Gracious, Prince Caspian (the second published Narnia book) is boring. I didn’t miss a thing not reading that one as a kid. So, I skipped reading it to the boys, going from Wardrobe straight to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the third published Narnia book). And then, well, I skipped reading them the rest of the series too (because they were dull as Caspian, even more preachy and dated than this book, and the boys never asked about them) and showing them the live-action movies. So, as far as our family is concerned, I guess this series is a duology. And a good one! While Lewis is so very preachy (which I supposes makes sense in the Christian allegory context that he was working within–see my discussion of Wardrobe for more on this) and the pictures are generally awkward (as with Wardrobe), it is full of adventure and a nice change to have an antihero as a main character, someone needs a lot of personal growth rather than starting off perfect. But the real draw in Dawn Treader, as far as I’m concerned, will always be the glorious Reepicheep. Well, and the opening line: “There once was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb and he almost deserved it.”
Author: C.S. Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
