The Magician’s Nephew by C S Lewis

 click on image to find on Amazon

2008, first published 1955  

fluent reader,  ages 9-11,  upper primary, classic, Lewis C S, classic, Narnia, fantasy, Christian,  

Digory’s strange uncle works away in his attic study. As Digory plays with Polly, a neighbour, they find their way into his uncle’s study.  Uncle Andrew has been dabbling with magic. Digory and Polly get involved and find themselves being transported to other worlds.  Because of Digroy’s curiosity, they manage to wake a witch whom they accidentally take with them first to their own world and then to the birth of Narnia.

Digory wonders whether the magical properties of Narnia can help save his dying mother.  But Aslan points out to him that he has already brought evil to the land of Narnia.  Aslan sends him on a mission to recover a fruit that will grow into a tree that will protect Narnia to some extent. The witch tempts him to return to his own world and use the fruit on his mother.

He resists this temptation as he knows he has already caused some problems in Narnia. His reward is that he does get to take some fruit home which cures his mother but does not make her immortal as it has the witch.  She only eats a small slice of it.  

He plants the rest of the fruit in the garden.  The tree grows rapidly and seems to have a connection with Narnia.  One day, by the time he is quite an old man, it falls down in a storm.  He makes a wardrobe from it.  We all know which one!

Christian symbolism is here as in all of the Narnia stories.  We have a creation story.  There is the fight between good and evil.  Digory is tempted by the witch to use the fruit for his own purposes.   

Polly’s role is understated. She does support Digory throughout even though at times there is tension between them.     

The book is in blocked text and uses an adult font.  A few illustrations are peppered throughout it. Though this is the first Narnia story chronologically it was the fifth and penultimate to be written.  The language in this one is very engaging and C S Lewis really communicates with his reader.             

What We're Scared Of by Keren David

 

 

 2021

Evie and Lottie are non-identical twins.  They are completely different from each other.  Evie is funny, small, “zaftig” (Yiddish word for chubby) and goes to the local comp. She has quite a following as a stand-up comic. Lottie, is tall, slim, asthmatic, and possibly has an eating disorder but this is understated in the text.  She is clever and goes to a fee-paying school. Their mother is Jewish but is not a practising Jew nor is at all religious.

They start to confront their Jewishness when their mother brings back an old school friend and her son Noah.   Sarah an d Noah have moved from Paris because Noah and his father were attacked for being Jewish, Noah stays with the twins and the family for a while.

Meanwhile, Lottie befriends another Jewish girl at her school.  Hannah introduces Lottie to more formal aspects of the Jewish way of life.  

Their mother mentions what has happened to Sarah and Noah on her radio show.  She is immediately trolled and starts to receive hate mail.

Both girls ae put in danger because they are Jewish.  

They meet a Holocaust survivor who encourages them to “Seize opportunities” and “celebrate the good times” p300.

The text is blocked and in adult font.  It is 300 pages long. The acknowledgments at the end of the book tell us a little about David’s research. There is also a short biography of the author at the end.            

FIND COPY HERE 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

Prince Caspian by C S Lewis

 

2009, first published 1951  

Edmond, Lucy, Peter and Susan are summoned to Narnia again.  It happens as they are sitting on station platform waiting for the train that will take them to their boarding schools.  Already boarding school is an exotic concept for many 21st century readers.  Prince Caspian, who should rightfully be the king of Narnia, has used Susan’s hunting horn to call them.

Years and years have passed since they were last in Narnia. The castle where they used to reign is in ruins. Narnia is in trouble again. The talking animals and moving trees are not visible. The current king, Caspian’s uncle, dismissed the history as fairy tales. He is not too worried that Caspian will become king after his death but then he and his wife have a baby and Caspian becomes a threat. Caspian’s life is now in danger.

His tutor rescues him.  He warns him of the danger and helps him to flee.  After the children are summoned, they have to help him to regain his kingdom.  They are aided by Aslan.

The story borders on science fiction.  The humans who now inhabit Narnia actually came from our world, the world to which the children will return.  Aslan warns that Peter and Susan will no longer be able to come back to Narnia as they have become too old. Time behaves oddly: only a few month have lapsed in our world whereas centuries have gone by n Narnia. In our world they are children.  In Narnia they are more grown up and able to take responsibility.

The book is 240 pages long, in blocked text and using an adult font. There is a map at the front of the book and a few illustrations peppered throughout it.          

The Power of her Pen by Lesa Cline-Ransome and John Para

 click on image to find a copy

2020   

This is the story of the ground-breaking journalist, Ethel L. Payne.  We read about how she became a journalist and of how she reported some very important events.  She had to assert herself in a world  that was less tolerant of working women and of black people.

The text is beautifully illustrated.

The book struggles a little with its identity. The text is too dense for the normal pre-school consumer of picture books. The subject matter probably requires the reader to be at least eight years old thought this reader would not need  or appreciate pictures.   

There is also a lot of extra information at the end of the book, including a note form the author, a bibliography and suggested further reading.

This non-fiction book may be very useful for a child who would like to complete a project on Ethel L Payne or who is working on a larger project and women in a man’s world.  

The text uses an adult font but is formatted ragged right.  

The Proudest Blue Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali, Hatem Aly

 

2020

emergent readers, Key Stage 1,  pre-school, picture book, ages 4-6, Muhammad Ibtihaj, Ali  S KL, Aly Hatem,  bullying, prejudice, otherness

Asiya, her sister and mother go to the shop to buy Asiya her first grown-up hijab. Previously she has only worn one for special occasions and then gradually at school if she has no sports lessons. Now she must start wearing one all the time.  Her mother wants her to have a pink one but she chooses a vibrant blue one.     

The story is told form the point of view of her younger sister who is very proud of her sibling in her new hijab. Unusually the story for this reader the story is told in a first person narrative. Asiya’s younger sister makes the comparison between the hijab and themselves; the blue is how the ocean meets the sky and in the same way that there is no line between her and her sister. One day others will understand the hijab. There is some bullying and lack of understanding but the two girls stay strong.  

The text is not too dense. It is printed in an adult but large font.  There is information about the writers and the illustrators at the back and also a note from Ibithaj Muhammad, an Olympic fencer. Muhmmad describes her experience of wearing a hijab and what it means to her.