The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Bibliographic Info: Lewis, C.S. (1994). The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Illus. Pauline Baynes. New York, New York: HarperCollinsPublishers.

Annotation: In this book, part of a series, four siblings discover a magical land behind a door in a large wardrobe. The door leads them to Narnia and as time seems to stand still in "reality" they spend endless time battling the white witch who has brought eternal winter to the land.

Genre: Children's fantasy/adventure

Grade Level: 6-8

Readers who will like this book: It is a big book, so readers who do not get distracted easily and enjoy adventure and fantasy. Advanced readers may like this book at an earlier age.

Personal Response: I enjoy the Narnia series and after going back to the book, have solidified that the books are always far better than any movies made after them! I love adventure/fantasy books and this one does not disappoint. It keeps readers enthralled from beginning to end. I rate this book at a 3, it may be too intense for some younger readers.

A question you would ask before reading (assigning): Do you ever wish you could escape reality once in awhile and be able to return to it undisturbed?

Reading Strategies Connection:
a.) Character Webs
b.) Character webs allow children to identify key characters and their traits using examples from the text as evidence. Webbing can lead to heightened comprehension and learning and draws children deeper into the text while looking for supporting examples.
c.) This strategy would be useful for this text because there are numerous characters to keep track of. Having the character webs on hand while reading will help the reader follow along more closely and they will be able to comprehend the events in the book at a greater level. It also encourages children to pay close attention to detail when they are reading so they can accurately record what happens with each character.