Once immensely popular in the 1960's, Lloyd Alexander's  five-part Chronicles of Prydain have fallen a bit from favor, yet remain one of my fantastic favorites. I read the books as a child, but my admiration for their wit, charm, and richness has only deepened as I have gotten older. This Welsh myth-inspired YA series has all of the classic elements that make fantasy irresistible: an orphaned protagonist who learns that being a hero is not easy, a feisty princess as wise as she is beautiful, wizards, swordplay, sacrifice, romance, and an ancient evil threatening to overrun the land.