_The Book of Three_ is the first in a classic fantasy series by Lloyd Alexander and is hugely beloved by those who have fond childhood memories of reading it. Growing up in a small town, my local library did not actually own a copy of _The Book of Three_, or any of Alexander's books, so I missed out on reading it in elementary school when I first discovered and devoured the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and similar children's fantasy stories. It's a shame, because if I'd read this book back then, I think I would have gotten more out of it.

_The Book of Three_ is not a book that an adult can't enjoy, per say. Alexander keeps the plot moving briskly forward and introduces a fun cast of quirky characters (although I personally found them a bit too quirky - their catchphrases got very annoying and I think a younger reader might find them more colorful and endearing.)

Alexander also writes with a liberal dose of humor, which made the book much more enjoyable to read than if he'd taken the whole Assistant Pig Keeper Boy Wants to Be a Hero Goes on Quest to Find Magical Pig and Save Kingdom plot one hundred percent seriously. Another charming aspect of this book is how quick he is to have the supporting cast point out the hero's (or want-to-be hero's) failings and short comings, which is amusing and helps the characters seem more like real people than fantasy archetypes.

The plot is extremely straightforward: boy wants to be hero, but is instead a lowly Assistant Pig Keeper. Boy loses magical pig, goes on a quest to find her, ends up going on a quest to warn the kingdom about the threat of an evil dark lord villain type, and recruits a colorful assortment of companions to aid him on his quest, including a feisty young girl with magical abilities, a nobleman turned traveling bard whose harp strings break when he tells lies, a bizarre part-animal part-man creature that whines a lot and begs for food, and a noble horse that belonged to a great prince. They go on an adventure across a magical kingdom that incorporates elements from Welsh mythology and folklore.

Alexander's writing is smooth, polished and humorous enough for an adult to enjoy this, but I still think I missed something special by not getting to experience the wonder and adventure through a child's eyes.

I would highly recommended this book for children. As an adult you can enjoy it, but you will probably find the action less than suspenseful, the mythology references a tad superficial and the fantasy elements quite archetypal. My personal opinion: 3/5 stars. ( )

The Chronicles of Prydain were my first big girl books. We read them aloud as a family, taking turns reading one chapter each night. Eventually I began to read ahead & I've been doing so ever since.

This is the first in the series & establishes the characters & basic themes. In many ways these books are all about the hero's journey, but not just for the main character, Taran. Each person here is, in his or her own way, walking the path towards self-discovery.

For me the character of Eilonwy was always my favorite - probably in part because she's a girl & little girls need other girls to identify with in their books. When I was growing up girls like Eilonwy were few & far between in kids' books. She wasn't fluffy or dithering. She didn't a boy to rescue her, although she wasn't too proud to be rescued if need be. She was smart & interesting & independent & self-confident & competent. I identified with that (still do).

This is a great start to a great series. It was nice to re-visit Prydain. ( )

The first book of the Prydain series. Watching Taran grow up through the subsequent four books is a marvel. Funny, poignant, exciting -- this series enfolds a great examination of character in its hero's quest tale.

I enjoyed rereading this childhood favorite featuring the characters Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur Fflam. I especially liked how Taran learned that being a hero takes more than swinging a sword and looking handsome. I look forward to rereading the next book in the series, The Black Cauldron. ( )

No I haven't read the Chronicles of Pyrdain before. (Please don't yell; I can't think when you do!) I remember trying to read The High King, and since I didn't know it was part of a series of course it made absolutely no sense. I soon gave up in disgust and moved on to something else.

This happened to me before with Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence. Tried reading The Grey King first. Total Disaster. However, like the Dark is Rising, I decided to give the Pyrdain series another chance-- once I actually found the first book and could read it properly in order.

Turns out it's a little darker than I like in my YA fantasy, but I liked it well enough and plan to read the rest of the series.

The Book of Three reminds me a lot of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, and unfortunately I've never much been into them, though I did like The Hobbit. It's also got this weird mix of incredible seriousness and near-slapstick comedy. A lot of times the scenes and characters seemed at odds with each other, but by the time I got to the end I was used to Alexander's writing style and could get over any strangely-mixed bits.

My biggest problem was Taran. He's so brash and stupid that I can't quite believe he's actually courageous and a good leader, and not just a bone-headed kid pretending to be a hero. (Maybe that's the point?) The other characters can't quite believe it either, and that was refreshing; it's slightly annoying when newbie heros get treated like full-fledged warriors, but none of that was in here. Even when Taran starts acting more like a man and less like a kid, he isn't allowed to get a swelled head. Yay! I'm hoping the plotline continues on in this way in the rest of the series. Character growth is so fun!

I liked the rest of the characters, and the plot has some very exciting moments in there that kept me turning the page. I also liked that it included some of Ye Olde Welsh myths, some of which I've actually read before. And, overall, I do think the story seems like it would fit in nicely with those myths; the plot and characters are true to them, with just a bit more coherency and characterization. It was quite an exciting ride, and I look forward to seeing what happens next! ( )