Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Why I Love Wednesdays . . . A Children's Book


            
            Today’s “Why I Love Wednesdays . . .” post is all about children’s books. Now, if you read my previous WILW post on a Childhood Book Friend, found HERE, you might recall that I can’t remember what my favorite book was as a child. Maybe I didn’t have one. The world may never know . . .
            So, I’ll be talking about a book—or rather, book series—that I remember loving as a child: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. This series is probably what began my obsession with the whole Fantasy genre. If you haven’t read the books, you’re missing out. The same goes for the movies. They’re excellently done. (Ben Barnes playing Caspian in the second and third movies is just an added bonus.)
            There are two ways you can read the series: either in order written/published, or in the world’s chronological order. I’ve read it both ways, and I kind of like it in chronological order. Since I originally read it in order published when I was a child, I’ll discuss it that way.
            The series begins with four siblings in the real world—World War I Era England. They find a magical land called Narnia in an old wardrobe. (If you don’t know what a wardrobe is, it’s sort of like a freestanding closet.) There they meet a fawn, some talking beavers, and other creatures. They are told that the land is under an enchantment cast by an evil witch and that the children must help break it.
            The children also meet a talking lion named Aslan. He was there at the creation of the world, and he is the only character who is consistently present throughout all seven books. one great thing about the books is that even though most of the characters aren’t in all the books, the author did a fabulous job of connecting the characters together.
            I won’t spoil the end of the series. I will, however, say that I was extremely surprised. I think it’s a great series for both children and adults. My eleven-year-old cousin is currently reading the series—I can’t wait to ask him what he thought of them.

5 comments:

  1. What a great way to enter the world of fantasy...with one of the greatest authors of all time!

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  2. I always hear such great things about this series and I really want to read them. I've been keeping up with the movies and I really like them. I haven't seen the last one yet but can't wait til it comes on HBO.

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  3. Oh my gosh! I love love love this series. I really enjoyed it as a child as well. I think the author did a great job of handling the time aspect. It was so creative to me.

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  4. I never did read the Chronicles of Narnia books; and when I saw the movies, I was already too old for the books (though apparently not for the movies!) It's definitely one of the best fantasy series, though. Great that you enjoyed the books as a kid :)

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  5. Priya, I don't think you're ever too old for the books. I'm nearly 30 and I'm re-reading them.

    Jade, I loved the Dawn Treader movie, although they changed some things around (of course). You should definitely read the books!

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