Alexander, L. (1965) The Black Cauldron. New York, NY. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Brief Annotation: The Black Cauldron continues the adventures of Taran, assistant-pig keeper first introduced in Alexander's The Book of Three. The Evil Lord Arawn has found the Black Cauldron, which is capable of creating armies of undead enemies. Taran rejoins his companions from the first novel in attempting to destroy the cauldron, going on a large quest across the land of Prydain, meeting new friends and foes.
Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: 4-8
Readers who will like this: Readers who enjoy imaginative tales; readers interested in fantasy and quests.
Response/Rating (1-4): ****. Lloyd Alexander masterfully displays his talent for "quest fantasy" with this story. The characters jump from each page; each richly developed and entertaining. The story is engaging and exciting.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: How is the land in this fantasy novel similar or different than our own?
Reading Strategies Connection: Creating a Story Map (Yopp & Yopp. Pp 73-75) would greatly benefit readers of this story. It will allow them to not only map the quest itself, but see how events in the beginning of the novel effected events in the end. Students will identify events in the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and create a "map" of these events.
I can tell that you're a big fan of fantasy--if you're not, you really are a talented actress, even in writing. Your brief synopsis crackles with excitement. Have you read the other books in this series? Recently?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your choice of a story map to support kids' understanding of this book. I can't remember if there's a map in the front pages, but "setting" in this book is very important to plot development, so you're smart to see the match between this strategy and the story.
One idea for you to consider: Can you ask a compare/contrast question BEFORE kids have read a book?