The Pevensies turn seventy-seven-sies.
Does the back of your closet open up into a magical fantasy world? No? Are you absolutely sure? I’ll wait here while you go check.
The British author C.S. Lewis knew this was a powerful idea. What if our real, sometimes boring world was connected to another, stranger world where witches, talking lions, and fauns (creatures who are half-man, half-goat) existed? What if you could enter that world from the comfort of your home? Would you go, even if it was dangerous? Or stay home where you knew you would be safe?
On October 16, 1950, Lewis published the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, which explored that very idea. Titled The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the book follows a young girl who travels through a wardrobe (which is basically, a big wooden box for holding clothes) and into a magical world.
If you only know one Narnia story, this is probably the one. The book was turned into a movie in 2005. It was a big success, and it’s easy to see why. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a great introduction to fantasy for kids. It is often referred to as a “portal fantasy” because its main characters travel through a portal, or doorway, from the Earth we know to a Narnia we’ve never visited. Other classic fantasy books like The Hobbit are aimed at kids, too, but Narnia starts where kids already live: the normal world.
Lewis started working on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as early as 1939. In 1947, he wrote: “I have tried [to write a children’s story] myself, but it was, by the unanimous verdict of my friends, so bad that I destroyed it.” He was probably talking about an earlier version of his first Narnia story.
The version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that the public eventually read went on to be a big success. Lewis incorporated the world around him into the book, too. He set it during World War 2, when British children had to leave London to escape the war.
The Narnia books have been adapted several times, most famously as that series of films I saw as a kid. But the Narnia books have also been made into plays, TV shows, and video games. The seven books were published in this order:
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- Prince Caspian
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- The Silver Chair
- The Horse and His Boy
- The Magician’s Nephew
- The Last Battle
Greta Gerwig who co-wrote and directed 2023’s Barbie movie is taking a crack at the series next. Her adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew (the book set earliest in the series’ timeline) is due out early next year.
Like the wardrobe in the book, reading is a portal to another world. At the DeKalb Public Library, we can help you find The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, plus all the other books in the series, too. If that doesn’t sound exciting, let us know what kind of books you like, and we can help you find those instead. Choose your own portal!
Give us a call at 815-756-9568 ext. 3350 or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions!