SSR: August Book I Read

My goal this year was to read the Chronicles of Narnia by Christmas. As you might be able to tell, I'm off to a bit of a slow start. I did however, make a start I guess that means something. I read the first book in this wonderful series by C.S. Lewis just a few weeks ago and was floored by two things: creativity and imagery.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew

Summary: Digory and his friend Polly travel to the Wood between Worlds via Digory's half-crazy, magician man, uncle's yellow and green rings and end up in a world quite unlike the one they come from, called Charn. While there, Digory, as most young boys and girls would do, lets curiosity get to him. He frees the last ruler of Charn, Jadis, an evil queen. An insane adventure begins as the two children try to get rid of the queen and end up finding Aslan, a talking lion and creator of all things in Narnia but not all is well because the two children are not alone, the evil queen has come with them to the new land and threatens all the good things that Aslan has created.

After learning that Digory has brought Jadis to Narnia, Aslan sends him on a mission to get a magical apple. He uses the apple to grow a tree that will act as a shield of protection from Jadis for all the other peoples of Narnia. After seeing all that Aslan can do, Digory begs him to do something to save his mother, who is sick with an illness. From this new tree, Aslan gives Digory an apple so that he may go back home and give it to his mother. This apple is a special thing and it is hardly finished after curing Digory's mother, it grows into a beautiful tree and well, the rest is up to you to read.

Review:

I found this book charming and as I mentioned before, it was wonderfully filled with imagery and creativity. It left me wondering what would happen and at the same time revealed several worlds so completely it was like the book was really a movie playing itself out in my mind. Truly magnificent! Here's a quote from the book so you can begin to understand the richness of this text if you haven't read it.

"Things always work out according to their nature. She has won her heart's desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. But length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery and she already begins to know it. All get what they want; they do not always like it." -Aslan after Jadis has stolen an apple and eaten it for herself.

Recommendation:

There really isn't anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to. It can be a bit long winded for some really young children, but students in third grade and beyond could easily comprehend it. Beyond the imagery and creativeness, this book is frocked with morals from issues with stealing from others, to understanding how one person's actions can change the course of many other people's history. Truly a must read that I will definitely be reading again.