The Book of Three

I discovered this book when I was a kid after the Disney movie, The Black Cauldron. The Book of Three is actually the first book in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain. I remember enjoying the books as a kid, but not remembering a great deal about them. Cauldron is by far the best known book of the series, but if you are interested I recommend starting here.

The main character is Taran, the oddly titled assistant pig keeper who craves adventure. (In Taran's defense, he is watching a magic pig, Hen Wen.) Having recently re-read this book, I would recommend it as kid friendly fare to anyone who enjoys Harry Potter. This is actually written for a much younger audience than Harry Potter. It's a book that could be read aloud in a reasonable period of time, and also one that a young reader might be able to tackle on their own. The biggest sticking point for a young reader would be the names inspired from Welsh mythology.

As you would expect from a novel written for children, there is some moral instruction going on while the plot unfolds. It's not heavy handed and emphasises things like not being too proud to accept help, sensible bravery, honesty and the ability and willingness to recognize a mistake so it can be corrected. The plot moves along quickly, and Taran is back home, no worse for wear but wiser before you know it.

Comparing this to Harry Potter once again, this book doesn't suffer from the flaw that Harry never seems to learn. Late into Book 6 of that series, Harry would still be lost without Hermionie and her studious habits. As much as I enjoyed the Harry Potter books, that always bothered me.

I want to compare this to another book that I read as a kid and re-read as an adult, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K LeGuin. I would have to say that A Wizard of Earthsea is as deep a book as you would ever want to find that was written in such a way that it is suitable for children. Upon re-reading LeGuin's book, I discovered that I had absorbed the philosophy of that book without even realizing it. The Book of Three is a children's book that an adult can enjoy, and I intend to pick up the rest of series from the library so I can enjoy them again.