peretti's other works, spiritual warfare and the power of prayer are strong themes. I think it would be good to read the books with the child, or at least have read them beforehand, so you can talk about them and about what Scripture says regarding spiritual warfare, prayer, and the various verses scattered throughout the books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2013
I read these as a kid and I literally read one a day. I couldn't put them down. It is filled with adventure. I felt I was there each step of the way. I like how their faith is mixed in through out as well.
August 2, 2015
I liked these when I was a young (Christian) child; they brought an awesome mixture of adventure and intrigue (the author is good about that)! In fact, I felt very Indiana Jones and archeological with this story (both aspirations of that time), even if I remember nothing about them. End (-)
December 31, 2007
Excellent series for children! It combines adventure, character building, and good 'ol christian values.
December 7, 2008
Really good. I read them when I was a teen (or maybe older) then re-read them. I have all 6 books. There are some amazing Truths packaged in an exciting, action-packed read.
July 25, 2010
there will always be one God in my heart that I will serve and worship..♥
August 17, 2010
I loved it as a preteen. A great mix of fiction, faith, and adventure.
March 24, 2011
I read these when I was about 10yo. I loved them!
August 3, 2011
my favorite of the series.
January 19, 2015
I absolutely loved these books as a child. I have recently started reading Peretti's adult collection. I hope I like them as much as I did these so many years ago.
June 7, 2015
It was a great series.
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January 31, 2016Remembered these from when i was a kid. Been meaning to read again.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews