(You can listen to this episode here.)
Mary Grace and Deborah discuss The Book of Three (1964), the first book in Lloyd Alexander’s five-book series The Chronicles of Prydain. Loosely based on Welsh mythology, the book chronicles the adventures of Taran, assistant pig-keeper to the oracular pig Hen Wen; Eilonwy, a strong-minded princess; and an entertaining cast of travel companions.
Other books in the series:
The Black Cauldron (1965), a Newbery Honor Book
The Castle of Llyr (1966)
The High King (1968), winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal
Other books by Lloyd Alexander:
Time Cat (1963). (Deborah discussed Time Cat on a blog post on her favorite children’s books featuring time travel.)
And Let the Credit Go (1955), Alexander’s first novel, based on his experience working in a bank
Janine is French (1960)
The Wizard in the Tree (1974)
Park Avenue Vet (1960)
Fifty Years in the Doghouse (1964)
The King’s Fountain (1971), illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
Also mentioned on the episode:
A 2012 School Library Journal poll on the best children’s novels, with The Book of Three at #18 and The High King at #68
Sam, Banks, and Moonshine, the Caldecott Medal-winning picture book by Evaline Ness, who illustrated the covers for the original editions of the Prydain Chronicles
Trailer of the Disney movie The Black Cauldron, based on The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron
2010 Slate article on the movie The Black Cauldron
Recommended for fans of The Book of Three:
Deborah: A Wrinkle in Time (discussed on a previous episode), The Phantom Tollbooth (discussed on a previous episode)
Mary Grace: The Owl Service (discussed on a previous episode), The Dark is Rising series
Mary Grace found a fellow The Book of Three fan at The English Bookshop, a wonderful bookstore in Uppsala, Sweden.
The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.
You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.
This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.
Rereading Our Childhood 