Blue-Footed Musings

I was in the middle of rereading C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia when I decided to do the new reading challenge, so I didn’t finish the series. I was looking forward to reading the others, too. Maybe I’ll come back to them later. For now, here’s my opinions on the first three. FYI, there may be spoilers ahead.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, A

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first book of the series and also the best. I love Lewis’s simple style. It’s easy to read and the story unfolds at a fast, but comfortable, pace. The idea of getting into a magical world by way of a wardrobe is wonderful. The main characters (Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter) are likable. The magical beings and creatures of Narnia, particularly Mr. Tumnus, the beavers, Aslan, and the White Witch, are all memorable. The Christian underpinnings of the series are not, IMHO, so obvious in this book. You don’t have to be Christian to enjoy it, and you can read it without feeling like you’re being preached at. Totally recommended.

Prince Caspian, A-

I don’t know why Prince Caspian isn’t as popular as TLTWATW. Maybe it’s because Lewis tore down so much of the world he had built in the first book. Thousands of years have gone by. The talking animals, centaurs, and other magical animals of Narnia are almost gone, virtually wiped out by the race of man. Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter are whisked back into Narnia to set things right.

The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader,” B+

This book was one of my favorites as a child. Have you ever seen a work of art so realistic that you can almost believe it’s real? You almost expect to feel the wind blowing or see something moving in the picture. That’s what happens in this book. The scene comes alive and the children are drawn in. What a great way to travel! Lucy and Edmund, along with their cousin Eustace, get into Narnia via a painting of a ship and there they join King Caspian on a voyage to the very end of the world. This is the first book in which the Christian elements become obvious. It spoils the ending of an otherwise fine tale, IMHO, but I still recommend the book because most of the stops on the journey are interesting.

This is a list of top 100 children’s books from the School Library Journal and which I got from my friend’s blog. The titles with links are ones I have read since the start of my blog.

100. The Egypt Game – Snyder (1967)
99. The Indian in the Cupboard – Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe – Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches – Dahl (1983)
95. Pippi Longstocking – Lindgren (1950)
94. Swallows and Amazons – Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn – Brink (1935)
92. Ella Enchanted – Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Sachar (1978)
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall – MacLachlan (1985)
89. Ramona and Her Father – Cleary (1977)
88. The High King – Alexander (1968)
87. The View from Saturday – Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1999)
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek – Wilder (1937)
84. The Little White Horse – Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief – Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three – Alexander (1964)
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman (2008)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family – Taylor (1951)
78. Johnny Tremain – Forbes (1943)
77. The City of Ember – DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust – Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog – Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers – Norton (1953)
73. My Side of the Mountain – George (1959)
72. My Father’s Dragon – Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning – Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy – Lovelae (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons – Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher – Coville (1991)
66. Henry Huggins – Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes – Stratfeild (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago – Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake – Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock – Keene (1959)
61. Stargirl – Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart – Funke (2003)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Aiken (1962)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars – Lowry (1989)
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins – Paterson (1978)
54. The BFG – Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows – Grahame (1908)
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)
51. The Saturdays – Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’Dell (1960)
49. Frindle – Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks – Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy – Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass – Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing – Blume (1972)
43. Ramona the Pest – Cleary (1968)
42. Little House on the Prairie – Wilder (1935)
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Speare (1958)
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum (1900)
39. When You Reach Me – Stead (2009)
38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Taylor (1976)
36. Are You there, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Blume (1970)
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling (2000)
34. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – Curtis (1995)
33. James and the Giant Peach – Dahl (1961)
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – O’Brian (1971)
31. Half Magic – Eager (1954)
30. Winnie-the-Pooh – Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising – Cooper (1973)
28. A Little Princess – Burnett (1905)
27. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass – Carroll (1865/72)
26. Hatchet – Paulsen (1989)
25. Little Women – Alcott (1868/9)
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods – Wilder (1932)
22. The Tale of Despereaux – DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightning Thief – Riordan (2005)
20. Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt (1975)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl (1964)
18. Matilda – Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee – Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh (1964)
15. Because of Winn-Dixie – DiCamillo (2000)
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit – Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game – Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth – Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery (1908)
8. The Secret Garden – Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes – Sachar (1998)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Koningsburg (1967)
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter #1 – Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle (1962)
1. Charlotte’s Web – White (1952)

Hooray! I have read more than half of the titles in the list and all but one of the top ten. I’d like to be able to say I’ve read all 100, though, so that is my new goal for the remainder of the year. Children’s books are fast and easy, so I don’t think this reading challenge will interfere with the Marplethon. Plus, I can skip any books that I’ve read before and don’t feel like reading again.

I just read The Secret Garden and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (review to come), so there’s no need to reread them now. I also read Harry Potter, Holes, and Anne of Green Gables within recent memory, so those I will also skip. Reviews on Charlotte’s Web, A Wrinkle in Time, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler are also soon to come, as I reread them right after seeing this list. I don’t have a copy of The Giver on hand. It is the only one of the top ten that I have never read. I’m going to borrow it from the library. In the meantime, I will move on to The Phantom Tollbooth. I don’t know if I finished that book when I read it before. I borrowed it from a friend, and I have a feeling I had to give it back to her before I was quite done with it. I guess I’ll know once I reread it.

I am also going to make a copy of this list on my Book Love page so that I can continue to add links as I post about the titles.