A few weeks ago, I took my niece Hannah to see Prince Caspian. (Rusty didn't want to see it). It was a great movie and I thought they did an excellent job with it. I had seen the first one (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) when it came out with my class at the time. I had read the book to my students during school and then arranged to meet them at the movie theaters to see it together. Amazingly, before that year, I had never read any of the Narnia books. I know, who goes through childhood not having read them? Especially the kind of reader I was. I know we had the books at home, but for some reason they just didn't appeal to me.
So after seeing Prince Caspian with Hannah, I thought, "I should read the whole series". So I began! I read The Magician's Nephew, which describes how Narnia becomes connected with our world in the first place. (The magician's nephew is the Professor in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). The Professor actually brings the White Witch accidentally with him to Narnia. He, and the people traveling with him, witness the birth of Narnia.
This series was written by a Christian author who disguises Christian idealogy in his stories. The first book is about the Creation. The second is about Christ's sacrifice. The third book (The Horse and His Boy) is about a journey home, life I guess? The fourth, Prince Caspian, is another about good vs. evil. And the fifth, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is about finding where God lives. I haven't read the last two yet.
Ok, here's my opinion. I think they are great kids books. And the Christian ideology is not obvious. I had to point out the connection to Hannah because she didn't get it on her own. They're good stories with a good message in each of them. I don't know if it's because I'm reading them as an adult or what, but I found the language to be lacking. I don't think C.S. Lewis was all that great in his descriptions of characters, setting or plot. They're very simply written. For kids, this is a good thing! It's also a good thing for the movie makers, because they can imbellish the story and make it even better. (For example, I thought Prince Caspian the movie was better than the book. And I never think the movie is better than the book!)
All in all, I'd recommend the series as one kids should read, and maybe families should read together. There are a lot of discussion abilities in each book. For example, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a character gets turned into a dragon by mistake. The dragon has to shed his skin, and Eustace doesn't know how to do it, so he gently takes off a layer. Aslan (God) tells him to do it again. He does it about 5 times before Aslan finally goes to Eustace and does it for him. He digs his lion claws deep into the skin and pulls it off. It's painful at first, but Eustace feels so much better afterwards. So, what do you think this is referring to? What was C.S. Lewis trying to share by this scene? I won't give it away, but I'll let you think about it!
Let me know if you've read these books and your thoughts! Thanks for reading!
Nancy
So after seeing Prince Caspian with Hannah, I thought, "I should read the whole series". So I began! I read The Magician's Nephew, which describes how Narnia becomes connected with our world in the first place. (The magician's nephew is the Professor in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). The Professor actually brings the White Witch accidentally with him to Narnia. He, and the people traveling with him, witness the birth of Narnia.
This series was written by a Christian author who disguises Christian idealogy in his stories. The first book is about the Creation. The second is about Christ's sacrifice. The third book (The Horse and His Boy) is about a journey home, life I guess? The fourth, Prince Caspian, is another about good vs. evil. And the fifth, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is about finding where God lives. I haven't read the last two yet.
Ok, here's my opinion. I think they are great kids books. And the Christian ideology is not obvious. I had to point out the connection to Hannah because she didn't get it on her own. They're good stories with a good message in each of them. I don't know if it's because I'm reading them as an adult or what, but I found the language to be lacking. I don't think C.S. Lewis was all that great in his descriptions of characters, setting or plot. They're very simply written. For kids, this is a good thing! It's also a good thing for the movie makers, because they can imbellish the story and make it even better. (For example, I thought Prince Caspian the movie was better than the book. And I never think the movie is better than the book!)
All in all, I'd recommend the series as one kids should read, and maybe families should read together. There are a lot of discussion abilities in each book. For example, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a character gets turned into a dragon by mistake. The dragon has to shed his skin, and Eustace doesn't know how to do it, so he gently takes off a layer. Aslan (God) tells him to do it again. He does it about 5 times before Aslan finally goes to Eustace and does it for him. He digs his lion claws deep into the skin and pulls it off. It's painful at first, but Eustace feels so much better afterwards. So, what do you think this is referring to? What was C.S. Lewis trying to share by this scene? I won't give it away, but I'll let you think about it!
Let me know if you've read these books and your thoughts! Thanks for reading!
Nancy
2 comments:
I love that you've started this blog! Especially if it's about books! I can always use a good suggestion. Your book club sounds fantastic.
I'm going to reread the Narnia series as soon as my neighbor returns my anthology to me - they're all so good!
I'm so glad you started blogging- and that your picture has my kids in it!! I'm glad you'll be posting about your books, but who knows- it may turn to babies!!!
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