Earlier last week we made the decision to embark on a momentous journey through the Chronicles of Narnia with our 6 year old son (featured HERE in this Vlog). After a lively debate over reading the books chronologically or by publication date, we decided to start with The Magician’s Nephew. We dove right in. Following the conclusion of chapter 3 the jury was still out, but then we arrived at the part in Charn where Digory reads the message above the bell.
Suddenly, the room got quiet and the many questions that always accompany a nighttime read with any of our children ceased. We could literally feel his body tense as he waited for Digory to make his crucial decision. The chapter ends quite abruptly after the fateful strike of the hammer as did the reading session. Not surprising, our child was curious to know what to expect next. We may or may not have let slip that an evil queen would be making an appearance.
Fifteen minutes or so passed while we finished our nighttime routine when suddenly a bold proclamation was made from beneath a large pile of stuffed animals. “I don’t really want to ready Narnia anymore.”
Our blood froze. Our teeth gnashed. We knew we should have done more with Uncle Andrew’s voice. Would our son never appreciate the classics?
“My brain is going to be too scared of the queen.”
First, a little background. Our son doesn’t get scared (for the most part)... he’s watched all the Star Wars movies, including when little Anakin gets burnt to a crisp, and the Pirate’s of the Caribbean where an entire crew of skeletons attacks the British navy. And yet, on this occasion our son was scared of a slightly oversized queen with a destructive temper.
Suddenly we were filled with joy! Not because C.S. Lewis managed to scare the heebie-jeebies out of our son, but because books can do that. We’ve always said that the scariest villains are in books! With all the special effects in Hollywood and video games, the printed word can still do that to kids. Whether it’s laughing, crying, throwing things, screaming, swooning, or feeling happy - reading has so much power. That’s why we love to read!
To add a happy ending to this lengthy story, we promised our child one of two things. A.) we’d let him fast forward through any of the scary parts or B) read the queen in a silly voice. After a moment of thought he picked option B. We can only hope that Mr. Lewis will accept our sincerest of apologies...
If you’re still with us, we’d love to hear what book first spoke to you.
