Product Description

When Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are sent to stay with a kind Professor who lives in the country, they can hardly imagine the extraordinary adventure that awaits them.

It all begins one rainy summer day when the children explore the Professor's rambling old house. When they come across a room with an old wardrobe in the corner, Lucy immediately opens the door and gets inside it. To her amazement, she suddenly finds herself standing in the clearing of a wood on a winter afternoon, with snowflakes falling through the air. Lucy has found Narnia, a magical land of fauns and centaurs, nymphs and talking animals-and the beautiful but evil White Witch, who has held the country in eternal winter for a hundred years.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has enchanted readers for fifty years and now, for the first time, will delight younger children as a picture book. With Christian Birmingham's illustrations providing an exquisite setting for the carefully abridged text, this book is set to become a classic in its own right.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #792974 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

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.

From AudioFile
The only thing better than exploring Narnia with your children is having Michael York do it with you. With his precise, but lively, British accent, he eases listeners into the mysterious world hidden behind the wardrobe. There the suspense and tension mount as Lucy meets Tumnus and Edmund the White Witch. With flawless accuracy York seems to sense the very timbre of the White Witch's horrible voice and the anguish of the kind faun, Mr. Tumnus. York knows, as well, how excited the children are at coming upon Mr. and Mrs. Beaver at the very moment the forest has become so mysterious and they need some sensible friends to help them; later still we hear the gentle power of Aslan, as well as his fury. Michael York gives to each an unforgettable vocal characterization that will surely live in our children's memories as the Grinch or Scrooge lives in ours. P.E.F. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

-- The New York Times
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is, in turn, beautiful, frightening, wise."

Customer Reviews

Through the wardrobe
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.

Interesting characters and still-fresh stories give "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" -- which was released awhile back as a movie -- a special ambience. Definitely worth reading.

Bah Humbug !
C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast in 1898. In 1916, he won scholarship to University College, Oxford. He was elected a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford in , working there as tutor in English Language and Literature for 29 years, before leaving for Magdalene College, Cambridge. He died in 1963, on the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Aldous Huxley died. "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", the first of his books to be set in Narnia, was originally published in 1950. Although it was the first book written in a series of seven, it isn't necessarily the best place to start - there are many who view "The Magician's Nephew" as the 'proper' starting point for the series.

The book opens during the Second World War and tells the story of four children evacuated from London. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie have been sent to live with an old Professor who lives deep in the countryside. Initially, the children hope their stay will involve a spot of bird watching and generally bothering the local wildlife. However, following some exploration indoors, those pesky kids discover a wardrobe that leads to another world called Narnia. Narnia is ruled by the evil Jadis, better known as the White Witch. Under her rule, it is always winter, but Christmas never comes. Luckily Aslan, a very powerful lion and the rightful King, is rumoured to be close and the children's presence seems to confirm the White Witch's time is nearly up. (An ancient prophecy mentions the two 'Sons of Adam' and two 'Daughters of Eve'). Unfortunately, Edmund - a sneaky little brat - likes Turkish Delight too much for everyone's good.

I did enjoy the book as a kid - however, unlike the Potter books I can't honestly see too many adults also enjoying it. It is very old fashioned - the writing is very similar to Enid Blyton's, which isn't something I like too much - while the ending (particularly the battle) was an anti-climax. It also suffers in comparison to Tolkien's books, where the writing is much less childish and which also have the benefit of a carefully designed fictional world. The Christian element is also present which will, no doubt, please some - while I didn't notice it as a kid, it's pretty clear reading the book as an adult. However, I can't help thinking this would've been a much better book if it hadn't been written as some sort of allegory.

Very entertaining

It is the classic conflict between Good and Evil. Four school children 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 Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" was so interesting and captivating that I read it in one day. It is one of my favourite books. After reading it I bought the other books in the series.
Another great new series that reminds me of Narnia series is "Why Some Cats are Rascals". I have just finished the first two books in the Rascal series and I am looking forward to the third one.