Rating: My bookshelf

Reading Level: Middle School, (Mid-late Elementary Needs Parent Supervision)

This one felt a bit repetitive at times when Taran tries out different trades. Nevertheless, it is a must if you plan to finish the series with The High King, book 5, which is amazing.

Possible Concerns:

  • Lineage. Taran is obsessed with finding out who his parents are and whether he is of noble birth, believing on them himself worthy of Eilonwy. This isn’t very similar to my battle for identity, so I just didn’t relate.
  • Name-Calling. Doli the dwarf does a lot of name calling, but nothing crass.
  • Luck. Lonio the farmer talks a lot of luck; in my family we don’t believe in luck.

Regardless of these quibbles, there were a lot of things I liked/Discussion questions: (Spoiler Alerts!!)

  • Insecurity. Taran longs to know about his parents so that he can be worthy of marrying Eilonwy. This probably matters very little to her. When have you ever felt disqualified or unworthy in ways that aren’t important to others which make you feel disqualified from the life God has for you?
  • Guilty thoughts. Taran struggles with horrible thoughts; he longs for freedom from his alleged Father, so he has mixed feelings about his tragic potential death. What do you think God thinks about our unclean thoughts? How are we to handle them? At what point are we guilty, and when should we repent of them?
  • Vocation. Taran is attracted to weaving and smithing at first, and he has great skill in them with excellent teachers. He also is offered to rule a kingdom as his occupation. But he realizes his heart is not in any of these. Have you ever said no to a path or career that you felt was not your calling, even if you could have been good at it? How did you decide?
  • Vocation, again. Taran wants to be a clay-shaper, but try as he might, he just isn’t good at it. Have you ever really wanted to be gifted at something that just wasn’t your gift, even after you worked hard at it? When did you decide to give up, and why?
  • Family. Taran struggles with identity and hopes to come from noble parents. For those who have accepted Christ, what does our adoption into God’s family mean for our true parentage? Can you think of bible verses that support the claim that there is no difference between a king and a pauper in God’s kingdom? What does this mean for you, personally?

This one has some of the best quotes, all from one of Taran’s mentors:

  • “My joy is in the craft, not the gain.”
  • “It will not be lost indeed. Nothing ever is, but comes back in one shape or another.”
  • “Spoil it you will surely. I’ll toss it back in the kneading trough, mix it with the other clay, and sooner or later it will serve again.”
  • “Craftsmanship isn’t like water in an earthen pot to be taken by the dipper full until it’s empty. The more drawn out the more remains. The heart renews itself and skills all the better for it.”

Here are links to my reviews of other books in the series:

titlelinkratingreading_level
The Book of Threehttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/?p=2265My bookshelfMiddle school
The Black Cauldronhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/2024/07/26/the-chronicles-of-prydain-the-black-cauldron-by-lloyd-alexander/My bookshelfMiddle school
The Castle of Llyrhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/2024/05/08/the-chronicles-of-prydain-the-castle-of-llyr-by-lloyd-alexander/My bookshelfMiddle school
Taran Wandererhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/2024/05/17/the-chronicles-of-prydain-taran-wanderer-by-lloyd-alexander/My bookshelfMiddle school
The High Kinghttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/?p=2318My bookshelfMiddle school

*Note: I listened to the audiobook, and will update this post when I read it. I tend to catch more from the page.