Storyline: 4 Stars
It has been many years since I read the Chronicles of Narnia, which is why I wanted to reread them. They were like I remembered, but also different than I remembered now that I am an adult.
I enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia, and it is definitely better than the other C.S. Lewis series I read, The Space Trilogy. The story telling and characters were better. It is definitely still a classic children’s book series!
The one critique is that the books are vastly different, and I would say that they are vastly different in quality. Some of the books are fantastic, like The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew. Some of them are just okay, and some are not that great. I read them in publication order instead of chronological order, but I don’t think it entirely matters which order they are read.
Parental Guidance: 90% Recommend
The Chronicles of Narnia is a classic that is for children. For the most part, the books are clean and appropriate for children. I would recommend it 90% of the time to people.
There is violence in the books, but it is not graphic and it happens quickly. It is children appropriate. In the first books there were no swear words, but as the series went on, the word “*ss” was used. Sometimes it referred to a donkey, but characters also called each other that as an insult.
There is also some older language that could be considered offensive or confusing today because of the difference in culture. There are not many, but it is worth noting.
Read Book Chat
*Spoilers Ahead*
I do like The Chronicles of Narnia, but it was very different reading it as an adult instead of being a child. I caught on to a lot of the language and plot devices more.
I think the part that was the most irritating to me was that because The Magician’s Nephew was not written until later, all the lore about that story is not mentioned through any of the books until The Last Battle. In books it is even said that no one knows how the Lone Islands became part of Narnia, but in The Last Battle one of the Narnian’s tells the story like it is no problem. Plus, Narnians in the first books could barely remember what it was like before the White Witch, but again, in the last book it was easy for the Narnians to tell about the stories before the White Witch. It is probably a ridiculous pet peeve, but it did bother me a little.
Other than that, I am sure the series will continue to be a classic that is read to and by children.
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