Patrick’s Reviews > The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe > Status Update

Reading the section with the stone table to my little boy wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared it would be....

Interesting development. Oot and I started reading the Graveyard book. But after a chapter or so, he said he'd like to go back to reading about Narnia.

'It was only spooky in parts," he said. "It was really interesting."

I asked my son if he wanted to keep reading this book, or if he'd prefer to read something else. We could always come back to it later. (We did this with the Hobbit back in the day.)

He thought about it for a moment, then said, "Why don't we put this one on hold for a while."

He seemed relieved when he said it. I'm glad I asked.

Oot is only 6, and I'm worried that this book might be too emotionally stressful for him. When we read the part where Peter fought the Wolf, he reached out and held my hand with both of his. I'll have to ask him if he wants to keep reading this with me, or if he'd like to read a different book....

Having recently read the Hobbit to my boy, I have to say, this is a better children's book. The writing is much tighter. The story moves faster. The language is cleaner.

I feel a little disloyal saying that. I'm a huge Tolkien fan. But it's true.

Edmund is such a little prat.

I tried reading this with my boy a couple years ago when he was 4. But we stopped early on. The vocabulary was a problem.

He's 6 now, so we're trying again. I didn't think he'd remember our first read. But early on we hit an unfamiliar word.

Me: Do you know what a wardrobe is?
He nods.
Me: What is it?
He hesitates, uncertain, then brightens up and says: It's what you go through to get into Narnia!

Indeed.