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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)

by C. S. Lewis

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
45,37475432 (4.1)820
Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
  1. 161
    The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (FFortuna, Polenth, Omnigeek)
    Omnigeek: Classic Welsh mythology transformed into a children's fable enjoyable for all ages. The Book of Three is the first of Lloyd Alexander's pentology, The Prydain Chronicles, and starts the growth of young orphan (and Assistant Pig Keeper) Taran into a man.
  2. 100
    Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (Polenth)
  3. 113
    The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (GWoloszczuk)
    GWoloszczuk: Another story were a child goes to a fantasy world.
  4. 1915
    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (Patangel)
  5. 40
    The Secret Country by Pamela Dean (wordweaver)
    wordweaver: This is a YA novel that takes the group-of-kids-discover-a-portal-into-a-fantasy-world idea found in the Narnia books and uses it to explore issues of the imagination. The world the children in this story encounter appears to based upon a fantasy game they had been playing, and many elements of that game were influenced by books the children had read, clearly including the Chronicles of Narnia.… (more)
  6. 97
    The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (krizia_lazaro)
  7. 20
    Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (MissBrangwen)
  8. 10
    The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson (multilingualmaid)
  9. 10
    A Soul as Cold as Frost by Jennifer Kropf (Anonymous user)
  10. 21
    A Walk out of the World by Ruth Nichols (bookel)
  11. 00
    Elidor by Alan Garner (Anonymous user)
  12. 00
    Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski (JenniferRobb)
    JenniferRobb: Both books have children passing through a portal into a different world. Mlynowski's is the fairy tale world of Snow White; Lewis's is Narnia and is a Christian allegory.
  13. 00
    The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle (MissBrangwen)
  14. 11
    What I Learned in Narnia by Douglas Wilson (CherylLonski)
  15. 00
    Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: Ruled by a white witch, a wintry forest - enchanted and treacherous -- doesn't deter a young girl from trying to save a spellbound friend. Filled with fairy tale elements, both of these affecting fantasies speak to universal longings.
  16. 11
    Abarat by Clive Barker (Scottneumann)
  17. 11
    The Thief of Always by Clive Barker (Scottneumann)
  18. 00
    Challenge of the Trumpalar by Judy Bernard-Waite (bookel)
  19. 00
    The Riddle of the Trumpalar by Judy Bernard-Waite (bookel)
  20. 00
    The Wand: The Return to Mesmeria by Allan W. Eckert (bookel)

(see all 34 recommendations)

1950s (10)
1970s (603)
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» See also 820 mentions

English (724)  Spanish (7)  Italian (3)  Dutch (3)  Hungarian (2)  Portuguese (Portugal) (2)  Finnish (2)  Greek (1)  Danish (1)  German (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Polish (1)  All languages (748)
Showing 1-5 of 724 (next | show all)
Independent reading level grades fourth through seven
  Teannawiggins21 | Mar 28, 2024 |
I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series when I was in 6th grade, and only thought they were meh. The overhype around them puzzled me. I found the Chronicles of Prydain at the same time and adored those books and have them repeatedly over the decades. It was very interesting to return to this book in my forties, having published many fantasy books, and read a lot of middle grade.

My impression of the book is much the same--just okay, rather dull, and significantly overhyped. Note that I'm not holding back discussion of spoilers here.

That said, it's not a horrible book. Lewis is a fantastic writer--I've enjoyed a number of his books for adults. The dialogue between the siblings is great; he can write children well, especially the horrible Edmund. The setting creates an incredible mood.

What I couldn't articulate as a child is much clearer to me now: the children have almost no agency, and in fact, almost nothing happens in the book. Lucy, and the others, stumble upon Narnia by accident. The good creatures of Narnia do everything for them as stand-ins for adults. The witch's deep winter begins thawing without the children doing anything. The children are handed powerful gifts that they just happen to know how to use (I guess Peter has had swordfighting lessons?). Even at the end, they leave Narnia by accident. The only major choices they make are Edmund's major betrayal and the girls' choice to follow and comfort Aslan at a pivotal point. By modern standards, they are useless as main characters. I suppose someone could argue that everything is being left to God, but I find that a weak point, because as far as action goes, they aren't even at "thoughts at prayers." They simply drift along and the plot happens for them--but this wasn't uncommon for books in this period, either.

The symbolism around Aslan as Jesus is quite stark to me now but I don't mind how that was done. I really like the portrayal of Aslan as "good but scary." His sacrifice certainly is an intense moment. It would be interesting to see everything through his eyes; he's the major protagonist.

Honestly, if we're going to ignore the plot, I would've just loved a gentle book where I get to enjoy tea and a meal with Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, because I could read pages and pages about their houses and their bright personalities. ( )
  ladycato | Mar 11, 2024 |
A great classic. ( )
  Linyarai | Mar 6, 2024 |
Reread number 1,000,000,001 ( )
  deborahee | Feb 23, 2024 |
A friendly read, but slapdash in its worldbuilding and thin on character. It’s a fairy tale so superficiality in some way is to be expected. More rewarding prose or plot would've been appreciated, however. There isn’t much to the story’s characters or plot beyond annoying younger brother Edmund who learns a bit of humility through suffering. New concepts enter seemingly at random and it wasn't mistaken for imagination. I don't find talking animals or vague feudal motifs novel, at least here in the 21st century. It’s hard for me not to be reminded of Lewis’ friend Tolkien whose own fantasy work(s) are much richer in character and world, and well-conceived in both from the get-go. If I understand the history of their writings correctly, neither expected their first stories to become part of a series, but The Hobbit provided me a considerably greater imagination to invest in. We know of brothers and sisters and Adam and Eve and winter and spring. There is nothing new to learn of those things in this book. They merely suggest quick reference points for young children (its main target audience) to understand. Perhaps this is the page-turner it is because the syntax is simple and the ideas are familiar. I probably wouldn't finish The Hobbit as fast as I have here, either, but I keep re-reading that one and its follow-ups. I liked this book/film as a child but returning to it as an adult hasn't provided me much new enthusiasm. I'll try the next one out of curiosity for the potentially non-linear(?) timeline of the wider series and its main character shake-ups (Peter and Susan go away?), but as a stand-alone tale I'm not sure I appreciate the long-lasting popularity. ( )
  bobbybslax | Feb 6, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 724 (next | show all)
Classic Narnia tale has exciting battles, Christian themes.

added by vibesandall | editCommon Sense Media, Mark Nichol (Jul 12, 2017)
 

» Add other authors (30 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
C. S. Lewisprimary authorall editionscalculated
Baynes, PaulineIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Birmingham, ChristianIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bovenkamp-Gordeau, Madeleine van denTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dan San SouciIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dillon, DianeCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dillon, LeoCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hague, MichaelCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hane, RogerCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hämäläinen, KyllikkiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lavis, StephenCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mac Lochlainn, AntainTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nielsen, CliffCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rettich, RolfIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tetzner, LisaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Van Allsburg, ChrisCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
York, MichaelNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Dedication
To Lucy Barfield
My Dear Lucy,
I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand a word you say, but I shall still be
your affectionate Godfather,
C. S. Lewis
First words
Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.
Quotations
"It means," said Aslan, "that though the witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still, which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."
"How stupid of me! But I've never seen a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve before. I am delighted..."
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Unabridged. Please do not combine with any abridged edition.

Please do not combine ISBN 0007206054 (abridged movie storybook) with original full-length book.

Please do not combine The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with The Chronicles of Narnia.

ISBN 0001857010 is also an abridged version.
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Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

No library descriptions found.

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Haiku summary
Though some gender roles

are outdated, the story

stands the test of time.

(CathWhitney)

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