Title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Author: CS Lewis
Series: Chronicles of Narnia #2 (chronological), #1 (published)
Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published in 1950, and it was the book that first introduced readers to the World of Narnia. Years later, in 1955, Lewis wrote a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, entitled The Magician’s Nephew. While The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth Narnia book to be written, many readers prefer to begin the series with The Magician’s Nephew.

Like I said in my post about The Magician’s Nephew, I’ve known the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe since I was a child and I’ve always liked the story and I enjoyed actually reading it. I’ve always thought the ending was kind of abrupt; one moment the Pevensies are in Narnia, the next moment they’re not and the story’s over. I’ve always thought the abruptness might be a symptom of the movies not being able to fit more of the story into the required amount of time. However, as I read the book, I realized how faithful the movies were to the storyline. The book’s ending is really that abrupt, which I didn’t like because it didn’t feel like there was much closure to the story.

Now that I know the book isn’t even 250 pages long, it doesn’t surprise me that the movies are as faithful to the storyline as they are. However, even with the movies being as faithful as they are and having such wonderful imagery as they do, I still enjoyed reading the book more. My favorite thing about reading a book is that you know what the characters are thinking and unless a movie’s narrated, you just don’t get that same level of intimacy with the characters.

I’m quite happy that I’ve actually taken the time to read (or start reading) the series. I’m probably the only person that never read the books as a child. Only five more to go.

Title: The Magician’s Nephew
Author: CS Lewis
Series: Chronicles of Narnia #1 (chronological), #6 (published)
Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)
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The Adventure Begins. Narnia … where talking beasts walk … where a witch waits… where a new world is about to be born. On a daring quest to save a life, two friends are hurled into another world, where an evil sorceress seeks to enslave them. But then the lion Aslan’s song weaves itself into the fabric of a new land, a land that will be known as Narnia. And in Narnia, all things are possible….

The Magician’s Nephew is the book my book club read for December. The rest of the series are the books we’re going to read for December, January, and possibly February; it just depends on how long it takes all of us to read them.

After I finished reading The Subtle Knife, I went to the library to check out all seven books to read for our book club. The next day, I was surprised to find The Magician’s Nephew at my cubicle. My co-worker Becky gave it to me for Christmas.

Even though I’ve known the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe since I was a child, I’ve never actually read the books. Although I didn’t really care for The Magician’s Nephew much, I enjoyed reading it once the characters arrived in Narnia. I also loved reading about Aslan for the first time. It was neat to read about the birth of Narnia and learn where the wardrobe came from. I’m very excited to continue reading the story of Narnia now that I’ve started.