The Chronicles of Narnia

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Horse and His Boy
6. The Magician’s Nephew
7. The Last Battle

You may have noticed that we have the books listed in an order that is neither alphabetical, nor chronological. The reason for the order is this: the order in which Narnia is best experienced, is the order of publication, pure and simple.

If you have not read The Chronicles of Narnia books yet, please try reading them, first, in the original order. We promise, it isn’t confusing. You’ll be engrossed in the story as it’s happening. After that go ahead and read them in any order.

Here’s the original order, by publication:

Original Order
Released	Book Title	Current Numbering
1950	The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe	2
1951	Prince Caspian	4
1952	The Voyage of the Dawn Treader	5
1953	The Silver Chair	6
1954	The Horse and His Boy	3
1955	The Magician’s Nephew	1
1956	The Last Battle	7
The current numbering on the books:
1	The Magician’s Nephew
2	The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3	The Horse and His Boy
4	Prince Caspian
5	The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6	The Silver Chair
7	The Last Battle

In 1957 an American boy wrote C. S. Lewis to ask about the best order for reading The Chronicles of Narnia. The boy’s mother believed the books should be read in order of their publication, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But the boy thought it would be better to read them in order of Narnian history, beginning with the creation of the enchanted world in The Magician’s Nephew.

C. S. Lewis wrote back to the boy, saying, “I think I agree with your order for reading the books more than with your mother’s,” and soon afterward the publishers began to number them in this way. But Lewis, who had written bits and pieces of the books at different times, also noted that the order probably didn’t much matter: “I’m not even sure that all the [books] were written in the same order in which they were published.”
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/narnia-books.html