Book Reviews: The Chronicles of Narnia

Nora here.  I am rather sure that most if not all of the books on our bookshelves these days are classics of one sort or another, and the Chronicles of Narnia most definitely qualify.  The human even found the original dust jackets for them.

I think our favorite of the series is either 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' or 'Prince Caspian'.  Something about the first book (perhaps it was one too many elementary school plays that the human watched) just didn't appeal to us.

Also, these may be the only books that we have a fanfiction recommendation for.  If you like Anthony Bourdain's culinary adventures, there's this delightful fic about dining in Narnia
No Reservations: Narnia.  It's well worth the read and will make you hungry.  Don't read on an empty stomach.

And to add to your doll library:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

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Newbery Book Reviews: The Dark is Rising

“When the Dark comes rising six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; Water, fire, stone;
Five will return and one go alone.

Iron for the birthday; bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning; stone out of song;
Fire in the candle ring; water from the thaw;
Six signs the circle and the grail gone before.

Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the sleepers, oldest of old.
Power from the Green Witch, lost beneath the sea.
All shall find the Light at last, silver on the tree.” 

The start of Christmas season is the perfect time to introduce The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper, seeing how 'The Dark is Rising' takes place over the 12 Days of Christmas as Will Stanton learns his true powers and has to fulfill a prophecy to save the world.  It sounds really more cliche than it actually is (unless you mean the travesty of a movie they made from the book which is about as cliche as it deserves to be).  The full 5 book set consists of 'Over Sea, Under Stone' (Jane, Simon, and Bartley find the Grail and part of a prophecy), 'The Dark is Rising' (Will discovers his true powers), 'Greenwitch' (Power of the greenwitch, lost beneath the sea), 'The Grey King' (Will meets a strange pale boy with even stranger parentage), and 'Silver on the Tree' (finding the light at last and saving the world to boot).

The Dark is Rising

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