Lloyd Alexander 1924-2007

Lloyd Alexander passed away on Friday. His wife had died two weeks earlier. They had been married for 61 years. It makes me smile that they were not parted for long.

Lloyd Alexander was an author, especially of children’s books. I was introduced to him during my children’s literature class at BYU my third year there. We were assigned to read a lot of books for that class that I had never read before. I have never enjoyed buying books for a class the way I did for that one. There were a few we read that I didn’t like. I remember not liking Tuck Everlasting at all. But there were several I did like and I really enjoyed learning about different authors that I might have missed otherwise.

But I fell in love with The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. It is the first book in the Prydain Chronicles, a series of five books about Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi, Flewddur Fflam, and Doli, commonly referred to as the Companions. The final book in the series, The High King, won the Newbery Award in 1969. After finishing the first book, which was assigned for class, I quickly went out and checked the other four out from the library and could not put them down, even while I was walking to and from class. I would have to put them behind my back when I was crossing streets so I would remember to look for cars. I distinctly remember walking past the MARB and Clyde buildings on campus reading the last one with tears coming down my face at the sacrifices the Companions were making to fight evil. They are great books.

About five years ago, when I was looking for a name to use on the internet, before my students named me Miss Giggles, I was trying to think of something that would be me. I thought something from a book would be great, since I love to read, and particularly from a children’s book. I wanted something a bit uncommon. And I needed a name that had a lot of personality with it. The obvious choice for me seemed to be Eilonwy, the magical princess with the red gold hair who would rather be out fighting with the men then back home doing needle work. She speaks her mind, often to the annoyance of Taran. And so for the last five years my friends have known me as Eilonwy, and on occasion, Gurgi, for those days when I’m feeling a bit off.

I think I’ll go read the Prydain Chronicles again.