It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why this depiction was so great. He doesn’t normally get excited about homework! Lewis generously populates Narnia with unforgettable characters like Reepicheep the brave mouse, Mr. Tumnus the faun, Trufflehunter the badger, Trumpkin the dwarf, Hwin and Bree the noble horses, Prince Caspian, the Pevensie children, Jill and Eustace, and so many more. The people absolutely matter but the place reigns supreme, being transfixed until the very end. Dakotas lead U.S. in virus growth, reject mask rules. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? Granted, in either reading order, it takes awhile to reach the best book in the series, The Silver Chair, but with publication order, you at least get to lead off with a good book. It’s the sort of publishing thing that happens all the time, but for readers focused on following a writer’s development and reading books in the order that they’re written, well—publication order isn’t the best way to do that for the Narnia series. And it is no surprise the lion Aslan has a key role in most of it since he is representative of the many faces and complexities of God. Read in publication order, so that you can read along as Lewis starts discovering this world—a world that can be reached if you just find the right sort of wardrobe. Originally posted by Rhiannon I think the publishing order is the only proper order to read anything in, because that's the order in which the author concieved them. Written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954 and illustrated by Pauline Baynes, The Chronicles of Narniahave been adapted many times, for radio, television, stage, and cinema. Perhaps that is best reserved for a future article. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. They really embellish in the movie. Everyone should love Narnia. And C.S. His eyes were wide in creativity and imagination. I say this, because in later rereads, I did try to read the Narnia books in chronological order. One final thought. Why you should read The Chronicles of Narnia Narnia is the perfect lockdown series for entertainment and edification! So, dear friends, “come further up, come further in!”. And yet the story never loses momentum and the reader never loses interest. We think that is not a good thing. I live in Ashland City, TN.I am a happily married father of three children. Maybe. This is all-important, but to many Jesus remains somewhat detached. All from his imagination. I have been a student at Welch College in Nashville and at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. Even so, we think these are enough to convince just about anyone. Don’t get me wrong. Here are the reasons: 1. And lots of people like to start a story at the very beginning. Maybe I should check out The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from the library. Tolkien. I previously served for 17 years as the associate bilingual pastor at Northwest Community Church in Chicago. For more of my thoughts on the series, check out my review here. The most obvious is that readers tend to appreciate continuity but Lewis rejects it, at least in part. We can picture in our minds the cold winter of the White Witch, and we laugh at the antics of the beavers. Im 14 and i love the movies but i dont know if im to old to read the books. I read the books to the boys in the last few years. It is excellent literature with amazing characterization, plotting, pacing, dialogue, humor, and at least a dozen other things. Just as we have mentioned a few times, these are only five of the numerous reasons you should read this wonderful series. Dissecting The Dynasty: Alabama and Its Historic Championship Culture, Virtues That Social Media Kills That We Desperately Need Right Now, Four Fantastic Biographies I Read This Year, The Top 100 Christian Rock Albums (1980-2019): Part Five, My Seven Favorite Versions of “Little Drummer Boy”, Five Times The Lord of the Rings Makes Me Cry, One last beautiful gift of insanity from the incredible mind of Benjamin Lloyd Plunkett, Rambling Ever On Pays Tribute to Clarence Lewis, Rambling Ever On Pays Tribute To Steve Lytle. Poe becomes first Cowboy to kneel during anthem As someone who has been known to start series smack in the middle—with both books and television shows—I tend to be a bit agnostic on the question of “what order should I read/watch these in?” With three exceptions: Legends of Tomorrow, which everyone, without exception, should start in the second season, only tackling the first season much, much later after getting a chance to realize that these characters can actually be fun. I haven't read either yet, but I want to know which one would be more enjoyable or worth reading … reply | flag * message 28: by Angie (new) Mar 31, 2008 03:13PM. You need to have read both The Magician's Nephew and TL,TW,ATW in order to understand The Last Battle, but TLB comes last in both orderings. But it still earns its place alongside the classic of classics. You should read The Chronicles of Narnia because it does something similar fantasy epics do not–it tells a marvelous, timeless cohesive story over several installments, but with the main characters constantly changing. The Chronicles of Narnia was introduced to the world in 1950 by way of the first book in the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. I don’t want my kids to only see the utilitarian world around them and think that’s all there is. I was a little surprised I had not realized the book was geared towards adolescents. In The Horse and His Boy, which, again, takes place during The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we find out that just south of Narnia—no more than a couple of days riding on horseback, is an entire empire filled with humans. Just some off the top of my head. Who could ever forget a character as fascinating and hilariously pessimistic as Puddleglum the Marshwiggle? 9 years ago. A world with giants. Maybe Lewis’s experiences in losing his mother at a young age or brutality he faced as a soldier in World War I gave him a deeper perspective most of us don’t have. Maybe we’ll do a Five on that topic down the road…. There is something special that happens when a child hears a good story. Historians have told us about who Jesus was. Louise November 28, 2018 at 12:38 pm. Narnia itself is enough, though Aslan making regular (albeit at times very brief) appearances does help. The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. Beyond all the other great reasons to read these wonderful books, the characters alone will pull you back again and again. Greetings from the booming metropolis that is Pleasant View, Tennessee. And although reading in publication order does mean contending with Prince Caspian fairly early on, starting with The Magician’s Nephew means beginning with another weak link in the series. So, Lawrence wrote a letter to the author and received this response: One sign of a great writer is their ability to create and develop varied and complex characters. And reading these books in chronological order just spotlights how inconsistent they are. A classic of children's literature, it is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 41 languages. Ann, you should try Eragon and Eldest by Chris Paolini. YOU SHOULD READ THE BOOKS ABOUT NARNIA. Just trust us, it’s better that way. The Horse and His Boy is not just set in the last few pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but was also written before The Silver Chair, despite being published afterwards. How fun it is to share them with your children. My wife, Kayla, and I have been married five years and have a 1-year old son, Liam Erasmus. A Forum of Ice and Fire A Song of Ice and Fire & Game of Thrones You don't really understand what Narnia is like unless you read this book. So while other classics focus on a small group of heroes that we journey with from start to finish, Narnia bucks that trend. Most people agree that was a very good thing. However, the story of Narnia is popular in our house. Lewis created dozens of iconic characters with his seven-book masterpiece. I have witnessed several people who read the HP books at the height of their popularity then read Narnia, and their discomfort was plain as they sought to deal with the cognitive dissanonce created by the mental comparisons, given the superficial similarities between the two. But he’s good. Should the Narnia books be read in chronological order or publication order? And then—only then—read how it was created, right before you read how it ends. Fact-checking Trump's recent torrent of falsehoods. I'm looking for another series to read and I'm decided whether I should read Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia. Relevance. The books in this collection may be written for children or young adults but may also appeal to adults. A world that in many ways resembles a dream, what with the talking animals and the inexplicable sewing machines and the parcels apparently just purchased by a Faun in a land that seemingly has no stores—but is, the author assures you, quite quite real. Chronologically, (as they would happen in the world of Narnia), the books go: 1 - The Magician's Nephew. © Rambling Ever On, 2015 - Present. 2 - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. Lewis hadn’t thought of them yet. Your email address will not be published. i want to read the Narnia books, but I don't know which order I should read them, what order do you reckon is the best and why ?