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Library News
OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION!
Open the books that lead to another world!
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Due in theaters December 9, 2005
Visit the official movie website:
www.narnia.com
Enter the Magical Land of Narnia
Over 50 years ago, author C.S. Lewis created a land of wonder and enchantment called Narnia, and since then over 60 million readers have read about the wondrous world of good versus evil that four children discover exists beyond the back of the wardrobe located in an old English manor house during World War II.
Read the seven books in the series:
(The order of reading as suggested by the late
author, C. S. Lewis)
The Magician’s Nephew
Earth year: 1900
Narnia year: 1
Digory and Polly discover a secret passage and are tricked into
vanishing out of this world and into another where they wake up
the evil Queen Jadis. There, they witness the creation of the Land
of Narnia, as it is sung into existance by the Great Lion, Aslan.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Earth year: 1940
Narnia year: 1000
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find their way through an old
wardrobe into the world of Narnia. There, they join with Aslan to
fight the evil White Witch to save Narnia from perpetual Darkness.
The Horse and His Boy
Earth year: 1940
Narnia year: 1014
Shasta escapes from the land of Calormen with a Narnian
warhorse, Bree. Along with Aravis and her horse Hwin, they uncover
a plot to conquer Narnia. Together they must find a way to save
Narnia and its people.
Prince Caspian
Earth year: 1941
Narnia year: 2303
Troubled times have come to Narnia as it is gripped by civil
war. Prince Caspian is forced to blow The Great Horn of Narnia,
which is only to be used in emergencies to call upon the help of
past heroes, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. They must overthrow
Caspian's uncle, King Miraz, to restore peace to Narnia.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Earth year: 1942
Narnia year: 2306
Lucy, Edmund and their cousin Eustace, are magically
transported onto the ship, "Dawn Treade", where King
Caspian is searching for the seven lost friends of his father. On
the voyage, the children meet many fantastical creatures,
including a brave, warrior mouse and the great Aslan himself.
The Silver Chair
Earth year: 1942
Narnia year: 2356
King Caspian's beloved son Prince Rilian has disappeared. Aslan
sends Eustace and his school friend Jill to Narnia on a quest to
search for the young prince and defeat the evil White Witch.
The Last Battle
Earth year: 1949
Narnai year: 2555
A false Aslan is roaming Narnia, commanding everyone to work
for the cruel Calormemes. Can Eustace and Jill find the true Aslan
and restore peace to the land? The last battle is the greatest of
all and will be the final struggle between good and evil.
About the Author: C. S. Lewis
C. S. (CLIVE STAPLES) LEWIS, but called "Jack" by his
friends, was born in 1898 in Belfast, Ireland (now Northern
Ireland). Lewis and his good friend J. R. R. Tolkien, the author
of the Lord of the Rings
trilogy, were part of an informal writers' club that frequently
met to discuss story ideas. Lewis's fascination with fairy tales,
myths and ancient legends, along with inspiration drawn from his
childhood memories, led him to write The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe one of the best-loved children’s books of all
time. After the success of this book he went on to write six other
books. The seven book series became known as The Chronicles
of Narnia. The final title
in the series, The Last Battle, was awarded the Carnegie
Medal, one of the highest marks of excellence in children's
literature .
His Early life
Lewis's early childhood was relatively happy and carefree. The
house he grew up in was large and had fun, narrow passages and an
overgrown garden, which "Jack" and his older brother
played in and explored together. There was also a library in the
house that was crammed with books—two of Jack's favorites were Treasure
Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
In 1908 a tragedy struck the family, Jack’s mother became ill
and died of cancer. About a month after her death the two boys
were sent away from home in Ireland to attend boarding school in
England. Lewis hated the school, which had very strict rules and
hard, harsh headmaster, plus he missed Ireland terribly. The
school closed in 1910, and he was able to return home to Ireland.
After a year, however, he was sent back to England to study.
This time, his school was not so strict and the experience was
mostly positive. As a teenager, Lewis learned to love poetry and
also developed an interest in languages, learning French, German,
and Italian.
His studies and career as a professor
In 1916 Lewis was accepted at Oxford University, a leading
center of learning in England since the Middle Ages. World War I
interrupted his college life and Lewis chose to serve in the
British Army and fought in the muddy trenches of northern France.
Following the end of the war, in 1918, he returned to Oxford,
where he eagerly took up his studies again. In 1925, after
graduating with first-class honors in Greek and Latin Literature,
Philosophy, Ancient History, and English Literature, Lewis was
elected to an important university teaching post in Oxford. He
remained there for 29 years before becoming a professor of
medieval and renaissance literature at Cambridge in 1955 .
His writing
In addition to his teaching duties at the university, Lewis
began to publish books. His first major work entitled The
Pilgrim's Regress (1933) was about his own spiritual to
becoming a Christian. Most of his books were essays about
Christianity or, as with his fiction, were affected by his
religious belief, including the Narnia series. However, those who
are not Christians also enjoy these books, for the pure fantasy
nature of them. Some of his other famous works are: Mere
Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The
Great Divorce, Made for Heaven: How
the Christian Life Works and What Christians Believe.
He also wrote a science fiction trilogy which included the novels:
Out of the Silent Planet, That Hideous
Strength,
and Perelandra, the hero of which is loosely
modeled on Lewis's friend J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the children's
classic The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring trilogy.
The Final Years
After finishing the Narnia series, Lewis continued to write on
autobiographical and religious subjects, but wrote less and less.
Most of his time was spent with is wife Joy, whom he married in
1956. Not long after their marriage she became ill and died of
cancer in 1960. Nearly crushed by her death, C. S. Lewis wrote
(anonymously at first) A Grief Observed. That book still
brings comfort
to people who have experienced loss today.
After her death, Lewis's own health deteriorated, and in the
summer of 1963 he resigned his teaching post at Cambridge. His
death, which occurred on November 22, 1963—the same day
President Kennedy was assassinated—was only quietly noticed
around the world. But millions of readers worldwide who delight in
his religious and fantasy writings still remember him today.
Some other books that are being made into
movies:
Oliver Twist due in theaters on Sept. 30
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire due out Nov. 18
Eragon – no release date yet
Charlotte’s Web due out in June 2006
How to Eat Fried Worms – no release date yet
Hoot – no release date yet
Other Featured Books
House of the Scorpion by
Nancy Farmer
In the future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special
status as the young clone of El Patron, the 140-year-old leader of
a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United
States. However, when El Patron suffers a heart attack Matt
discovers why El Patron was so good to him. El Patron cloned Matt
so that he could harvest his parts, which, of course would mean
certain death for Matt. Can Matt escape from this evil drug lord
who is obsessed with living forever no matter what it costs Matt?
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz
After the death of his uncle, who had been he guardian,
fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s
dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency. Join super
agent Alex Rider on his international espionage adventures.
Books in the series are: Stormbreaker, Point Blank,
Skeleton Key and Eagle Strike.
Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini
Book 1: Eragon
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm
boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with
only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon that he can communicate with
mentally, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon
swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now
his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.
Book 2: Eldest
The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the
wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the
Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to
learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera,
where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the
ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly
dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon's home, his
cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra'zac, and
he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the
mountains.
Book 3: Not yet published
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (2005 Newbury Medal Winner)
Katie Takeshima admires her older sister, Lynn, who knows
everything and takes care of Katie while their parents are working
long hours in their small Georgia town in the late 1950s. It's
Lynn who shows Katie the glittering beauty (the "kira-kira"
in Japanese) of the stars and who prepares Katie for the prejudice
she will encounter as one of the few Japanese American kids in
their school.
So B. It by
Sarah Weeks
Although she lives a unique lifestyle with her mentally
disabled mother who only has about 23 words in her vocabulary and
near their helpful neighbor, Bernadette. When a mysterious word in
her mother's small vocabulary, "soof", begins to haunt
her, Heidi's thirst for the truth leads her on a cross-country
journey in search of the secrets of her past. Heidi seems to have
a lucky streak that has a way of pointing her in the right
direction.
Miscellaneous featured books
Don’t forget to check out Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince to see what happens to Harry, Ron and Hermione during
their sixth year at Hogwarts. The Series of Unfortunate Events,
book 12, will soon be out. We also have a large collection of the
popular Chicken Soup for the Soul books, award books and by
popular authors.
There are also a lot of wonderful classics waiting to be
checked out such as: Peter Pan, The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, Roll
of Thunder, Hear My Cry, To Kill a
Mockingbird, The Incredible Journey, The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, Charlotte’s
Web, Old Yeller, Sounder, Black Beauty, The Boxcar
Children series, the Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys
mysteries and more.
Some popular series books you might want to check out!
The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Hank the Cowdog series by John R. Erickson
The Lost Years of Merlin series by T. A. Barron
Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan
Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
The Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen
The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Poppy series by Avi
Dear America Diaries and My Name is America series
by various authors
Heartland (horse) series by Lauren Brooke
These and many more books are waiting for you at
your school library!
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