The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: A Graphic Novel [Abridged] [Paperback]

C. S. Lewis (Author), Robin Lawrie (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Narnia

They open a door and enter a world.

Narnia...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins.

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia.

But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.A fully illustrated version of the most popular book in The Chronicles of Narnia, with glowing full page artwork and an abridged text for easier reading.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5?Lawrie has successfully translated Lewis's introductory volume of the "Chronicles of Narnia" (HarperCollins) into a kind of elegant, Edwardian comic book. The 17 chapters of the original have been reduced to 7. Remarkably, this is a true abridgement of Lewis's writing, with his words, particularly the dialogue, faithfully preserved. Only the name of the great wolf who serves the wicked queen has been changed. Neatly framed speech balloons vie for space with hand-printed sections of descriptive paragraphs. The large, parchment-colored pages burst exuberantly with colorful drawings of the four children and the animals they meet beyond the wardrobe. Each one is framed with decorative columns, vines, borders, or flowering plants, appropriate to the adventures they enclose. Something is lost, of course, in the use of pictures on a page rather than mental pictures produced by reading the novel. But children who might never be drawn to the full-length book will certainly be attracted to this charming, action-filled version, and, as often happens, readers of the abridged story may well turn to the original to recapture their delight.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis,was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1898. As a child, he was fascinated by the fairy tales, myths, and ancient legends recounted to him by his Irish nurse. The image of a faun carrying parcels and an umbrella in a snowy wood came to him when he was sixteen. Many years later, the faun was joined by an evil queen and a magnificient lion. Their story became The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. Six further Chronicles of Narnia followed, and the final title, The Last Battle, was awarded the United Kingdom's prestigious Carnegie Award.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Abridged edition (May 18, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064433994
• ISBN-13: 978-0064433990
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An undisputed classic, but very slightly dated., January 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: A Graphic Novel (Paperback)

It feels almost treacherous to rate this book with only 9 points. My father read the whole series out loud to us when we were children, and we loved every minute of it. In fact, I'm now reading it out loud to my fiancé, who is very taken by Mr Tumnus the faun. The book still has that magical quality to it; I can't fault the fantasy. The characters are believeable too, and yet... they have that slightly priggish air to them that English children of that era - and that class - did. One of the Narnia lines that sticks in my mind to this day describes Susan as "a bit of a wet blanket". It's very succinct, and yet this language is somehow so limiting. It fixes the four children firmly in an era and a social class which seem far more than 50 years behind us. They also become slightly predictable. Of course, that won't stop children from enjoying it, which of course is the acid test for any books of this kind. But the sometimes stilted language does make it difficult to read out loud in places. My father did it beautifully, partly because he was a wonderful reader, but also because he was brought up in that 'class' and only a little later than that time (2nd World War). Lewis can't be blamed for the breakneck pace at which the English language develops (in fact he wrote illuminating works on that very subject), but it does make his prose a little alienating. On the plus side, the Narnia series has more solid moral fibre than you will find in most children's literature these days. That is something that children instinctively respond to; it's the adults who worry about political correctness and say "life isn't that simple". Lewis gives his characters difficult situations to face, but he also gives them clear indications of how to face them. And I don't think you have to be a Christian to accept the moral world of Narnia, despite its directly Biblical structure (ie. Aslan as Christ, etc.). In brief: Lewis's language can sound dated, but his moral message and his humour are still vibrant

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, great message, March 3, 2009

By 

Aj B (McKinney, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: A Graphic Novel (Paperback)

Displaced by WWII, 4 young siblings are sent to stay at the house of an old professor's house to stay safe from air raids. Shortly into their stay, they discover a magical wardrobe that is a door into another world: Narnia. In Narnia, they help Aslan, a beautiful golden lion, defeat an evil witch that has taken over the land and conjured up an eternal winter.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a great children's story, but it is even more than that. In this allegorical tale, C.S. Lewis symbolized the Bible and the story of Jesus Christ. He masterfully intertwined a fun child's fantasy with with a much more meaningful story, making this a great read for children and adults alike. Lewis' stories of a mystical land have enthralled children for decades, and they still do today. This, along with the rest of the series, is a great read that is not only fun, but has a spiritual aspect that is a plus for older readers. It is definitely a must-read for all age groups.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction to Narnia, May 8, 2006

By 

Rocio A. Bates "Loving my little ones" (Rainy Northwest) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: A Graphic Novel (Paperback)

This illustrated version of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is a wonderful introduction to Narnia. The illustrations and words capture the beauty of C.S. Lewis' work of wonder for young readers or listeners.