Here’s a hardbacked activity book that has the polished look and feel of a classic bedtime storybook. It covers all the stories in the Chronicles of Narnia series – but with a slight bias towards The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
It includes some lovely full-page illustrations from the 2005 film and activities including word searches, crosswords, dot-to-dot, pictures to colour and code-breaking.
I have to confess that I did find it slightly uncomfortable to let my seven-year-old loose with crayons and pencils on such a beautiful hardbacked book. But he had no such reservations and loved it.
There is enough reading to keep six to eight-year-olds challenged – and if you are buying for a child who’s a reluctant reader, the mix of things to do and things to read might motivate them.
Particularly impressive were the imaginative spin-off ideas such as thoughts around the evacuation of children in World War Two and some information about author CS Lewis with examples of real letters he wrote to young fans of his books. There is also a lovely idea for an activity based around film storyboarding.
Published by Harper Collins RRP £6.99
Reviewed by Elaine Pritchard, mother-of-two
Click to buy: The Chronicles of Narnia: Activity Book
