The Book of Three (Pyrdain Chronicles) [ペーパーバック]

There are books that rattle in your brain, heart and soul, and stay with you, never to be forgotten.

Lloyd Alexander's magnificent series falls into these categories. I first read them at the age of 13 and have just read them again at 35. This series was the first that I did not want to see end. It's what got me started on reading Tolkien, Lewis, Donaldson, Piers Anthony, Dune, and others. I'm glad to see so many people love these books as well.

And why not? The characters are dynamic, engaging and more real than the average fantasy ones. The stories move along nicely with few if any slow moments. The classic elements of good and evil are all here with some twists.

There were some aspects that I was too young to appreciate the first time. One was the humor, most noticeable in The Book of Three, as we see some of the characters getting to first know each other. The other aspect was the theme/message that the way of the warrior is not the only path to nobility, honor, and courage (or to adulthood). There is as much honor in taking care of a garden as there is in being a warrior, to very loosely paraphrase one of the characters. In this day and age, when so much of the culture says be the biggest, baddest, toughest, strongest, richest etc person who destroys or gobbles up things, the message of taking care of one's garden, creating something of beauty be it a woven cloak or a clay pot, or honoring a friend's request is refreshing and not heard enough.

To the other reviewers who feel Alexander borrowed characters and motifs heavily from Tolkien, these have been part of literature and mythology for a long time. Long BEFORE Tolkien. If Dallben is Gandalf, well, Gandalf is Merlin. And Merlin was borrowed from other myths or folktales. Alexander borrowed some from The Mabinogen, the Welsh treasury of mythology. Tolkien borrowed from Beowulf and other English sources. These stories have been recreated or recast for ages. Sure, there are similarities but then this is a genre where dwarves, wizards, and enchanted objects are the norm. But assistant Pig-Keepers, frustrated ex-giants who whine about their lack of stature, a traveling bard with a second job as a King, or a trio of witches with an unusual, unpredicable sense of logic who switch identities daily(they deserve a book of their own!)? Hardly. And where have you ever seen a character quite like Fflewdur Flam? (Well, maybe in Dickens or Mark Helprin's A Winter's Tale)

For the kids (or adults) who love Harry Potter: you've got till July before the 4th book is out. There are no Quidditch matches but Taran may remind you of Harry and Dallben may remind you of Dumbledore. Check these five books out. (But avoid the inaccurate animated version of The Black Cauldron)

I've read the Lord of the Rings twice and for a long time considered it the best book I'd ever read. But it doesn't hold quite the special spot in my heart that the Prydain books do. And at least Lloyd Alexander spared us his version of those boringly long elf or dwarf songs and poems.

The tale of Taran and friends has everything a great children's book should: adventure, danger, good, evil, love and death. And, there is lots of humor, too, which you don't always find in similar clasics. The writing is great throughout -- this is not Goosebumps -- and the child who has the privilege of reading the Chronicles will surely be changed. The story, based on Welsh legends, subtly explores the great mysteries of life, and teaches lessons about bravery, honesty, compassion and devotion, without ever being preachy or obvious.

These books belong on the same shelf as the L'Engle Time trilogy, Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising Sequence, the Narnia Books and a small number of others.

Buy this for a favorite kid (maybe one that has gotten hooked on reading through "Harry Potter"), but get it for yourself, too.