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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Kid Konnection: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Rated: V for the scene when the lion is tortured and killed)
HarperTrophy
ISBN: 978-0064404990
Reprint 1994 Edition
Paperback, 198 pages

I've always wanted to read this classic story, especially after I saw the movie when it came out a few years back, but somehow I never got around to it. Now that my kids are a little older, I decided to read it to them. I was actually excited about reading it and seeing their reaction as they entered the magical world of Narnia.

The beginning of the book was fun as Lucy finds the wardrobe and discovers Narnia, but as the book progressed my kids began asking me if anything exciting would happen. Anything exciting?! “The Chronicles of Narnia is filled with action adventure!” I reassured my kids. “But when are we going to meet Aslan, the lion?” they protested. We were two thirds into the book before we finally met him. The action picked up again at this point and after I told them there was a surprise ending, their interest continued to the last page.

We decided to watch the movie after we finished the book and my kids exclaimed, “Mom, the movie is way better than the book!” I am such a die-hard fan of books, that usually I find a book better than the movie based on it, but not in this case. (Gasp! Did I just say that?) I have to agree with my kids on this one. The book may have worked in 1950 when it was first written and there were few fantasy books out there for young readers. Today, with the plethora of fast-paced fantasy literature on the market, young readers may find the plot slow. The characters in the movie were more fully developed and the plot deeper, better paced, and enhanced.

I just wanted to mention that the movie is rated PG-13 and we skipped the whole scene where they torture and kill Aslan. However, overall, my kids loved the adventures in Narnia, and as Christians they could appreciate the sacrificial gesture of the lion. It was a story that made them think and question about entering another dimension where time stood still in the real world. It was fascinating, especially to my son. They now look forward to the rest of the adventures in Narnia.

I will count this book toward the following challenges: Middle Grade Book Challenge, TwentyEleven Challenge

Disclosure: I bought this book at a used bookstore. I was not told how to rate or review this product.

Every Saturday, Booking Mama hosts a feature called Kid Konnection—a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, visit Booking Mama.

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4 comments :

  1. I actually read this again a few years ago and appreciated the book much more as an adult than I did as a child. I agree that the pace is different from today's books...

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  2. My 8-year-old read the book and my 5-year-old read the beginning reader books based on the movie. They both loved the books and the movie and will watch all of the Narnia movies whenever I let them. My 5-year-old was just carrying around the whole series tonight.

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  3. I didn't read this one until I read it with my son and I have to agree with you - it was pretty slow. We didn't love it.

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  4. The idea of Narnia, especially since fantasy was a fairly new genre in the 50s is unique and thus I can understand why it became a classic. Reading it together with my kids was a good experience, but I'm glad I am not the only one that feels is was slow reading. Dr Suess, on the other hand, another author from the same time, is so much fun to read with my kids that I LOVE all the books.

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