“Children may not understand all that's happening below the surface of a story. It doesn't matter. Because even though they may not be able to define or verbalize it, they sense there's something more than meets the eye; on an almost subliminal level, they're aware of a richness of texture, or meaning and emotion -- a richness that, in a great book, is inexhaustible. And the child may well come back to it again and again, perhaps long after he's stopped being a child.”

American author

Lloyd Alexander was an American author of children’s and young adult fantasy fiction. He lived from 1924 to 2007 and wrote over a long career that spanned seven decades. He is best known for The Chronicles of Prydain, a five-book high fantasy series. His work includes more than 40 books, with 48 written across his career, and it was translated into 20 languages. The final volume of The Chronicles of Prydain, The High King, won the 1969 Newbery Medal. He also received U.S. National Book Awards in 1971 and 1982.