M.I.C.E. and the Stone — William Coniston

Grandpa gives Olly and Tilly Peterson a mysterious black stone passed to him for safe-keeping many years ago by his own grandfather. They find it enables them to understand what animals and birds say and to use telepathy. Soon they are approached for help by representatives of M.I.C.E., an ancient secret organisation. With two friends, a faithful dog and some small but talented creatures, including three mice who are top technologists, the children are pitched into a dangerous struggle against evil enemies from the distant past who will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams of power. Set in a small seaside village near Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast, everything seems normal on the surface but dark forces are at work beneath…