The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia Series #1) »

C. S. Lewis was famous both as a fiction writer and as a Christian thinker, and scholars sometimes divide his personality in two. Yet a large part of Lewis's appeal, for both his audiences, lay in his ability to fuse imagination with instruction. "Let the pictures tell you their own moral," he once advised writers of children's stories. "But if they don't show you any moral, don't put one in."

Narnia. . .where the woods are thick and cool, where Talking Beasts are called to life. . .a new world where the adventure begins.

Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to. . .somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis, before they finally return home.

Digory and Polly discover a secret passage that links their houses and are tricked into vanishing out of this world and into the World of Charn, where they wake up the evil Queen Jadis. There, they witness the creation of the Land of Narnia as it is sung into being by the Great Lion, Aslan.

Children's Literature

Young Digory and Polly explore the attic on a summer afternoon and find the magical way to Narnia in this, the story wherein that mythical land is created. Digory has moved to London and is staying with his Uncle Andrew and Aunt Letty because his mother is deathly ill. After he meets Polly and the new friends decide to explore the upper stories in the attached homes, they happen upon Uncle Andrew's study and find magic rings able to transport them to other worlds. They are threatened by the evil Witch, watch as the Lion rules his world and bring home the Apple of Life to cure Digory's mother. The apple core is buried in the back garden, resulting in a tree, and the wood for that tree later is made into the Wardrobe, setting the stage for other stories. This deluxe version, handsomely illustrated, would make a fine gift and introduce young readers to the entire series, "The Chronicles of Narnia." 2001 (orig. 1955), HarperCollins, $24.95. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Carolyn Mott Ford