NarniaWeb Reviews the First Narnia Board Book (Video)
In this video, Glumpuddle takes a look inside the new board book adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and examines how the story has been condensed for 0-4 year olds.
Join the discussion in the NarniaWeb Forum.
Also, don’t forget to check out NarniaWeb’s interview with Douglas Gresham (stepson of C.S. Lewis) about the book.
Great and well-balanced review, thank you, Glumpuddle — and Glumpuddle Junior is gorgeous!!!
Hmmm… it seems to me that introducing Narnia with the board book is maybe the very young reader’s equivalent to starting with the Walden LWW movie. Nice visuals and overall plot mostly intact, but not exactly perfect in tone/message/etc. Personally I don’t think I would encourage anyone to start with the Walden LWW or the board book, but I don’t think it would ruin the experience of reading LWW for the first time.
I am curious what the other storybook adaptations are like (I.e. what “level” are they?) I think anything young reader level (my library classifies this as about 6-8 years) for Narnia would be more likely to affect the enjoyment of reading Narnia for the first time because at that point they’re so close (or at) the age that Aslan dying probably won’t give them nightmares, I think it would be better to just read (or read to them) the original versions.
Also, Glumpuddle stopping to correct the book while reading it to his kid? 11/10 parenting:)
Well, thanks to Glumpuddle Jr., we can be sure the book has tasty corners!
As Glumpuddle said, it won’t do any harm. However, I certainly won’t be buying a copy for my 3-year-old nephew. My brother has been reading him the real thing anyway. I was introduced to the original at the age of 6 and didn’t have any nightmares about Aslan or even the White Witch. Read the real thing to my kids when they were quite small – I think my younger one was 3 at the time – and they didn’t have any issues with it either.
I have a problem with stories being watered down for young readers. If they can’t handle the real story, than don’t tell it. I have the same problem with Bible Stories for little kids; usually the mention of the baby’s being killed in the story of Moses is changed. Actually, I have a problem with any kind of abridgment of books. I was horrified when I discovered that the board book of Go, Dog, Go was not the full book. What can I say, I’m a purist. I do like that Glumpuddle explained the real story to his son.
Your baby is adorable!
I love the gentle retelling! This makes it easier for Narnia fans of all ages!