This book is a legend about a prince and his hound who was loyal to him through everything. one day the prince, now a king, has a son. While going to see the babe, he realizes that he is gone! Turning around he sees his dog with blood around his mouth and assumes the worst. Attacking his loyal friend, the dog runs away only for it to be discovered that the dog had killed a wolf that was trying to harm the baby and that the baby was alive.

The story of Prince Llywelyn, Prince of Wales and his loyal wolfhound Gelert. Llywelyn romps with Gelert as a boy but as he grows, marries, has a son and runs the country, he has less time to devote to his dog, although Gelert remains loyal throughout. Llywelyn almost kills Gelert thinking Gelert has killed his baby son but realizes Gelert fought and killed the wolf that tried to get to the baby.

This book is about a man and his dog. It shows the loyalty of a dog, no matter what if you abandon it, the dog will always be loyal. ( )

Genre: Folk tale

Review: This is an example of a folktale because it had been past down in Wales and changes within it are said to occur. It was based off of Prince Llywelyn and his dog but nobody knows how accurate the story is to real life. It also teaches the value of companions. No matter how little Llywelyn paid attention to his dog his dog remained faithful. Llywelyn recognized the significants of this too late.

Setting: The setting of this story takes place in Snowdonia, which is in Wales. The author and illustrator do a beautiful job of working together to keep the setting consistent and matching of the time period. When there is a change in location within Wales it is a reasonable change and fits the story.

Media: Oil Paints on Watercolor paper primed with gesso ( )

Age app: intermediate
Genre: Folk-tale
This was an excellent example for folk-tales. The story is based on Prince Llywelyn and his dog Gelert. The author does not confirm that the tale is true, only that, "In Wales, truth can be like the mountains, silent and unmovable. Or it can be like the brooks that trickle through the mountains-ever sparkling, ever changing, ever slipping into time." ( )