PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Clive Staples Lewis, born in 1898, wrote many books for adults but the Narnia stories were his only works for children. The final title, The Last Battle, published in 1956, won the Carnegie Award, the highest mark of excellence in children's literature.
For his followers, and, we hope, anybody else who happens in, C. S. Lewis writes another wonderful Narnian adventure. The setting is familiar. There is the eastern flavour to his make-believe kingdoms and great Aslan the Lion is still Narnia's protector. But for a new hero there is Shasta, a slave boy in the tyrannical land of Calormen, and of unknown parentage, who escapes to the free north with Bree, one of Narnia's talking horses. En route, they meet Aravis, a Calormene princess also in flight because of an impending forced marriage, and together they help snuff out a Calormene plot to attack not only Narnia but its brother land of Archenland, of which Shasta turns out to be a lost prince. A beautifully written tale to read aloud as well, in which C.S. Lewis' talents seem to flower more than ever. (Kirkus Reviews)
