The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, # 1 or 2--depending upon your preferred numbering)
By: CS Lewis
Publication: October 16, 1950
180 pages
Genre: Children's, Classics, Fantasy, Adventure, Christian
Source: Personal Library
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Goodreads description--They open a door and enter a world NARNIA...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.
What can I add to the discussion of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? This won't be a lengthy analysis of this book. I read this to my children as a read aloud. So I mostly want to focus on that. I found it ironic that my son focused in on Edmund and his naughty behavior, yet I know him well enough to know that he would have totally been an Edmund himself if he were in the story. I do hope he'll follow Edmund in the turn around that he had in the series though. I do see growth in him.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is, at it's core, a good versus evil story. Aslan is good. The witch is bad. As a parent, of course, I picked up on a lot more symbolism than the kids did. They were only 9, 7, and 4 when I was reading it to them.
Favorite quotes:
-You'll understand when you see him."
"But shall we see him?" asked Susan
"Why, Daughter of Eve, that's what I brought you here for. I'm to lead you to where you shall meet him," said Mr Beaver.
"Is--is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
"Im longing to see him," said Peter, "even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point."
"That's right, Son of Adam." said Mr. Beaver...
-"So've I, now you come to speak of it," said her husband, "but precious few, and they were the ones least like men. But in general, take my advice, when you meet anything that's going to be human and isn't yet, or used to be human once and isn't now, or ought to be human and isn't, you keep your eyes on it and feel for your hatchet."
My kids really enjoyed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I got more out of it than they did, but that's the way of being an adult. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe gets 5 Stars from us. Have you read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? What did you think? Let me know!
