The whole point of reading traditional folk and fairy tales (in my opinion) is not only to discover things about previous cultures, but also for the sheer entertainment value that stems from the ridiculous aspects of some of the stories. The birth and early years of Taliesin, a bardic character from Welsh history and lore, is a classic example of both of these themes since it combines interesting observations about Welsh society and provides many opportunities for raised eyebrows. I won't go into a lot of detail about the story itself, since the myths are nothing a reader in the tradition can't find elsewhere, but I found this retelling to be very readable even if the illustrations were rather underwhelming. ( )