4/10/2022 Chapter Book Round-Up: Sweet, sweet fantasy, baby!
- Sasha Wallace
- Apr 10, 2022
- 4 min read
Chapter Book 1
Title: The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain series)
Author: Lloyd Alexander
Recommended for: Grades 5-7
Basic plot: Taran, an Assistant Pig-Keeper, finds himself at the center of a dangerous plot after following his future-seeing pig, Hen Wen, into an enchanted forest. Hijinks ensue with the help of a dashing hero, a sassy princess, a hairy forest creature, & a wise enchanter. The classic good vs. evil tale. Your cup will brimmeth over with death lords & valiant acts. Plus, if you stick around for the entire series, you’ll get awkward romance, awkward moments, awkward jokes, & the protagonist being clueless & awkward about most things in general. A majority of kids can relate to having expectations of themselves that they feel they can’t meet, so Taran’s unabashed ineptitude will probably appeal to them. Plus, the heroine, Princess Eilonwy, is super capable. If you love Hermione, you’ll love no-nonsense, eye-rolling, go-ahead-and-make-me Lady E.
Why I love it: The title of this post should have been a big clue. No, it isn’t an homage to the Mariah Carey song. Rather, this is the series that made me love fantasy. The first time I realized there were worlds other than Earth was when I listened with baited breath as Taran chased Hen Wen into the forest, then heard something he shouldn’t have from some dastardly henchmen. If it weren’t for Lloyd Alexander, I would never have ventured beyond romance novels & poetry.
I have fond recollections of my father reading this to my siblings & I as we nestled in our bunk beds. He would take on various accents to differentiate the characters (the best accent was Gurgi, who I always pictured as the raccoon from Pocahontas but with a lot more deviousness. Years later, when I watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time, that vision was realized).
Lloyd Alexander was well-respected in the field of children’s fantasy literature. His career spanned seven decades, during which he was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, won a Newbery Medal, & received the National Book Award not once, but twice. Alexander channeled his love of Welsh mythology, King Arthur lore, & wartime experiences in France into his writing, often instilling value in the guise of make-believe. It pays off.
My favorite quote of his? “Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” This is true in the Chronicles of Prydain. One must expect the unexpected, rise to challenges unanticipated, sometimes fail, & get right back up after licking a wound. One also doesn’t have time to rest & celebrate victories, but must immediately plan a new course of action. I love how there’s always contingencies, how each character grows, how the castles range from ornate to cobwebbed, how the very forest itself becomes a sort of party to it all. Taran is brash & immature, but he has a lot of growing up to do & does so without admirable integrity. The scene where he grapples with his lost father’s profession & the feelings of dissatisfaction & shame are so powerful. A kid’s book did that. Wow.
Alexander was bottomlessly creative & leaves no stone unturned in his efforts to keep the reader stimulated & guessing. The best part? He practiced the morality he preached through his characters. Who doesn’t love a guy known to write back to his juvenile fans, offer praise & encouragement, & stay happily married for 61 years? He died 2 weeks after his wife preceded him. UGH STOP. He’s the Mister Rogers of middle grade fantasy, okay? All bow before him.
A word of caution. DON’T associate this series with the Disney film of the same name. The 1985 monstrosity that was The Black Cauldron borrowed from but didn’t strictly follow its namesake. It basically consolidated several of the books’ plots into one film (but took the name of the second book, which is super weird to me). It doesn’t do it well. The movie is rushed, forced & creepy. A critic stated that it lacked the pathos of Alexander’s work, & I couldn’t agree more. The books are better. Read them.
Where can you find it? Amazon, eBay, AbeBooks, Thriftbooks, OverDrive (cheapest $1.07 & up, used). It would definitely be at most Barnes & Noble stores. All of these retailers sell the complete boxed set, if desired.
Extension activity: YouTube has a host of wonderful book trailers for this series. After viewing one, I’d do some deep-dives of some of the character’s famous quotes. Ask your kiddo to analyze the following. What do they mean? What can be learned from them? Does Taran fulfill these quotes by the story’s end?
Quote 1: “In some cases we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.”
Quote 2: “It is not the trappings that make the prince, nor, indeed, the sword that makes the warrior.”
This teacher’s guide may prove helpful, even if just for helping you pronounce the many Welsh-inspired names:
If your child is art-minded, challenge them to create a drawing of Gurgi, or to make a map of Prydain & the Caers mentioned within.
One other suggestion? Watch Galavant. It has a lot of the same humor & punch, but in musical form. The songwriters are the same ones who spearheaded the Disney renaissance (Alan Menken, ladies & gents). Instead of Gurgi, there’s a lizard named Tad Cooper. Instead of the High King, there’s a ruthless Queen & a soft-hearted manchild. Instead of teenage Taran, we get twenty-something, down-on-his-luck Sir Galavant. But it is so enjoyable & follows many of the same tropes.
Regardless of what you choose to do after reading The Book of Three, I promise you’ll enjoy your time in one of history’s most beloved chronicles. I sure did.
Thanks for tuning in! Keep the pages turning until we meet again.
Love,
Sash
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