The Secret of the Desert Stone

The Cooper Kids Adventures #5

by Frank E. Peretti

Biblical archeologist Dr. Jacob Cooper arrives in Togwana with his children Jay and Lila and one goal-to discover the secret behind the two-mile-high Stone that has mysteriously appeared overnight. Who could have excavated, carved, and transported the colossal Stone? The Coopers' uneasiness soon turns into dread as they are watched and threatened by the country's new government and brutal dictator Id Nkromo.

Follow the Coopers as they race to solve the mystery of the desert stone!

Genres: Christian, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Mystery, Childrens

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Frank E. Peretti is an American author whose work transformed the landscape of contemporary Christian fiction by introducing suspense, supernatural conflict, and spiritual warfare into mainstream religious storytelling. Widely regarded as a pioneer of the Christian thriller genre, he achieved international recognition with the bestselling novels This Present Darkness (1986) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), books that captivated millions of readers and helped redefine the possibilities of faith-based fiction. His novels combine fast-paced storytelling with biblical themes, presenting unseen battles between angels and demons alongside the everyday struggles of ordinary people. Over the course of his career, Peretti's books have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages, making him one of the most influential Christian novelists of his generation. Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, and raised primarily in Seattle, Washington, Peretti overcame a difficult childhood marked by a facial tumor that impaired his speech until corrective surgery and therapy allowed him to communicate more freely. Those early experiences of isolation, ridicule, and perseverance later inspired both his memoir The Wounded Spirit and his lifelong concern for children facing bullying. Before becoming a full-time writer, he studied English, filmmaking, and screenwriting, worked various jobs, performed with a bluegrass band, and served alongside his father in pastoral ministry within the Assemblies of God. His experience teaching children at church camps rekindled his passion for storytelling and ultimately led him toward writing. After publishing the children's adventure novel The Door in the Dragon's Throat, Peretti experienced a breakthrough with This Present Darkness, a manuscript rejected by numerous publishers before becoming an extraordinary bestseller through enthusiastic reader recommendations. He continued his success with novels including The Oath, The Visitation, Monster, Illusion, and the popular Veritas Project series for younger readers. Several of his works have also been adapted into films, including Hangman's Curse, The Visitation, and House, the latter co-written with fellow novelist Ted Dekker. In addition to fiction, Peretti has written memoirs and nonfiction books addressing bullying, personal healing, and Christian living. His writing is distinguished by its vivid portrayal of spiritual warfare, moral conflict, redemption, and the enduring struggle between good and evil. While many readers praise his compelling narratives and imaginative vision, his theological interpretations have also generated discussion and criticism within Christian circles, particularly regarding the depiction of angels, demons, and supernatural conflict. Nevertheless, his influence on Christian publishing remains profound. Many authors and commentators credit Peretti with opening the door for a new generation of Christian suspense and speculative fiction, while scholars have noted the lasting cultural impact of his novels on evangelical readers and modern religious literature. Through his storytelling, Peretti established a distinctive literary voice that continues to inspire readers seeking fiction that combines suspense, faith, and the supernatural.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good...but a bit strange.

EDIT: I enjoyed this better the second time around.

[Lovely Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Mr.Cooper and the kids are flown to Africa to determine what a skyscraper-sized stone is, how it just appeared over night, and how to get rid of it…while the two peoples on either side of the mysterious stone are enemies

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

My twelfth birthday was definitely one for the books (figuratively and literally!). I think I got five book series to read - and this was one of them!

The Cooper Kids series are the perfect thrillers for a twelve year old - or at least for me when I was twelve. I would find myself starting to get decently spooked and wanting to put the book down, but at the same time unable to tear myself away. Uh, it was agony for sure, but it was sure fun agony, if you know what I mean. (My second go around of reading these as an adult has me smirking at my young self - I scared easily I guess, ha!).

Peretti does a fabulous job of taking a couple of Bible passages, mixing them with some pretend legends/superstitions and wrapping them up in a tween’s Indiana Jones styled adventure story.

I highly recommend these!

Ages: 10+

Cleanliness: there are rumors that a tribe practices cannibalism but they do not.

**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!

So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!

[Angela R. Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Cooper Kids series so much.

[Joseph Brink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one years ago and remember liking it!

[Joshua Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is related to the bible kind of. God is trying to tell this native group who He is by protecting them with a stone that is in the middle of the pathway of a rebel army that is on the way to destroy them by teaching them about Jesus Christ. The chief wonders who is the one true God. Dr Cooper comes to investigate. A few soldiers have managed to get up and over the wall (including the commander) and captures Dr Cooper and his children. The stone gets larger and larger over a period of time is spreading over the plains where they live and so at first they decide to run away and then don't. They know the angles of where it was going to hit and travel to the village. Because the stone is growing, the army retreats. The stone ends up coming on top of them, crushing them. I liked this book because it has similarities to what we as Christians stand for.. For example, scripture supports us thru rough times and in the book, all the buildings have stones on each corner that rise up two and a half feet high to support them so when flooding happens there, they won't get flooded. Also, the book also symbolizes that Jesus took the price for us while we were still sinners.

[Ian Cooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread in May 2023

The drama! The action! The cheese! Is it biblical? No. Is it a classic? No. Is it the most skilled writing worthy of awards? No. But I liked it when I was a kid, and I can still appreciate it now.

Take it for what it is: Respects the reader enough to offer background, setup, and payoff. Fascinating settings with hints of complex culture. The two-dimensional characters give off a shade of something deeper. Lots of good hype in the third act. Indiana Jones-light. Good, clean fun. Glad my reread didn't destroy the nostalgia I have for the series.

This one is less action, more wandering around discussing the stories of an African tribe. Peretti's writing is still fun, but there's only so much you can do with... a big rock. The earthquakes and movement of the stone should have started much earlier in the book, and then'd we'd get a ticking clock. The duo of dictator + right-hand-man in local government is a repeat from the first book. Gone is the introspection and characterization we found in the fourth book. This one is more explicitly about sharing the gospel, which will alienate the nonChristian readers. I wonder if Peretti got complaints from Christians complaining the first four books weren't "Christian" enough.

On to book six: The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cooper Kids series by Frank Peretti

Recommend with some notes below.

I loved these as a kid! I don't remember how old I was when I read them, but the suggestion range on the cover is 10-14. Some of these are intense as kids books go so depending on the child some may ok earlier, but I think the stated range is probably accurate for most.

As an adult who just reread them, they aren't top tier literature. That's ok. They're still good reads & their aimed at kids. Not everything needs to be top tier.

One of my favorite things about the series is that it is solidly Christian. Not "oh we threw a prayer in over the meal so it's Christian" but scared: pray, thankful: pray, confused: pray for guidance, running for your life: pray as you run. But it's not hokey. It feels very real as a kid reading the books & is faith building!

The series is a mix of genres and this is where my age caution really comes from. If I had to categorize all of the books with one label is would be "Spiritual Thrillers (for kids)" though the adventure label definitely applies to all of them also. Breaking it out:

Book 1: Door in the Dragons Throat - spiritual thriller
Book 2: Escape from the Island of Aquarius - adventure/maybe a bit of science fiction ala Journey to the Center of the Earth
Book 3: Tombs of Anak - spiritual thriller
Book 4: Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea - adventure/"real life (unrealistic)" peril- this is the one book where you don't see the 3 Coopers getting along harmoniously & you see tensions and hurt feelings.
Book 5: Secret of the Desert Stone - adventure, definitely supernatural aspects but it's not a thriller
Book 6: Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey - thriller but not a spiritual thriller
Book 7: Legend of Annie Murphy - science fiction
Book 8: Flying Blind - adventure/realistic peril

As a kid the ones that stood out to me the most & were the scariest are books 1, 3, and 6. Book 7 was odd in a different way because of the time travel, but it wasn't scary. Book 8 was my least favorite as a kid - I almost (but not really) found it boring. That's just because they're not traveling anywhere this time. As an adult it's the only one of the books that brought tears to my eyes - it's much easier to create separation when you're looking at extremes and improbable situations like running for your life in an underground booby trapped tomb than something that feels more familiar like the possibility of an air plane crash.

If you're not familiar with Peretti please preread these books. They're pretty unique in Juevenile Fiction from my experience. If you are familiar with Peretti don't worry, he writes to kids just fine and while there are those spiritual thriller aspects theyre quite tame compared to his adult novels!

The Cooper Kids (age 13 & 14) are the only kids in the series, which I actually like & kids will too I think because they're given adult sized tasks and are responsible with them. The kids as well as thei father & various other adults pray & reference the Bible with regulararity.

The theme of the books is God is bigger, stronger, more powerful than any other religion or curse. He controls the earth. He convicts. He reveals. He works things for our good. Few kids books give that awe-some perspective in my opinion and I'm glad that these books tackle that.

[Siobhan Falen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Coopers are summoned to a country newly under a war-hungry dictator to investigate a mysterious stone, they have no idea what they're in for. The dictator is cruel, vicious, and enjoys killing those who stand in his way, or even just stand near him because. If the Coopers can't figure out the mystery of the desert stone and make it disappear, he may make them pay for it with their lives.

While this was still an interesting Cooper Kids tale, it felt forced. There was name-dropping in the beginning to remind us of the rest of the crew and then they weren't brought in at all later on. The whole experience could have been left off the story and more focus placed on later details.

I did enjoy though that we got to see Lila and Jay act like normal kids for once. Yay to interacting with other children.

Out of the series so far, this has been my least favorite. It's still written well, has great character development and an interesting storyline, but it feels like it forgot the previous books existed and this one choked you with the religious side. I've got three more left, hoping to enjoy them a bit more.

[Stephen Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a few years away, Peretti comes back to the Cooper Family Adventure series with a really interesting and atypical book in the series. This one finds the Coopers journeying to Africa after a mysterious stone several miles wide and almost two miles high literally appears overnight in a desolate area of wilderness. This is the most mystery oriented of the series and also the least intense in terms of violence or suspense or scares. The resolution to the mystery of where the massive stone came from is a kind of surprising one and, while this one was a little slow for me as a youngster, I now think it’s actually one of the more creative and interesting books in the series. Kudos for having a mysterious tribe of vicious cannibals set up to be a villainous force in the book and then having them . . . turn out to just be, you know, normal folks living a peaceful life in an isolated village. It kind of sets up for the book to go in a direction that, as an adult, you expect to be really racially insensitive and then turns that on its head in a nice way.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should I have spent the past few days with the worst flu of my life re-reading The Cooper Kids Adventures Series from my childhood? Maybe or maybe not, and perhaps it was the nostalgia, but I was pleasantly surprised to find them still gripping reading as an adult. Peretti incorporates the Gospel so well into these books for tweens while meeting them with stories that you can’t put down. He also reads his own audiobooks, and you can tell the heart he has put into his work as well as his desire to share the Gospel. It wasn’t until finishing these that I realized he is also the one behind Wild & Wacky Totally True Bible Stories audio (you can find them on Spotify).

All of the books can be stand alone, and this one is definitely my favorite. It is maybe one of the less ominous of the 8 in the series, and sets the story of the Gospel beautifully in an African country, highlighting a conflict between a dictator-ruled society and a small tribe of god followers living in the country and how God intervenes to show Himself to all.

[Byron Lafayette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the author and this series, been revisiting them after having read them as a kid. This book is odd, it’s a pretty decent story, but a really bad Cooper Kids Adventure. There is almost no action, mystery or thrills, for example one whole chapter is Jay Cooper discovering a Native friend invented an alphabet and they we get several pages of him sounding out letters.

It almost feels like this was perhaps a different story but Frank Peretti had a Cooper Kids deadline and tweaked the story to include them.

Had this been a stand alone story about missionaries reaching a lost tribe I would of liked it and rated it higher, but the first 4 Cooper Kids books set a high standard for the series and this book just does not live up to the previous stories or the excellent “Curse of Toco-Rey” which came next.

[Gretchen Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "The Secret of the Desert Stone," the Coopers travel to Africa to try to determine why a stone suddenly appeared. The Coopers are biblical archeologists, but in this book, they work with a scientist who is skeptical of God. That adds a bit of tension in this book.

I did appreciate how various connections were made in this story to two different warring tribes. And I loved the emphasis on that God can make a rock appear wherever He wants. This book definitely requires a bit more imagination since this plot could not happen without a miracle. That is why I am giving it a 4-star rating - it was not quite believable to me.

I listened to this series with my middle school son. I loved the author as a narrator. This book is perfect for ages 10-14.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret of the Desert Stone is an adventure book written for middle schoolers. I listened to the audio book then read the book. I really enjoyed the audio book and I could hear the reader reading it as I was reading the book. This book is not a challenge to read but covers many God-based themes. In my opinion, the main theme is that when someone is looking for God, God will allow them to find Him. We did read this for our adult book club as an easy summer read. Three out of five adults decided the book would be better without the first chapter.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of Peretti's second quadrilogy of Cooper family adventures, this is the one that truly reminded me why this series so resonated with me as a kid. It begins with a captivating mystery, moves into some fun, Indiana-Jones-style adventure; and ultimately climaxes with a strong (albeit heavy handed) Christian message. As an adult, the resolution feels way too "pat," but for a kids' book, its fine. That's basically my review: borderline for adults, awesome for kids.

[Mathew Neahring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just discovered these 4 additional cooper kids books (I read the original 4 as a kid many times. Tombs of Anak was my favorite) I enjoyed this book, while they are a simple story line for kids, there is a lot of mystery and intrigue and a good focus on God's word in them. My son is going to really enjoy these I think.

[CindyHunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just for kids!!!

This book, as well as the other Cooper kids books are perfect for young and old alike. People everywhere know about God and His Son Jesus, they just need to believe and let Him in and change their life. This book like all of Frank Peretti's books, takes you on an awesome adventure you don't want to put it down until until the very last word!!!

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Jacob Cooper and his children Lila and Jay are summoned to Togwanno to study a huge stone that appeared in the desert overnight. They fly a plane to the top, but crash on the other side. They discover a village on the other side and visit fro a while. They discover some weird things there.
This book is great! I really liked it.

[Joshua Stormont · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is another page turner in the series. Peretti knows how to write a fine story that weaves adventure, truth, and a touching story together. The gospel is clearly presented in how in this adventure a large stone is used to destroy a wicked dictator and his government. Beautifully written. Well worth the read.

[Charles Kensinger]

I count this story as the best of the Cooper Kids Adventures that I have read to this point. Peretti knows how to construct a tale and create characters and situations. His Christian worldview is apparent in this book as in all of his others. The Cooper Kids Series is one for teen and preteen readers. Give them all a try.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first after I got this book I couldn’t get into it but one day I decided just to plow through it and after a chapter or so I got totally sucked into the story. I really regretted not just reading through the uninteresting part. This book is really good!!!!

[Shelli Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book my middle schoolers. This book has an adventure and bible-based theme. This was a great pick for my struggling readers. The book held their attention all the way till the end. They are looking forward to reading books in the rest of the series.

[Cherish Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

(5☆ Would recommend & would read again)
I grew up loving Peretti's work, but I'm not sure how I missed this series. I really liked this book. It had a great storyline, great characters, & great suspense. I really look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

[TransparentFilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I have read this before but I honestly didn't remember anything. It was an enjoyable book. I recommend the entire series to anyone. Especially if you have a tween or young teen in the house.

[Charis Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one didn't hold my attention as much for some reason. And I felt like it missed something. There was an integral character added to the last book and she's no where to be found in this one.

[Charles Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great kids book explains the Gospel.....

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/2018 Listened to the audio version with my boys. These Cooper Kids Adventures expose you to different cultures & religions.

2018 - A Book by a Male Author

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the book a lot, the concept is great, keeps you guessing, but the ending of this one sort of bothers me. It felt particularly...far fetched or too perfect

[Elizabeth Bornstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very suspenseful and good.