C. S. Lewis is one of the greats in children's literature.  I, like many people, remember the first time I heard one of his stories.  It was like I had just gone through the wardrobe myself, into a magical new world.  I'm not sure if I have ever come back through.  The Magician's Nephew is not as popular as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which introduces the four Pevensies children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy - but it takes us back to the beginnings of Narnia. 

Polly  and Digory are neighbours, living in row houses, in London.   While exploring the secret passage they've discovered between the houses, they stumble upon Digory's mad Uncle Andrew, who then uses the children in his scientific experiments, hoping to unlock the secrets of a mysterious box.  Uncle Andrew gives Polly a magic yellow ring that makes her disappear, and expects Digory to fetch her back using a green ring.  Of course everything goes wrong and the children disturb a dangerous magic that follows them back to London.  Join these two adventurers as they witness the birth of Narnia, and uncover the origins of the White Witch.  

The Chronicles of Narnia is a beautifully written series which never  talks down to children, but rather encourages them to grow with its sophisticated style and storyline.  The themes of good and evil are timeless, and are unsurpassed in this children's classic.

Sit down and read the whole series.  Reread it if you have read it before.  I bet you'll be surprised at what you've missed or forgotten over time.

The order of these books is still unclear to me.  I've seen several different listings, including one where the Magician's Nephew is first.  

1. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

2. Prince Caspian

3. The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader

4. The Silver Chair

5. The Horse and His Boy

6. The Magician's Nephew

7. The Last Battle

Learn more about C. S. Lewis

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Over Sea, Under Stone

Susan Cooper

This is part of the Dark Is Rising Sequence, a terrific series that intertwines past and present into a unique retelling of the Arthurian legend.  It begins with three children who discover an ancient map in the attic of the old house in Cornwall, where they're staying for the summer.  Barney, Jane and Simon Drew know that Cornwall was once the kingdom of King Marc, one of Arthur's knights.  When their Great Uncle Merry translates the map for them, they realize it will lead them to the Grail.

As in every classic fantasy, the forces of darkness are working against the light.  In this case, they're trying to steal the map and win the grail for the dark.  Join Simon, Barney, and Jane as they try to solve the puzzle of the map and win the race for the grail.  Susan Cooper is an exceptional writer.

Enjoy the whole series, including:

1. Over Sea, Under Stone

2. The Dark Is Rising (Newberry Honour Book)

3. Greenwitch

4. The Grey King (Newberry Award Winner)

5. Silver On the Tree

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The Book of Three - Lloyd Alexander

This is the first book in a series of five books.  The story borrows from mythology, as most fantasy stories do, and the author credits the Welsh legend of Mabinogion for inspiring her award winning stories.  Book one, The Book of Three, has some very familiar elements.  We meet a young boy of uncertain parentage who longs to be a hero.  He yearns for adventure, but feels that as an Assistant Pig Keeper that dream will never be realized.

Like that old adage "be careful what you wish for," Taran learns the hard way what it means to be a hero.  When he doesn't take his job as Assistant Pig Keeper seriously he loses the pig Hen Wen.  He is dismayed when he realizes that the fate of all of Prydain depends on the knowledge that only the talking pig has.

Taran meets many friends on his journey: a strange creature named Gurgi, the bard Fflewddur, and a young girl named Eilonwy.  Can an Assistant Pig Keeper help to save Prydain from the army of cauldron-born soldiers and, Arawn of Annuvin, the horned King himself?  Better read it and find out!

There is lots of humour, and excitement in this series.  Read them all:

1. The Book of Three

2. The Black Cauldron

3. The Castle of Llyr

4. Taran Wanderer

5. The High King (Newberry award winner)

These are stories to be enjoyed, regardless of your age.

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The Silver Glove - Suzy McKee Charnas

This was another interesting fantasy story that begins in a world that is much like ours, though only on the surface.  There are evil forces at work in Valentine Marsh's world.  It begins with the disappearance of her grandmother, whom Valli's mom thinks has Alzheimer's. But Valli knows that her Gran isn't sick.  She is certain her Grandmother really does know magic.  You would be too if your Gran sent you a magic glove through the telephone.

The strange new school psychologist, Dr. Brightner, also seems odd.  Valli doesn't trust him.  Her instincts prove correct, because her Granny tells her that Brightner is really a rogue wizard who is dabbling in necromancy and stealing the souls of the elderly and unwanted of society.

Valli must defeat Brightner with the help of her Gran and her silver glove.  But, it won't be easy, especially now that Brightner is dating her mom.

These are books for slightly older kids, because of the language and storyline.  Maybe 11 and up.  I haven't been able to get a copy of the first book yet, but I'm still looking.  I think that this series may be out of print, but that is what second hand book stores are for!

There are more books in the Sorcery Hall series, including:

1. The Bronze King

2. The Silver Glove

3. The Golden Thread

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So You Want To Be A Wizard - Diane Duane

Nita Callahan is tired of being picked on, so when she finds a book that promises to teach her to be a wizard, she jumps at the chance.  Nita joins Kit, another fledgling wizard, in the battle against the Powers of Darkness.  They travel to an parallel world that has been over whelmed by the dark to recover the Book of Night With Moon before the darkness can gain the upper hand.  She meets up with senior wizards, a precognitive parrot name Machu Picchu, and a white hole named Fred.  Fred, by the way has a bad case of the hiccups, which could be disastrous for everyone.  

This is one of my favourite series.  It blends fantasy, myth and science fiction into a seamless, exciting story.  Harry Potter fans should find this take on wizardry interesting.  I highly recommend Diane Duane's Wizardry series, and her Star Trek books as well.

The books in this series so far are:

1. So You Want To Be A Wizard

2. Deep Wizardry

3. High Wizardry

4. A Wizard Abroad

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The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster

This is a hilarious allegory that I can't believe I've been missing out on for so many years.  I just discovered it a few months ago.  It is about a world-weary boy named Milo who is given the mysterious gift of a tollbooth.  The tollbooth transports him to a world where the Princesses Rhyme and Reason have been banished to the Castle in the Air, and the cities of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis are constantly at odds. Milo, a watchdog named Tock and a Humbug must rescue the Princesses to restore order to the Kingdom of Wisdom.

My favourite part is the description of the monsters, who include the Overbearing Know-it-all ("talking constantly") and the Threadbare Excuse ("once he grabbed on, he almost never let go.").

It is often compared to Alice in Wonderland or perhaps The Wizard of Oz, but I've read one reviewer who thinks it should be compared with things like C. S. Lewis' Narnia series.

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A Wrinkle In Time - Madeline L'Engle

This was one of the first books we had to study in grade 9 English class.  I love this book.  Not only was the main character a misfit like me, but she had a curiosity about life, the universe and everything in it as well. 

Meg Murray's father has disappeared.  The neighbours think he has abandoned his family, but Meg knew her father wouldn't do that.  One night a mysterious stranger blows into their kitchen and gives Meg and her genius little brother, Charles Wallace, a clue to find him.  

"There is such a thing as a tesseract"  Says Mrs. Whatsit.

Together with their neighbour, Calvin, they travel through time and space to rescue Meg's dad.

This is the first in the Time Quartet which includes:

1. A Wrinkle in Time (1963 Newberry Award Winner)

2. A Wind in the Door

3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet

4. Many Waters

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Charmed Life - Dianne Wynn Jones

This book was first published in 1977, but I think that until the success of Harry Potter, not very many people in North America had read or even heard of the worlds of Chrestomanci, a magical series created by British author, Dianne Wynne Jones.  In fact, the world of Harry Potter and Chrestomanci have much in common, yet Dianne Wynne Jones has a  unique voice that readers will enjoy.  

The world of Chrestomanci runs parallel to our world, though it is unlike our world in many ways.  In Chrestomanci, magic is as normal as mathematics, and things are usually more old-fashioned.  Our histories are also quite different.  In the Harry Potter universe, the Muggle world is unaware of the magic that exists.  In Wynne Jones's books, witches, clairvoyants, necromancy, fortune tellers and the like live amongst the "ordinary" people, though, "Like all people who had not talent for witchcraft..." they "...did not approve of those who had." 

Charmed Life begins sadly, with the death of Eric (known as Cat) and Gwendolyn's parents.  Gwendolyn is a talented and spoiled young witch who dreams of greater things. Her brother Cat does not seem to have any magical talents at all.  The two orphans are taken in by Mrs. Sharp, a well-meaning though mediocre witch, who manages to get Gwendolyn a tutor by using three mysterious letters from the famous magician Chrestomanci as payment.  Mr.Nostrum, the rather shady magician who is Gwendolyn's tutor, feeds the young witch's megalomania:

"Mr. Nostrum has lots of ideas for me, for a start.  Mind you, there are some snags.  There's a change for the worse that I have to surmount, and a dominant Dark Stranger.  But when he told me I'd rule the world my fingers all twitched, so I know it's true."

One day Cat has his fortune told and a strange voice speaks through the clairvoyant, promising Cat that changes are coming, and warning him of danger.  Several days later a mysterious stranger appears in Mrs. Sharp's kitchen.  He calls himself Chrestomanci, and he announces he's come to take Gwendolyn and Cat to his home.  Gwendolyn is thrilled that she is finally going to receive her due as Future Ruler of the World.  She is disappointed right from the beginning when she isn't treated as royalty, and is infuriated when she realizes that she is expected to study under a tutor who insists she learn more mundane things like arithmetic before she is allowed to study more witchcraft.

A battle of wills ensues between Gwendolyn and the adults who live in Chrestomanci castle. Gwendolyn is determined to best her new tutor Mr. Saunders, and Chrestomanci,  the Lord of the Castle.  Cat, meanwhile, is often left on his own.  His loyalty to his sister battles with his desire to to fit in with Julia and Roger, Chrestomanci's children, and to find a real home.  Cat knows that Gwendolyn is up to something when she is determined to buy some dragon's blood to make a powerful spell.  Even when she is caught and punished for her mischief by losing her powers, Gwendolyn shouts, "I'm not beaten yet!  You'll see."  And soon it seems that Gwendolyn has kept her vow, for even more strange magic is afoot, and it is up to Cat to straighten things out.

The parallels between Charmed Life and Harry Potter are mostly superficial ones, like the fact that the children go somewhere, much like a boarding school, to learn magic, and the very English setting of the story.  The mysterious parentage of the orphans is also a well known literary device used in both stories.  One theme that I see in both stories is the way both boys, Cat and Harry, search for a real home.  

I think children and adults will enjoy Dianna Wynne Jones's books.  They have a moodier feel to them, perhaps more like Lloyd Alexander than J. K. Rowling, but they are sure to keep your reading.

Diana Wynne Jones recommends reading the Chrestomanci series in the following order:

1. Charmed Life (Charmed Life won the 1977 Guardian Award for Children's Books.)

2. The Lives of Christopher Chant

3. Witch Week

4. The Magicians of Caprona

5. Mixed Magics (The short stories can be read in any order.)

Learn more about the author.

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