The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis

the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardbrobeI recently wrote about my favourite winter reads. If I had written this list with children’s books in mind, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe would be right at the top.

Stepping through the wardrobe with Lucy for the first time was one of the most memorable reading moments of my childhood. It’s the sort of magical memory that lasts a lifetime and can easily be summoned up when eating particularly heavenly Turkish delight or walking along a snowy forest path in the twilight.

As a child, I felt I knew Narnia inside out, but reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as an adult, I now realise a lot of that must have been my own imagination. The writing style is simple and not overly descriptive. Lewis gives the reader a scene to work with and they conjure up the rest themselves. Continue reading

Top 5 Animals in Children’s Literature

Children’s literature is simply packed with animals. They can range from loyal pets to dangerous baddies, silly creatures to courageous heroes and most importantly, there are no limits to the imagination. They can walk on two feet, talk and dress up in boots, glasses and waistcoats.

With a world out there of wonderful animal characters, it is difficult to pick just five, but here are a few of my favourites.

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Top 5 Books That Inspired You To Read As A Child

As a child, I remember hours of car journeys with my dad playing a certain game called Top 5 Favourite. It was more interesting than Eye Spy and more exciting as I really believed my dad had made it up. It’s only in the past few years that he has admitted that he stole the idea from Nick Hornby‘s High Fidelity. However, I still love to play this game on long car journeys.

Recently, someone asked me why I loved to read so much and how they could get there child to love reading. I thought about it and came up with my Top 5 Book That Inspired Me To Read As A Child. Continue reading