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kingvozzo
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My two oldest are participating in the Barnes and Noble summer reading program. The earn a book by reading 8. Ds9 picked out The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. It's the first in a series of fantasy books. The Black Cauldron (on which the Disney movie was based) is one of the series.
Any thoughts about the book? I'm going to either do a pre-read or do it as a read-aloud, but I always value your opinions.
Thanks!
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Noreen
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Red Cardigan
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Noreen,
I always loved Lloyd Alexander's books as a young adult reader. Some of them are more appropriate for older readers, though, due to levels of action/violence or romantic themes (which as I recall were mostly implied, not detailed or problematic).
The "Black Cauldron" series was one of the first sets of his books that I read, and I did enjoy them, but I think I was somewhere between twelve and fourteen when I read them. Some parents might find some of the magic elements to be a concern with younger readers who might not yet be able to see such things as pure fantasy. Another of Alexander's books that I enjoyed was "The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian," a stand-alone book that reads like an elaborate fairy tale; this one I shared with my one of my daughters when she was about your son's age, but she has always been an avid fairy tale reader and had enjoyed the Narnia series, "The Hobbit," and such books as "The Ordinary Princess," before I gave her the Alexander book, which is a bit darker and contains some incidents where the main character is injured, suffering from hunger, imprisoned and facing the prospect of torture, etc. There is nothing graphic but the child reading the book definitely has to be capable of handling situations of peril, and some nine-year-old readers are too sensitive for such material yet.
While I don't remember as much detail about The Book of Three, Wikipedia has a very thorough description of the book's plot. There are elements of magic, violence, terror, imprisonment, and injury in this book as well, so I'd definitely recommend a pre-read to see if the material is too strong for your young reader.
Hope this helps!
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marianne
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My 9 yo just finished this series and LOVED them. My husband pre-read them and thought they were great, but we are not as picky as some about magic and violence.
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cathhomeschool
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We've listened to and read-aloud the whole series. At the time, my older two were 8 and 9, and we thought the books were fine for them. I consider myself to be pretty selective. When in doubt, pre-read. 
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Natalia
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My son (just turned 10) is reading the final book in the series and has loved it.
Natalia
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Red Cardigan
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Just to clarify, I don't think that having aspects of magic, violence, or scary situations is automatically a negative. It's just that I've known some children who are still very sensitive at eight or nine. My oldest was five when 9/11 happened, and for a long time she was scared of any books/movies/tv shows that showed/talked about fires or any reference to war. She's outgrown that, but it took her a little longer than some others.
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margot helene
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We love this series as well. However, I DO NOT recommend the Disney movie of it. It is a horrible adaptation. I mean the movie of a book you love is always disappointing, but this one is particularly bad. They did not "get" the story at all!!
Margot
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donnalynn
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kingvozzo
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donnalynn wrote:
Hmmm...I'd wait a couple of years - my daughter loved the whole series but she didn't start them until she was 11-12.
There's a review here.
I use this site quite a bit to find reads for my daughter who loves fantasy. Looks like it hasn't been updated in quite a while - but it's been very helpful. |
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Great link. Thanks, Donna.
Thanks for all the input ladies. I appreciate it.
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Noreen
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TracyQ
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My husband read these to the kids when they were younger, and they all just adored his books!
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Tracy Q.
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 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Lloyd Alexander books?
