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Harry Potter and Taran
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From: Connie Rockman <connie.rock>
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 13:20:03 -0700
I was glad to hear that Jonathan Hunt is pairing (trio-ing?) the Harry books with THE BOOK OF THREE as well as THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It's interesting to note that while all three main characters are treated initially as orphans, all three have different circumstances. Harry knows all along who his parents were, even though he doesn't discover the "magic" part of their lives until Hogwarts. Lyra's parents turn out to be the strange pairing of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, though they hardly act as "parents". But Taran never does find out his parentage.
I've always felt that the finest book in the Prydain Chronicles is the fourth, TARAN WANDERER, when he sets out to discover that missing parentage and apprentices himself to various craftspeople, all who teach him something about himself. Thinking he has, at his last stop, actually found his father leads to an inner turmoil that is believable and compelling. The growth of character through this volume is a beautiful piece of writing.
Like Rowling, Alexander uses humor liberally throughout his books, interspersed with some of the most heart-stopping action imaginable (even as an adult, I was chilled to the bone by the armies of the "Cauldron-Born" - because isn't that what all war tries to achieve, soldiers who kill without remorse or human feeling?). And he gives us a wonderfully feisty female character in Eilonwy . . . and a marvelously wicked one in Achren.
Even more than the Narnia books, the Prydain Chronicles are fantasy for kids at its best, drawing on ages-old legends (The Mabinogian), but creating a world of their own. And best of all, the five books have recently been reissued with stunning new dustjackets (the art is the same, but the colors are vibrant and the background a more mysterious black) and with accompanying pronunciation guides for those tongue-twisting Welsh spellings.
Treat yourselves and the kids in your world to the world of Prydain.
Connie Rockman Children's Literature Consultant Stratford, CT
Jonathan Hunt wrote:
Received on Thu 21 Sep 2000 03:20:03 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 13:20:03 -0700
I was glad to hear that Jonathan Hunt is pairing (trio-ing?) the Harry books with THE BOOK OF THREE as well as THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It's interesting to note that while all three main characters are treated initially as orphans, all three have different circumstances. Harry knows all along who his parents were, even though he doesn't discover the "magic" part of their lives until Hogwarts. Lyra's parents turn out to be the strange pairing of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, though they hardly act as "parents". But Taran never does find out his parentage.
I've always felt that the finest book in the Prydain Chronicles is the fourth, TARAN WANDERER, when he sets out to discover that missing parentage and apprentices himself to various craftspeople, all who teach him something about himself. Thinking he has, at his last stop, actually found his father leads to an inner turmoil that is believable and compelling. The growth of character through this volume is a beautiful piece of writing.
Like Rowling, Alexander uses humor liberally throughout his books, interspersed with some of the most heart-stopping action imaginable (even as an adult, I was chilled to the bone by the armies of the "Cauldron-Born" - because isn't that what all war tries to achieve, soldiers who kill without remorse or human feeling?). And he gives us a wonderfully feisty female character in Eilonwy . . . and a marvelously wicked one in Achren.
Even more than the Narnia books, the Prydain Chronicles are fantasy for kids at its best, drawing on ages-old legends (The Mabinogian), but creating a world of their own. And best of all, the five books have recently been reissued with stunning new dustjackets (the art is the same, but the colors are vibrant and the background a more mysterious black) and with accompanying pronunciation guides for those tongue-twisting Welsh spellings.
Treat yourselves and the kids in your world to the world of Prydain.
Connie Rockman Children's Literature Consultant Stratford, CT
Jonathan Hunt wrote:
Received on Thu 21 Sep 2000 03:20:03 PM CDT
