Aslan

The World Of Narnia #3

by Deborah Maze, Frederick Thomas, C.S. Lewis

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy have been sent to stay in a rambling old house out in the English countryside. The children step through a wardrobe into the magical, snowy land of Narnia where they are taken to meet Aslan the Great Lion. Soon the battle to rescue Narnia from the evil White Witch begins.... The Chronicies of Narnia tell the adventures of Narnia -- a land of Talking, Beasts, Dwarfs, Fauns, Nymphs, and Dryads, ruled by Aslan the Great Lion, where constant battles are fought between good and evil. C. S. Lewis's classic books have been cherished by millions of readers ever since they were first published over forty years ago.Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy step into the wardrobe and find themselves in the enchanted Land of Narnia. There an evil White Witch has cast a spell making it always winter and never Christmas. But Aslan, the Great Lion, is on the move again, and together they must fight to destroy the wicked White Witch and reverse her evil spell. Glorious, richly detailed artwork by Deborah Maze brings the creatures and land of Narnia to life in this third exciting title in the World of Narnia picture-book series.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Deborah Maze is the illustrator of several picture books as well as a line of greeting cards. She is a lifelong reader of the Little House books and has fond memories of reading them to her children when they were young. She lives with her family in southern California.

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, this picture book adaptation of the Narniad is a bit uneven. It's nearly impossible to get the pacing right when splitting up a novel into four picture books. Yet, like the previous books, it's the illustrations that win the day and make it worth reading. The squirrels who were turned into stone by the White Witch when caught feasting were clearly inspired by Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, which inspired a notable moment of joy in Lewis's memoir Surprised by Joy.

Aslan is not meant to be read on its own, and so much of the narrative charm is lost in the adaptation, but there is worth in this series. As much as I love Pauline Baynes's original illustrations, Maze's add a colorful richness. I mean, Aslan's mane is meant to be rendered in full color. While nothing can take the place of the original series, Maze's efforts make a lovely entrée into the world of Narnia.

[Jennifer Hughes · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lovely picture book that is a very poor rendition of the original story. How about a book about Aslan that ends before he dies and is resurrected? That is the very crux of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Disappointing.

[Jennifer Varnadore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third installment of a five part abridged adaptation of C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. This installment shows the children meeting Aslan for the first time. It summarizes the beginning of the book as well, up to that point in the story.

It reminds me of old radio episodes where it summarizes and then adds to the story. It's short, which makes sense, because it originally came in a Chick-fil-A kid's meal. To be honest, I would have loved to get books in a kid's meal as a kid, and I expected far less material than this covered. I'm impressed by that much. While it isn't as well crafted as the original, which is to be expected since it is abridged, it still satisfies as a kid's book series.

[Tricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

We got a number of these books on remainder some years ago, but this is the first time I've actually read this one. What to say? Wow, it's just bad. The story is weak and discombobulated. Things are introduced but never come to a resolution. You don't get any insight into the characters (except for one tiny bit about Edmund). And even though the title is Aslan, there is nothing in here to suggest why he is an important figure. If this were someone's first introduction to the Narnia Chronicles, they'd walk away dissatisfied and wonder why people are even interested in Narnia!

It's possible that it is supposed to be part of a series (notice three similar covers by Deborah Maze), but it's not clear to me how it would fit into a series because it seems to cover most major plot elements of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe - except for the end! It gets the kids to Narnia, introduces the concept of the stone table and gets them all there, Edmund is rescued from the White Witch - but then the four children walk off into the end pages with Aslan. It gives the impression that the story of Narnia is complete. Perhaps Aslan's Triumph is intended to cover the rest, but it doesn't end in a way to suggest you should read more.

[Jennifer]

We actually have an adaptation of this book, shortened to about 20 pages.

[Rivkah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this children's book series! I read this series to myself often!

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

summation of the first half of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" into 30+ illustrated pages.