The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

'The Black Cauldron' could have taken me by surprise. Why you ask, well our old friend Walt Disney made a version of this book. Therefore, if you have seen the movie like the Disney movie Tinker Bell its not. I found Book 2 to be full of wonder and excitement beyond anything Mickey Mouse could deliver. Perhaps one of the most inspiring of all five books, 'The Black Cauldron' tests the companions (Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi, and Fflewddur). Not only was their courage tested, but also their true virtue, for Taran and his companions were, given more than once, the chance to become evil doers. In the end, as Alexander puts it, you cannot always judge good and evil 'unmixed,' sometimes you must remember people for what they once were, and others for what they became. This is a retelling of the Mabinogion’s ‘Cauldron of Rebirth’ bringing to the young at heart a vivid way to introduce the Mabinogi. Paperback: 208 pages Rating: 5 Stars Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks (May 16, 2006) Review by Bill Tillman