The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia

Absolutely Delightful! Allegory to the land of Christiandomin within the bigger world we must live in although we belong in another. Lewis writes so alarmingly simple yet so very smart it’s easy to follow Polly and Digby to Narnia! i was so engrossed while there I found it quite a disturbance when pulled from my escape there only to be forced to deal with nurses and therapy, etc…at the rehab clinic I’m staying at while my broken ankle heals.

Your education is incomplete if you haven't read this story. Brilliantly written, engaging and moving. It's also very fun and endearing.

One of my great joys is sharing books that illuminated my childhood with my own child. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of my very favorite books, and it has been delightful to revisit this book and the rest of the series.I know they renumbered the volumes some years back, but to me this will always be Volume One in the series. This is the book that introduced me to the wonders of Narnia. This is the book that encouraged me to keep my eyes open, always, for that portal that might just appear to take me to another world.This book holds magic, rare and true; not only the magic inside Narnia itself but the magic of a truly enveloping book.The Pevensie children have left their home behind during the Blitz. Like so many children in England during World War 2, they have been sent to a strange place for safety. But the narrative of the war fades away under the excitement of discovering first the joys of the rambling country estate where they are staying, and then the world of Narnia.The reader has that experience of discovery along with Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter. The sensory details (the snow, the fur coats, the light from the lamppost, the cozy homes of Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, the food—Turkish Delight, anyone?) and the quick-moving adventure laced with magic combine to create a world that feels so real that I have never quite stopped looking for it outside the pages of the book. Once a King or Queen in Narnia, indeed. This is one of the books that stays with the reader long after the pages have been finished.I have read this book many times, and the world I am in always slips away as I follow Lucy through the doors of the wardrobe and find myself in Narnia, in that magical world where good beings battle to overturn the reign of the White Witch who has made it always winter, yet never Christmas.This book is also ideal for a read-aloud bedtime story, although do not be surprised if your child keeps asking you to read more!I recommend this book with all my heart to anyone who loves portal fiction, books about magic, fairy tales, and children’s books in general. Like many works of art, it is a different book each time I encounter it, perhaps because I am a different reader.Like all the best children’s books, this one is really for all ages.

Review 4.4 starsThis was still as enjoyable as when I read the book as a child some decades ago. and then, I read it again, a few times or more. The magic never goes when I return to Narnia and I will always encourage other kids to escape there, and to relish the magical use of words and phrases.This book never gets old. It’s the first Narnia book that I encountered – and the first written then published, although chronologically the second.I always felt that talking animals would be amazing and C. S Lewis makes them believable and unique characters. For me, the children were always of less interest than the creatures of Narnia – starting with Tumnus the Faun. Although in her defence, Lucy is always the most endearing child. Everyone has things that make them contrast with the others, creating a memorable cast including Aslan.However, while giving human characteristics to a faun seems credible, it’s harder to accept animals described in similar terms. For Narnia, that works, but as an adult, I can sense it’s not being true to their real nature. But don’t let that spoil the weaving of the spell.This is a classic fantasy for children, and disbelief is wonderfully suspended from the moment that Lucy Pevensie finds her way through the wardrobe and begins an enchanting adventure. In Narnia, we have a world where the unexpected is possible and magic is at the heart of the creation. For the older reader, this world poses a few questions. Perhaps that is why C.S Lewis felt compelled, after five books, to eventually write about the world’s origins in The Magician’s Nephew – my favourite Narnia book and chronologically Book 1.Yes, there are aspects that are dated like attitudes to girls/women fighting, and there are the Christian undertones, but I can forget these as the whole creation transports me. There is clever use of language, of humorous phrases, of adjectives to evoke emotions – both in the dialogue, and in the descriptive passages that abound, bringing Narnia alive in the imagination.“…And you are riding not on a road nor in a park nor even on the downs, but right across Narnia, in spring, down solemn avenues of beech and across sunny glades of oak, through wild orchards of snow-white cherry trees, past roaring waterfalls and mossy rocks and echoing caverns, up windy slopes alight with gorse bushes, and across the shoulders of heathery mountains and along giddy ridges and down, down, down again into wild valleys and out into acres of blue flowers.”I’m sure that Pauline Baynes’ illustrations were in the first copy that I read, and they helped create the vibrant images in my head of Narnia, but the words on the page were what transported me there. The most abiding image seems to be that lamp post and whenever I see a real or replica Victorian one in real-life, I drift back to that fir-fringed clearing in Narnia.Time to introduce my great grandkids to this spellbinding world and this can be another book to encourage their imagination.Story – four starsSetting/World-building – five starsAuthenticity – three starsCharacters – four starsStructure – five starsReadability – five starsEditing – five stars

According to Sam, it’s “super good.” About the scary parts, Sam says “no real scary parts, but (spoiler alert) when Aslan was dead for a bit that was scary but don’t worry he comes back to life.” One thing he liked best was their weapons and how they fought. Loved the ending (spoiler alert 2) “how you can get super old and wake up as a kid again.”

Perfect for kids & kids at heart! I didn’t want it to end! Can’t wait to read all of the Chronicles of Narnia!