Through the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Created Narnia

Author(s)
Publisher
Age Range
4+
Release Date
May 05, 2020
ISBN
0062798561

A lyrical nonfiction picture book about the inspired life of C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia—from Free as a Bird author-illustrator Lina Maslo.

As a child, Clive Staples Lewis imagined many things . . .

heroic animals

and knights in armor

and a faraway land called Boxen.

He even thought of a new name for himself—at four years old, he decided he was more of a Jack.

As he grew up, though, Jack found that the real world was not as just as the one in his imagination. No magic could heal the sick or stop a war, and a bully’s words could pierce as sharply as a sword. So Jack withdrew into books and eventually became a well-known author for adults.

But he never forgot the epic tales of his boyhood, and one day a young girl’s question about an old family wardrobe inspired him to write a children’s story about a world hidden beyond its fur coats . . . a world of fauns and queens and a lion named Aslan. A world of battles between good and evil, where people learned courage and love and forgiveness.

A magical realm called Narnia.

And the books he would write about this kingdom would change his life and that of children the world over.

A lyrical nonfiction picture book about the inspired life of C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia—from Free as a Bird author-illustrator Lina Maslo.

As a child, Clive Staples Lewis imagined many things . . .

heroic animals

and knights in armor

and a faraway land called Boxen.

He even thought of a new name for himself—at four years old, he decided he was more of a Jack.

As he grew up, though, Jack found that the real world was not as just as the one in his imagination. No magic could heal the sick or stop a war, and a bully’s words could pierce as sharply as a sword. So Jack withdrew into books and eventually became a well-known author for adults.

But he never forgot the epic tales of his boyhood, and one day a young girl’s question about an old family wardrobe inspired him to write a children’s story about a world hidden beyond its fur coats . . . a world of fauns and queens and a lion named Aslan. A world of battles between good and evil, where people learned courage and love and forgiveness.

A magical realm called Narnia.

And the books he would write about this kingdom would change his life and that of children the world over.

Editor review

1 review
A wonderful story
Overall rating
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
Learning Value
 
5.0
What a wonderful story.
The world - young and old -- know C.S. Lewis most than they know most authors. His stories are a part of our culture, a rite of passage growing up. Yet, most nonfiction works telling about men and women behind the stories are usually left to adults in formats they'd enjoy. I fell in love with the ease of this story, the way the author so simple explains a larger than life figure to children. Told with educational and entertaining prose, we get to see how two wars shaped the stories we still love today.
And let's not forget the illustrations. They're gorgeous!
Overall, this book is a complete win. It gives us a peek into the mind behind the stories we love, but it's about more than that. The world shapes the tales we tell and the ones we read. That is ever present in these pages.
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