dipping in to the Chronicles of Narina

[bluedolphin]

Egged on by previous post am wondering about dipping in to see what it is all about....wonder could someone tell me where to start to get a good understanding...will be dipping in to see if suitable for 9year old.

[zgma]

It's perfect for a 9 year old. It's a series of fantasy books for kids - very imaginative and also easy to read. I read and re-read them as a kid.

[woofgang]

very suitable for nine years and I loved them...strong religeous analogy background which may not accord with your personal views

[lizw]

they are fabulous for 9 year olds and I don't think they really get the religious background - once you get on to the Last Battle that becomes more apparent as the children actually leave the world to go to Narnia (I won't give it away) but my kids have just seen them as hugely entertaining fantasy/adventure stories.

[Moonhead]

Really great books :) And I didnt "get" the religious theme to them until re-reading them again as an adult, so I'm sure your 9 year old will just enjoy the fantasy world-ness :)

[LeMarchand]

A great series that stands up to repeated readings (I've read it at least twice as an adult). As previously stated, lots of Christian allegory, but (again, as previously stated) it all went over my head as a kid. Apart from that, I can see no reason why anyone would find them unsuitable. I'd recommend doing them in chronological order - ie "The Magician's Nephew" first - though the second book (the first written and the most well-known), "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", will give you a better idea of the Christian philosophy. If the child starts reading the books now, s/he will be able to boast that s/he read the books long before the movie (filming at this moment).

[lizw]

another series of books well worth reading for this age group (if they are still published) is the Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper - they enthralled me - well worth a read. My Dad became addicted them one rainy holiday in Scotland when there was nothing left to read!

[lizw]

In fact read this and it explains more: http://www.greenmanreview.com/dark_is_rising.html

[bernardo]

Ditto to all the above. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was one of my favourite books when I was 8. I recently discovered that my mother hadn't ever read it, so I ordered her to read it, and she thought it was brilliant as well. Don't take any notice of the "Christian analogy" theme - I never had any idea that such a theme in the book even existed until someone pointed it out to me when I was 20-something.

[DOB]

Yeah, the books are fantastic esp The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe. I never knew there were religious undertones until about 25 seconds ago when I read woofgang's answer.

[Jackanory]

The Chronicles of Narnia comprise the following 7 books: The Magician's Nephew The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe The Horse and his Boy Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawntreader The Silver Chair and The Last Battle Enjoy!

[woofgang]

isn't that interesting. I picked up the religeous theme at once, aged about eight. It didn't bother me and actually added to my interest in the books, leading me to read the screwtape letters and the mars trilogy. Not saying its either a good or a bad thing, and it certainly adds to the power and depth of the books, but do feel that for a nine year old, esp in our multicultural society, parents should be aware of the theme