The Book of Three is the first book in one of my favorite children’s fantasy series–The Chronicles of Prydain.  It is the tale of an adventure embarked on, unintentionally, by a young Assistant Pig Keeper named Taran, and it can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

The audio version of this book is marvelous and appeals to a family audience.  On one family road trip of ours it, along with the other books in the series, entertained children as young as five years old and had my teenager on the edge of his seat.  It is read by James Langton who imbues each character with their own voice and personality.  I would go so far as to say that you haven’t really enjoyed the book on the level it can be enjoyed unless you have listened to it performed by Langton. 

One of the elements that make this story so appealing is its characters, especially the supporting characters.  Although Taran is well written, it is his companions that really capture the reader’s imagination.  Lloyd Alexander has managed to create one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time in Eilonwy, a young enchantress-in-training who never opens her mouth without showing off her quick mind and spunky attitude.

The Chronicles of Prydain is a series of five books, all of which I highly recommend.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  Three incidences in which a character suffers a non-fatal wound; one character verbally threatens another with violence; a youth witnesses a man killed by another man, non-graphic; a character is knocked unconscious by another character; a frightening scene takes place in which the “ghosts” turn out to be only the wind; one incidence of fantasy violence wherein a character is killed with a word; one extended scene–four pages long–of a sword fight between multiple warriors, some of which are undead warriors.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

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Alcohol / Drug Use:

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