As you may have noticed, I have a bit of a fondness for children’s literature. Today’s book is an excellent piece of children’s literature but it is also a bit of a classic in the genre. I am talking about The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Now I am not sure how many of you have heard of this book but it is the first book in The Prydain Chronicles. It opens with young Taran, an assistant pig-keeper, who helps take care of Hen Wen, the oracular pig. When the Horned King, a purportedly evil king, rides through the nearby forest with his forces Hen Wen tries to flee from him but in the process ends up fleeing from Taran as well. Determined to find Hen Wen he sets out through the nearby countryside where he ends up gradually joining forces with a number of others such as Prince Gwydion, Gurgi, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur Fflam. Together they work to find Hen Wen and pass the message that the Horned King is out with his forces and potentially up to no good.
This book is interesting, at least to me, because it is one of the few pieces of literature that draws on Welsh mythology and history but doesn’t reference King Arthur, Camelot or Merlin when doing so. Characters like Hen Wen actually exist in some of the oldest Welsh tales and histories though I highly doubt there was ever an actual oracular pig. At the same time though the book is obviously not a retelling of those old Welsh tales. This creates an interesting world for the story as it incorporates those elements but does not rely on them. It does, however, have some very compelling characters. The main character or protagonist is Taran, the assistant pig-keeper, who is a typical young boy desperate for something to happen in his life. He feels like nothing ever happens to him and nothing ever will and he does not want to live the rest of his life as a pig-keeper, assistant or otherwise. More specifically, Taran wants to be a hero like the heroic Prince Gwydion that he had heard so much about. What was amusing about the whole thing is that much like in other similar stories, Taran has a very idealized view of what a hero is and what they should be, even down to what they should look like. This creates a lot of problems for him over the course of the book though as he struggles with actually understanding what is the right thing to do, and whether or not the right thing to do fits with his idea of being a hero. Taran actually comes pretty close to getting into a few fights that he probably shouldn’t because of this issue. At the same time though, Taran refuses to give up and is willing to do the right thing, even when difficult. The problem even with that though is that Taran is definitely a typical young boy as he frequently doesn’t think before he acts or speaks and ends up having to apologize afterwards. I found it refreshing to see a boy be so young and impetuous but so desperate to be a hero. Over the course of the book, Taran works on moving away from that desire but it was fascinating nonetheless to see how Taran starts growing up and maturing. It definitely makes me curious about how Taran will continue to grow as a person over the rest of the series. I would give this four out of five stars.
Overall, this book was pretty good. I know it was quite a bit different than a lot of books put on the markets for kids now so it may take some getting used to. It was also interesting because it provided some minor insights into Welsh culture and language and history instead of some of the more stereotypical cultures we frequently see. This book is obviously a fantasy book and aimed at kids and I would agree with both of those categorizations. In my opinion, this book could potentially be read and enjoyed by younger kids as well as teens. I am not sure about older teens or adults as not all of them would enjoy the slightly easy to read and simplistic style of the book. This does not detract from the quality of the book considering the intended audience but it might be something for older readers to keep in mind. If you happen to be familiar with this book or this series, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.