“Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy…”
So begins C.S. Lewis’s timeless classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Pevensie siblings are sent away from London amid the air-raids of World War II to stay with a Professor in his country-side home. It’s quite by accident that the youngest sibling, Lucy, is exploring the house and finds herself pulling open the doors of an unassuming wardrobe… and entering the fantastical world of Narnia.
“…if it was real why doesn’t everyone find this country every time they go to the wardrobe? I mean, there was nothing when we looked; even Lucy didn’t pretend there was.”
By stepping through the wardrobe, readers will encounter an unforgettable cast: the evil White Witch, who has unleashed an eternal winter over Narnia, and Mr. Tumnus, the fawn who first meets Lucy under the lamp-post, as well as the Beaver family that hides and helps the Pevensies on their journey. Students are invited to struggle with Edmund who is tempted and has to decide what to believe and who is trustworthy. Families are invited to join Susan, Peter, and Lucy as they set out to find Aslan – the grand, mysterious lion – who is their only hope to bring the magic back to Narnia.
“Once a King in Narnia, always a King in Narnia.”
First published in 1950, it’s no surprise that this novel – and the six other volumes in the series – are still in print to charm new generations of readers. The book moves quickly, plunging readers right into an adventure that still has students young and old racing for the last pages. C.S. Lewis’s prose is clear, simple, and approachable, making it perfect for a broad range of listeners.
It’s possible that children may someday tire of that magical moment when, as readers, their understanding of the world changes and they enter a new realm that defies even the wildest imaginations. But we don’t think that current children are so jaded or experienced that that day is yet here.
In fact, with the availability of books like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we think that day may never come.