Hey, everybody! Welcome back to Tumnus’ Bookshelf, where we review any and all books written by, about, and inspired by CS Lewis, The Land of Narnia, and The Inklings. For today’s review, we will be looking at the new picture book biography Through the Wardrobe: How CS Lewis Created Narnia by Lina Maslo.
TITLE: Through the Wardrobe: How CS Lewis Created Narnia.
AUTHOR/Illustrator: Lina Maslo.
PUBLISHER: Balzer + Bray ( An Imprint of Harper Collins.)
ISBN-10:0062798561
ISBN-13:978-0062798565
Summary:
The story of CS Lewis comes to life in a brand-new children’s picture book. Brilliantly written and beautifully illustrated, author Lina Maslo tells the story of CS Lewis from his boyhood in Ireland, his time in school and World War I and how he went on to write one of the most beloved children’s books of all time, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Along the way young readers will not only learn more about him, but be inspired to create worlds of their own.
Review:
While it’s true that when asked most children would say they’d love to be a doctor or a scientist or even a president, there is a good number who will say they want to be a writer. Whether it’s through a movie or as book they are quickly caught up in these amazing imaginary worlds and end up inspired to create their own. A parent or teacher may then wonder how to go about encouraging such a dream in a young person. Perhaps one of the more refreshing trends to emerge in children’s literature this year is the healthy number of books about important figures within a vast array of fields. Not only do these cover the usual explorers, inventors, scientist, or political figures, but more recently there’s been a good number focusing on such creative individuals as Walt Disney, JRR Tolkien, Stan Lee, and George Lucas. Lina Maslo, author of Free As a Bird: The Story of Malala has leant her skills as a writer, illustrator and researcher to bring the story of CS Lewis to life in a way that is perfect for young readers in her new book, Through the Wardrobe: How CS Lewis Created Narnia.
Right away she establishes the fact that all fans of Lewis know by heart: that he preferred to be called Jack, and thus refers to him as such throughout the book. It helps make for a much easier read for children then calling him “CS” or “Clive”. It also doesn’t sound as formal as calling him “Lewis” or “Professor Lewis” like an encyclopedia article or a scholarly paper, but rather like children are making a new friend. Sure enough, Maslo makes him feel like he could be a friend for a modern child despite the separation of almost a hundred years and different life circumstances. They come away feeling like Lewis was once a kid, just like them, who dealt with some of the same questions, struggles and dreams that they have.
One thing certain to impress older fans is that this book doesn’t shy away from some of the harder parts of Jack’s life, like the death of his mother, the abuse he dealt with in school, or his time serving in World War I. It would be easy for a lesser children’s book to skip over those parts and just focus on the fun parts. But when describing what the Narnia books are about, readers are reminded that the most difficult parts of life can be used to prepare you for who you are meant to be. The same was true for Jack’s life and readers come away appreciating it all the more.
At the end of the book there is also a summary of his full life story, and some fun trivia facts. For example, I was delighted and surprised to learn that the patron saint of Narni, Italy, the province that inspired the name of Narnia, happens to by named St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia. This and so many other wonderful morsels of knowledge are included and I spend even more time reading up on them long after I finished the book. The front and back covers even feature Lewis’ letters to children faithfully transcribed.
Her illustrations are delightfully charming, especially as we get the entire Narnia series described in a nutshell with at least one picture to accompany each story. While there have been attempts to adapt Narnia as a picture book series, they have never managed to do all seven, and until that day comes, this is a great primer for young readers. I would even love to see the full series done in Maslo’s art style.
One fun trend in children’s books is to feature a little “easter egg” character for readers to try and find on the pages. Fans young and old will be delighted to find the valiant mouse Reepicheep making his way through the story. He is sure to delight readers as much as he does in the Narnia books, helping eagled eyed children pay just a little closer attention as they read the story. My 21 month old goddaughter loved looking for him while I read the book to her while babysitting and would often point to him, and then ask me to read it again.
This is such a delightful book. It’s the kind I wish had been available when I was a kid and first knew I wanted to be a writer after hearing the Narnia books for the first time. It’s sure to inspire a new generation of writers to find their own voice as story tellers. Lina Maslo’s new book is a wonderful gift to NarniaFans of all ages and I can think of no better Christmas present for them then a copy of Through the Wardrobe: How CS Lewis Created Narnia.
Five out of Five Shields.
Buy the book from Amazon.com