This is the story of Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan Pevensie and Narnia’s eternal winter. The Pevensie children are evacuated to rural England during the Blitz and Lucy Pevensie discovers a gateway to a fantastical realm, Narnia, in their caretaker’s wardrobe. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe overflows with magic and biblical allegory. C.S. Lewis describes a child’s perceptions of the world in a manner that makes adult readers recall childhood.

George R.R. Martin said “[revisiting] old stories is like [revisiting] old friends.” My sister read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to me when I was six; I read it to one of my nieces over the summer and she loved it. Lewis’s novel set a high bar for future children’s and fantasy authors. If at all possible obtain a copy with the illustrations by Pauline Baynes; her illustrations immerse young readers in Narnia.

Availability: SMCM
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended