The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

C. S. Lewis (Author), Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: March 5, 2002 | Age Range: 8 and up

They open a door and enter a world

Narnia ... a land frozen in eternal winter ... a country waiting to be set free.

Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia -- a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change ... and a great sacrifice.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-This classic tale celebrates its 50th anniversary with a delightful audio rendition. Actor Michael York's reading is a perfect match for this story. The narration is clear and distinct, and York's soft and soothing British accent adds the right touch. Listeners will fall under the spell of this master storyteller as they join Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan on their travels. Beginning with Chapter One when Lucy looks into the wardrobe and discovers Narnia and the faun, readers will find that this timeless story can still work the magic that C.S. Lewis intended. In this action packed tale, the four children take part in several adventures as they travel through Narnia on their quest to rid the country of the Witch and her followers. Narnia fans will want to listen to this story over and over again, and new fans will be created as they listen for the first time.
Ginny Harrell, William McGarrah Elementary School, Morrow, GA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is, in turn, beautiful, frightening, wise." -- -- The New York Times --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064471047
• ISBN-13: 978-0064471046
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (660 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Christian
  • #48 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • #90 in Books > Children's Books > Religions > Christianity

More About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#91 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#15 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#19 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#55 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#88 in Books

#2 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#15 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#19 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#55 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#88 in Books

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The first book published in the Narnia series. June 22, 1999

By R. D. Allison ([e-mail])

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The first book in the famous allegorical Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series for children. Four English school children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) visit an old Professor to avoid the air raids in London during World War II. They discover an "entrance" to a world of fantasy through a wardrobe. It is a world that will change them forever. They assist the golden lion Aslan to defeat the White Witch who has cursed Narnia with eternal winter: the classic conflict of good vs. evil. This is the first in the Chronicles to be published. However, "The Magician's Nephew" relates events that take place before the events in this book and many, including the publisher, suggest that individuals read that book first. I disagree. I think the series flows much better when read in the order of their publication. As one reads the series, particularly with the last volume, one become more attuned to the spiritual aspects of the tales. And in responce to muchadoaboutlisa from Australia (of May 6, 1999), as we can tell from the last volume, Narnia does exist.

55 of 71 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Michael York's audio recording is superb! April 23, 2001

By Volkert Volkersz

Format:Audio CD

HarperAudio has produced a exciting, unabridged, audio recording of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," featuring the well-known British actor, Michael York, (who played John the Baptist in Zefirrelli's outstanding film "Jesus of Nazareth").

Our family recently listened to the CD recordings while on a car trip. York brings each character to life with his vocal inflections, his use of dynamics (loud and soft voicings) and best of all, his mastery of various accents--British, Irish and Scottish--given to the different characters. Here each "person" has a vivid personality, and the listener can easily picture them in his or her mind.

We've enjoyed the Focus on the Family dramatization, as well as the BBC version, in the past, but I'd prefer to hear the unabridged text of this C.S. Lewis classic fantasy, with its spiritual and allegorical undertones. We've read this story aloud several times in our family over the years, but I believe that, from now on, we'll let Michael York read it to us. This is a pure delight (not like the "Turkish Delight" that Edmund ate)!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best Children's Books July 7, 2005

By Glenn Yates

Format:Paperback

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia by unequaled English author C.S. Lewis. These books are able to accomplish something that few other books in all of literature have been able to achieve. They are able to be at once great and entertaining literature as well as insightful and profound theology. They are fun and inspiring. Tolkien, Lewis's model McDonald, and a few others achieve some variation of it, but none quite like Lewis.

The story unfolds with the four Pevensie children being sent to live with an eccentric old professor in the country, in order to be out of London during the bombing. The house turns out to be as interesting as the professor, and soon the kids find their way to an alternate world where some of the animals can talk and fairy-tales come to life. Not just the fun characters, either, but witches as well, in fact one has the land of Narnia under a spell where it's "always winter but never Christmas". The kids become the focal point for a classic good versus evil struggle, but with heavy though never pedantic theological lessons. And the king of Narnia, the lion who is the son of the Emperor-over-the-Sea, is just fantastic. Highly, highly recommended for kids and adults.

33 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Into the "Wardrobe" May 25, 2005

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

C.S. Lewis pioneered a new kind of fantasy when he wrote "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" -- the kind where people from our world somehow get swept into another one. It's old stuff now, but Lewis was among the first to attempt such a thing. Because of its originality, and despite some rather hamhanded allegory, it remains a charmingly written, classic story.

To avoid the threat of bombings in London, the four Pevensie kids are sent to stay with a wealthy, eccentric professor in the country. But strange things start to happen when Lucy finds a wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek -- when she climbs in, she finds a snowy woodland and a friendly faun. Her siblings don't believe her... until peevish Edmund also ventures through, and encounters the beautiful but evil White Witch.

Soon all four are wandering through the snowy land of Narnia, encountering mythical creatures and talking animals. They also find that the four of them are at the center of a prophecy that will lead to the return of lion-messiah Aslan, and the downfall of the White Witch. But things don't go according to plan when Edmund defects to the Witch's side...

How many fantasy stories are written about kids who crawl through a hedge, wander through a door or pick up a magical object, and immediately are swept off into a medieval land? Lots. And they owe a debt of gratitude to C.S. Lewis, theologian, author, and drinking buddy of "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien.

C.S. Lewis' story is, despite being set during World War II, very 19th-century in tone -- very charming, conversational and full of little details. He populates it with a mishmash of mythic creatures such as dryads, fauns, and talking beavers. The one flaw?... Lewis gets quite hamhanded with his Christian allegory, such as Aslan's resurrection. However, he has a very good plot and charming characters to balance it out.

Those characters deftly avoid being cutesy, especially by virtue of the malicious Edmund, who slowly has a change of heart after falling in with the evil Witch. He's a much more enjoyable character than his noble brother Peter, just because he's so real. And as a counterbalance, there's Lewis's sweet-natured Lucy -- which was also the name of Lewis' granddaughter.

Complex characters and still-fresh stories give "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" -- which is soon to be released as a major movie -- a special ambience. Definitely worth reading. Read more ›