Audio Review: The Chronicles of Narnia
Q: How do you survive an entire day of driving with a carsickness-prone preschooler and an infant?
A: Coffee, snacks, your best Disney playlists, and AUDIOBOOKS.
And what better stories to introduce to your kids for the first time than those of Narnia?
As previously mentioned on this blog, I'm forever in love with C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. If you're unfamiliar with this magical realm, Narnia is a land hidden away from our own world, out of our time, and full of Talking Beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs, giants, and other mythical creatures. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (the first book written by Lewis), the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, accidentally discover the fantastical Narnia when they blunder into it through a magical wardrobe. They discover that the White Witch who currently reigns has plunged the land into unending winter. But in fulfillment of an ancient Narnian prophecy, the children's arrival heralds the return of Narnia's rightful ruler, Aslan, his breaking of the witch's spell, and the battle for Narnia's freedom. I won't spoil the ending and all the fun stuff in between, but the stories generally follow the adventures of the Pevensies and other human children as Aslan's mysterious magic pulls them out of their world and into his, where they aid Narnia in its times of peril.
A friend of mine purchased this CD set dramatization of the entire Chronicles from ALDI and offered to let us borrow it. (I know, kind of a weird place to find it!) Naturally, I was worried about the preschooler's attention span and also a bit skeptical of the production quality, (y'all remember the BBC The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?) but hey, what else were we going to do? One can only listen to the Frozen soundtrack for so long.
Shut it, Elsa
To my delight, the production was excellent. The voice actors did an incredible job of bringing the characters to life. Narration remained true to both the words and spirit of the books, even while creatively dramatizing exposition through conversation. It also made full use of theatrical elements- the engaging sound effects and dramatic music served as fun and engaging aids to any young listeners. Surprisingly, even for the very young listener! While the four-year-old's attention wandered at times, she loved it and could, for the most part, tell me what was happening in the story afterward. She begged to listen to the next one and the one after that. We got through three books on our wearisome journey (TLTWATW, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and are now working through The Silver Chair.
I forgot how great of a character Puddleglum is
I'd recommend this audio production to any lovers of the written series, people with school-age children, or for anyone who enjoys a good fairy story. To really make your listening experience complete, grab a kid (preferable one you know) to join you. Not much beats seeing and hearing the innocent delight of a child in a great story.
As an aside, as enthralled as my daughter was with the audio, she was ECSTATIC when she realized we owned the full paperback set. It's so cool to see the stories that shaped me enlivening the imagination of my own child.
Do you have any book dramatizations that you'd recommend for kids? Share your favorites!