The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Genre: Fantasy Fiction/Novel
Age Range: 7 and up
Summary: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the story of four children who are sent to the country to avoid the bombing of London during the Second World War. While exploring the professor’s large home, they discover a wardrobe in an empty room. Lucy, the youngest, stays to examine the wardrobe and on stepping into it, discovers herself in an ancient wood and a lamppost. Venturing out, she runs into a faun with the torso and head of a man and the lower body of a faun. The faun invites her home to tea and tells her stories and plays a tune for her on the flute. When Lucy insists that she must go back, the faun begins to cry and explains that in Narnia, it is always winter but never Christmas, and that he is a kidnapper for the White Witch, who controls Narnia, waiting for the Daughters of Eve and Sons of Adam to come to Narnia and fulfill the prophecy. The faun finds that he cannot turn Lucy over to the White Witch, and she returns to the house in the country, finding that although she seemed to have been gone a long time, no time had passed in England. Later that night, Edmund, not quite believing Lucy’s tale, goes through the wardrobe and is found by the White Witch herself. She treats him to magical Turkish Delight, a magical candy that makes him greedy and selfish. The White Witch makes Edmund feel very special and convinces him to return through the wardrobe and bring his sisters and brother. The four return to Narnia and Lucy suggests that they go to see the faun. They find his home destroyed and that the faun has been arrested for treason for helping Lucy. Feeling guilty about the faun’s fate, Lucy convinces them to try to find the faun. In the midst of their quest, Edmund steals away as a traitor to report them to the White Witch and earn the reward she has promised him. At the castle, he finds the courtyard full of statues in odd postures, and while not made a statue himself, is taken prisoner and punished for not bringing his siblings. Meanwhile, Lucy, Susan and Peter meet other animals who help them and tell them if they can only find Aslan the lion, he will know how to help them. The presence of the Daughters of Eve and the Sons of Adam that have been foretold so long causes all of the good creatures to amass together to fight the White Witch, with Peter as the commanding general. The White Witch demands that Edmund be killed, and Aslan sacrifices himself in Edmund’s place. Although the White Witch has killed Aslan, being an innocent victim who willingly sacrificed himself, her dark magic is overcome by an even older magic, and Aslan returns to life, goes to the castle and brings all the statues back to life, then arrives on the battlefield just when it seems all is lost. The added strength of the creatures who were statues and the joy at seeing Aslan alive give Peter’s army just the boost it needs, and the White Witch is defeated. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are crowned kings and queens over the land of Narnia. After reigning peacefully for many years, suddenly they find themselves by the lamppost again, and although they do not really remember their former life, they feel themselves compelled to return through the wardrobe, where they find that no time has passed and they are once again schoolchildren in Britain during the War. It is said that The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is an allegorical re-telling of the life of Jesus. Aslan’s death and rebirth being the most obvious, alluding to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Edmund, the traitor, is redeemed from his sin of greed and selfishness by Aslan’s sacrifice, and is welcomed by his siblings without resentment. Thus, it is also a moral tale, where good triumphs over evil and sinners can repent and be forgiven.