The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set: Full-Color Collector's Edition

In my new book, PASSPORT TO NARNIA: A NEWCOMER'S GUIDE, I try to put to rest the controversy about the order in which the books should be read, and for good reason: Lewis himself did not write these books as an interlocking whole, as did Tolkien (THE LORD OF THE RINGS) and J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter novels). Lewis wrote that he wrote the books as they occurred to him, which is why he himself had no preference in which the books SHOULD be read. My contention is that the important thing is to READ these novels, not worry about the reading order. Besides, HarperCollins, his publisher, has made a decision to publish the books with THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW first, followed by THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE because, as is stated on the copyright page of the one volume hardback & paperback editions, "Although THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW was written several years after C.S. Lewis first began THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, he wanted it to be read as the first book in the series. HarperCollins is happy to present these books in the order in which Professor Lewis preferred. Regarding the seven novels themselves and their readability: Great books come from great writers who can not only are outstanding storytellers but also offer more than mere diversion: Lewis, a celebrated scholar, teacher, writer, and popularizer of the Christian faith, was a literary giant; and when we read the Chronicles of Narnia, we see the world filtered through his worldview. The books and the writer are in this case inseparable; the books come from the writer and are deep expressions of his humanity, his views on courage and sacrifice and honor, which are at the heart of these seven novels. Having sold 85 million copies since 1950 (when the first book in the series was published), you can rest assured that the books have stood the test of time, entertaining and illuminating five generations of readers. The only complaint I have about this boxed set is that the production values are mismatched: the covers are gorgeously printed, but the interiors use very cheap pulp paper, with blotty ink printing that obscures not only the text but the wonderful Pauline Baynes artwork. Since mass market paperbacks are routinely printed on pulp paper, the problem here seems to be the presswork: The over-inking of these pages obscures the printing of the text and obliterates the artwork. Since the one volume editions are issued from the same publisher, with readable text and no glaring deficiencies in the presswork, I hope that the publisher takes the time to correct what is otherwise a handsome, affordable, boxed edition. A few comments about the forthcoming movie: the trailer looks wonderful and captures the sense of wonder that is Narnia. Early reviews are positive and, from all indications, Disney Pictures has a winner of a film and the beginnings of a major, new franchise. To my mind, the best thing about the movie is that it will prompt a certain number of people to go into the bookstores and look for the principal texts; I came to the Narnia books late in life, but reading them did what good fiction is supposed to do: Those books took me out of this world and into C.S. Lewis's wonderful and enchanting world of Narnia, and isn't THAT what superb storytelling is all about? Bottom line: Despite my reservations about the printing of the interiors of these books, this is the edition of choice because of its price and portability. If you haven't read these books, now is the time to start: After December 9, when the film is released, everyone will be rushing to the bookstore to see what is next. I look forward to the film release and also look forward to re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia again, just as soon as I finish re-reading Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS from cover to cover (including the appendices).

Each of these books gives a look at Christ (Aslan) and through fascinating stories Lewis makes profound truths and theological insights that most wrestle with and makes them clear and evident in layman’s terms through masterful storytelling and allusions to scripture

It's nice to come back to a series that you read a long time ago and find that it's still just as good as you remembered. That is The Chronicles of Narnia. Each one could be read on its own (and I have in the past) or in the order suggested by the book. The extra writing was a surprise and treat. Now, how many will understand the English of mid 20th century.

Here again, wonderful children's books. Subject matter very acceptable.

(Written by my 9 year old daughter) I like the books because they have adventure. I have read all of the books except for 2/3 of the Horse and His Boy and all of the Last Battle. I like reading the stories. My favorite is the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The series is about this place called Narnia. Children from England go to Narnia and they all meet Aslan, the lion King of Narnia. ***BOOK 1 SPOILER ALERT -- THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE*** In the first book, he actually gets killed, but then he comes back to life and turns a whole bunch of stone statues that a witch made from real creatures back into creatures. They all go fight and defeat the witch.

Great product and customer service, thank you!

The story and more in an affordable set that will serve to introduce others to the wisdom of C.S. Lewis.

Katelyn went above and beyond to deliver this set to me. The price was great and the customer service exemplary. I would totally recommend her to all.

Fue un regalo para mi mejor amiga y está muy contenta con las ediciones, principalmente por lo compactas que son.

Hasarsız geldi, kitaplar çok güzel

My son, aged 10, enjoyed reading the series as he found the storyline interesting.

海外ドラマやYouTubeを英語字幕をつけて見れば，言ってること完璧にはわかんないけどメッセージはほぼ完全に汲み取れる程度の英語力です。 思春期〜大人向けのエッセイや小説（ハリーポッターなど）ではわからない単語がかなりの頻度で出てくるため，辞書を開きながらでないと読めません。かと言って子供の頃に誰もが聞いたおとぎ話（不思議の国のアリス）はあまりにも面白みがなさすぎて続きませんでした。この本は自分にとって丁度いい難しさだったと思います。 正直値段が値段なので，多読に興味ある人は『自分の英語力を計る』という目的も考えると買って損ないと思います。難しいなと感じたらもっと子供向けのやつ読むとか英語字幕付きの映画とかから再トライすればいいし，簡単だなと思ったら「ネイティブ小学生レベルのものは理解できるんだ」という自信を100円で買ったと思って大人向けのものを読めばよいのではないでしょうか。個人的には思いがけずいい買い物でした！ ○語彙 わからない単語ももちろん出てきますが，kindleではサッと引けるのでほとんどストレスになりません。１単語のものはぱっと分かる一方で，句動詞などに対してはほぼ役に立ちません。しかし，ある程度推測ができるのでストーリーを追いかけられなくなることはないでしょう。 また，普通の小説ではあまりにも単語の範囲が広すぎるというのが，学習面的にもストレスでした。どの単語を覚えるべきで，どの単語はそこまで重要でもないという判断が独力ではできないのです。しかし，この文章は小学校低学年の子向けのものなので，この本で出てきたほぼすべての言葉は覚えておいて損はないと思っています。個人的にはこの『出てきた単語は全部覚える』というのが，単純明快でかなりのモチベーションになっています。 ○長さ 普通の小説に比べ，各チャプターがかなり短いです（子供向けだからでしょうか）。これが寝る前，お風呂，電車などのちょっとした一時に読むのにとても役立っています。 ○ストーリー ファンタジーが嫌いでなければそれなりに楽しめると思います。しかし，普通に小説としての面白さを期待して読むと，説明があっさりしすぎていてがっかりします。ですが逆にこの「続きが気になる！」みたいな後味がないことが，やはり寝る前の時間的には結構いい感じです。 ✕文章構成 他の方のレビューにもありますが，説明がかなりくどいことがあります。補足がやたらカッコ書きで書かれていて冷めてしまったり，「その人は傘をさしていた。（中略）先程言ったように片方の手には傘を持っているわけだが，もう片方の手で小包を持っていた」みたいな表現が結構あったり。いやわかったよって気持ちにさせられることが多々あります。ここはもう割り切っています。

Dans ce livre, tous les livres de la sage de C.S. Lewis sont présents. Ils sont intégrés non pas par ordre d'édition d'origine mais par ordre chronologique ce qui rend l'ensemble plus facile à suivre, pas besoin de se triturer les neurones pour savoir à quel moment les choses se passent dans l'ensemble de cette oeuvre, tout se suit chronologiquement donc adapté aux personnes qui sont gênées Les personnages récurrents : le lion Aslan à l'origine du monde de Narnia, les enfants qui interviennent à différentes époques du monde pour rétablir un équilibre dans ce monde, (un contraste avec leur monde d'origine dans lequel ils sont impuissants face aux événements historiques qui les entourent) En clair : très bonne histoire, une narration avec un bon rythme ce qui permet de donner envie au lecteur de lire la suite, sans donner une impression de manque de profondeur au roman, celui-ci n'est pas bâclé. Je recommande à tous ceux qui ont gardé une petite part de leur âme d'enfant, qui aiment lire en anglais (ou qui souhaitent le perfectionner en douceur), et surtout qui aiment le mélange magie/histoire/animaux doués de parole.