Book Review for "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" {by C.S. Lewis}

Book Review

TITLE OF THE BOOK:

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

AUTHOR: C.S. Lewis

# OF PAGES: 206

PUBLISHER: Harper Collins

YEAR PUBLISHED: 1950
READING LEVEL: Elementary & Up
GENRE: Children Fantasy

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy took their first steps into the world behind the magic wardrobe, little do they realise what adventures are about to unfold. And as the story of Narnia begins to unfold, so to does a classic tale that has enchanted readers of all ages for over half a century.

When we are choosing a book for our December Book Club we try to pick one that is shorter and possibly has a Christmas theme in it. We also do our Christmas Party this book club and we know everyone is busy getting ready for Christmas so that is why we chose this book and it was the perfect pick.

Our Star Rating...

4 Stars

Before reading this book we had a question.

Should we read the Magician's Nephew before we read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe?

 C.S. Lewis wrote the first book in the series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1950. Book two, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia was written in 1951, book three, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was written in 1952, book four, The Silver Chair was written in 1953, book five, The Horse and His Boy was written in 1954,  book six (which explains how Narnia came to be) The Magician's Nephew was written in 1955, the book seven (the final book) The Last Battle was written in 1956.

After hearing many people's opinions about this on Instagram, we decided to not read it before. I really like how he wrote them in the order he did. I think reading it after helps answer questions you may have about Narnia.

The Chronicles of Narnia's seven books have been in continuous publication since 1956, selling over 100 million copies in 47 languages and with editions in Braille.

An interesting fact is that the books were not published in the order they were written and the Magician's Nephew was written last.

These are small books and you can easily read all seven of them in no time. You will want to read the next book right away anyways because the stories are so good. I think these are perfect books to read with your kids also.

If you want to know anything and everything about The Chronicles of Narnia then you need to head over to Wikipedia, so click the link and discover the things you didn't know about Narnia. This is a great resource that goes into so many details and in depth of what each thing means.

(Source)

The lovely Whitney moderated our discussion this month and she did such a great job. She found a ton of book discussion questions online 

Here are some questions you could use:

1. Surface/deep discussion - which do you prefer? We chose deeper meaning.

2. Which of the 4 children are you most like?

3. Why are children the main characters and why can't adults travel to Narnia?

Children have belief and are good at pretending.

4. Can non-Christians readers appreciate the story?
You don't have to analyze this story from a spiritual view. In fact some of our members didn't even see the spiritual side of the story. You can just enjoy the story.

5. Why did CS Lewis choose the allegorical lion as Jesus Christ?

6. Describe Asland: 

He's poignant, solemn and serious. He's terrifying and comforting at the same time.

7. What do you think of Father Christmas's comment about women not fighting (ugly fight)? 

Women would ask different questions then men do.  They would think about the back story of the enemy and not think in a purely military way to disconnect themselves from the individual. It would be harder for them to do what needs to be done for the greater good.

8. Why is it always winter and never Christmas?

The season just stayed the same always and there was no progression. They were stuck in a frozen state. Winter is cold and nothing grows or lives. When Father Christmas comes the creatures in Narnia see that things are starting to change and that Spring will be coming. The era of winter is coming to an end.

9. How is Asland's sacrifice similar to Christ's?

Someone who did no wrong had to give up their life for others.

Check out more questions here and remember there is more than one right answer.

If you are wondering if you should pick this book for your book club, then I am letting you know you will not be disappointed and you will have so much to discuss.

Enjoy!

xoxo,