The Black Cauldron: The Prydain Chronicles, Book 2

The five books in this classic coming-of-age series were written to be read aloud, and the narrator does a good job with them. They were favorite bedtime stories for our children and they enjoyed hearing them again while traveling. Although the main character is a boy growing to be a man, both my sons and daughter have read and re-read these stories. Be aware that some of the characters die in the later books, so this is not for very young children. Ages eight to twelve would be about right.

Although you can listen to just one of these books, they are more fun as a set. Each story builds upon the others. All the companions of the previous volume return. The theme of this book is sacrifice.

This is the 2nd book in the Chronicles of Prydain, and a Newberry Award finalist. The 5th book in the series (The High King) won the Newberry Award. I highly recommend all five books. If you love great adventures, well drawn lovable characters, and profound life lessons, you will love Prydain. Lloyd Alexander creates the world of Prydain loosely based on Welsh mythology. They are excellent excellent books! For those who have listened to Harry Potter, James Langton does as good a job as Jim Dale. It was wonderful to listen to him bring Taran and his friends to life. This is a book written for younger readers (middle school and late elementary) but high schoolers and adults will take much from it also. Do yourself a favor--read these books!

My 8 yr old son, my 5 yr old daughter, my wife and I really enjoyed all of the Chronicles of Prydain books. James Langton's narration is fantastic.