Will I love The Book of Three?

I loved The Book of Three because it was the first story that made me feel like adventure could begin anywhere—even for someone as unsure of themselves as Taran.

I connected with his clumsy eagerness to prove his worth, and watching him grow gave the journey real heart. The companions he meets—Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, and Gurgi—bring warmth and humor, showing that bravery isn’t about perfection but about loyalty and sacrifice.

Lloyd Alexander’s world of Prydain felt alive with magic, danger, and wonder. It made me believe that even ordinary people could rise to do extraordinary things.

Although this wonderful series is classified as children’s literature rather than young adult, I am including it since it was my first “grown up” read. That is, a book I picked out rather than something recommended by an adult.

To be allowed to explore the stacks in the public library with my brand-new library card in hand… even years later, I recall the thrill of all those colorful bindings awaiting discovery.

The library followed the custom of turning out the occasional book to display the full cover. A white horse caught my eye (I was one of those horse-crazy little… show more.

Alright, hear me out on this one. The Chronicles of Prydain, of which The Book of Three is the first, is one of my favorite book series of all time (like top 5), even though it’s a series of middle-grade books that I read in my early twenties. How is it like Final Fantasy? Think about it: An angsty young male hero goes on a quest in which he slowly accumulates diverse and quirky party members from a variety of different races, gradually progressing in skill and power and obtaining magical items until he eventually takes on the Dark… show more.

I first read this book over 40 years ago when I was struggling to learn how to write fantasy for young readers. I loved it so much that it became a foundational text for me. Lloyd Alexander's gift for building characters that fairly leap off the page, characters that made me laugh but then broke my heart as they were forced to deal with painful decisions, gave me something to aspire to in my own writing.

The series grows in depth and complexity, and the final book makes me weep every time I read it. It provided one of my… show more.

This is a young adult fantasy novel. When I read it to my daughter as an adult, I realized it could also be read as a meditation on the nature of leadership.

It’s the first in a five-book series, and I also think the entire series is about leadership, leadership as the willingness to make heart-rending choices nobody wants to but someone has to make.

What I particularly like is that the protagonist, who emerges as a leader, does so without any special superpowers. If anything, he has super-flaws. The one thing he does, though, is he inspires trust.

My favorite cozy reads often take me back to my childhood. The Chronicles of Prydain was one of my favorites Lloyd Alexander series.

The series begins with The Book of the Three, about Taran, a pig keeper who is embroiled in a series of adventures. As he faces off against Arawn, he acquires a motley group of friends, which includes the brave Princess Eilonwy, all against the backdrop of Welsh mythology.

The subtlety of Alexander’s magic cannot be denied in the first novel of his series, The Chronicles of Prydain. Be it Eilonwy’s bauble or a portent-telling porcine, Alexander is a master at magic with the deftest of touches. And who can resist Gurgi’s munchings and crunchings or an oracular pig? The series as a whole is wonderful, but The Book of Three is truly a piece of art with its sentimental characters and use of the arcane.