Module 4 - The High King

 Summary
The High King is the final chapter of The Chronicles of Prydain. In this book, Taran, the Assistant Pigkeeper, is made into a warlord. As a result, he travels to Caer Cadarn in order to gain the support of the craftsmen who live their. They willingly follow Taran as their leader due to the time he spent there as Taran Wanderer. Taran leads the men and his companions-Fflewddur Flam, Eilonwy, Gurgi and Doli- on a perilous journey to the heart of evil, Annuvin, in an attempt to stop the Cauldron-Born from interferring in Gwydion's attempt to regain the sword Dyrwyn and defeating Arawn.

Bibliography
Alexander, L. (1968). The High King. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

My Impression
It will be hard for me to address this book alone, as I read the entire series in the past two weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the series as a whole. I found The High King to be an excellent ending to the series. It was nice to see the transformation of Taran throughout the series. In this book, Taran finally comes into his own. At the end, he chooses the destiny that I hoped he would choose.  This choice demonstrates the maturity that he has achieved over the course of the series. While this novel can be read as a stand alone novel, I do not think that the reader would appreciate Taran's transformation as much. The transformation from the immature, inexperience Assistant Pig Keeper in The Book of Three into the man he is at the end of The High King would not be as evident, nor would it be as meaningful. I also thoroughly enjoyed the action and excitement in the battles that occur throughout the book.

To Read or Not to Read:  To all you fans of fantasy, read this series.  It is a classic.

 
Professional Reviews
Book Links

“The last of the five-volume Chronicles of Prydain series, this good-versus-evil adventure is set in an ancient land reminiscent of medieval Wales.  The books trace the growth of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, whose struggles, failures, and eventual successes mold him into the kind of human we all with to become.  

            The characters and the journey are so complex yet so satisfyingly complete that I cried at the end.  But so did Alexander, when he finished the draft.” – James S. Jacobs

Jacobs, J. S. (2006, July). 15 favorite fantasy classics. Book Links, 15(6), 22-24.  Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/BookLinks .

 

Library Uses

• The library could host a hero day. On that day, there could be story time with hero picture books that have heroes who go on a journey, like Taran.  There could be an art contest (for various age groups) in which the patrons could draw and color a picture of what they think the cauldron-born look like.
• This book could also be used as a read aloud.  It is a very exciting book, and many would find it interesting.

Image retrieved from:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/high-king-lloyd-alexander/1100649615?ean=9780805080520