Lewis is good. I enjoyed his work. But I think Tolkien was a much better writer.
I remember watching the 1978 animated version, which scared the crap outta me. It wasn’t the story, I just thought the animation was creepy.
The very good—it introduces kids to the Bible—especially kids who have no idea that they’re reading “Bible stories”—retold in a fantasy setting.
Silly H’wood actors trying to babble on about how it’s not specifically about Christian ideas, when it very expressly is and unapologetically anti-Mus—er—Calormene.
Of course, Susan didn’t die young in the railway accident, so there’s always hope for her—but a sequel about her and hopefully her kids would have been nice. There’s also some literary criticism about borrowing a little much from Edith Nesbit’s works. But overall, I’m splitting hairs.
My 6th grade teacher read to us after lunch, usually a half hour or 45 minutes. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was one of the books he read. Also on the list: A Wrinkle in Time and Chronicles of Narnia, Chronicles of Prydain.
We loved having him read, and he picked some good books. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Wrinkle in Time both had enduring messages about freedom and communism; I definitely got the point even though I was 11 years old.
As for the two Chronicles series, well that was just for fun.
Because it is well written
God bless my second grade teacher for introducing me and my classmates to C.S. Lewis’s Narnia.
The Wade Library is located in Wheaton College in Illinois. They have over 2000 original letters from C.S. Lewis along with his writing table and, wait for it, THE WARDROBE! I actually made an appointment to tour this private library and got a chance to touch the WARDROBE. Huge fan of his. I credit his book, “Mere Christianity,” with making me a Christian.
Narnia ping list!
A discussion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
.
It works. I first read the series at about age 7, and still remember the electric shock when "to them, he no longer looked like a Lion."