Currently reading
A London Family, 1870-1900: A Trilogy
The Cellist of Sarajevo
Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
All the Names
A History of the World in 100 Objects
Down the Garden Path
Virtue Betray'd, Or, Anna Bullen
Year of Wonders
Swallows and Amazons
Illusion in java
I read this as a young teen and remember liking it. I had no knowledge of Christianity, so I didn't get the relgious overtones at all. Fantasy characters often seemed to cheat death or other "laws," so that didn't seem odd to me. I see now how religious it is, but it doesn't bother me. I still think it's a good story for the target age group. I've been "rereading" it by listening to the unabridged CD version read by Michael York along with my 5-year-old son, checking in with him constantly to see if it's too scary for him. I must say he's quite taken with it! Other books on CD we've listened to have included Paddington, Winnie-the-Pooh, Dr. Seuss, and Mr. Popper's Penguins. His favorite has been Paddington, but this CD has been even more engaging for him. Some days, he won't let me get out of the car when we get home because he wants to keep listening. If we're in a store, he frequently asks when we're leaving so he can get back to his story. I was worried that the witch would scare him, but his main comment on her was "Boy, she's *bossy*!" Yeah, if only that were all she was. We had a good discussion about the treatment of Aslan when he was killed, about what makes people cruel, why a person might feel a need to really "rub it in," and ultimately about how fear and hate are often linked. The discussion was simple and short, but I can see how it could be an entry point for older kids on hate crimes or war. As soon as the last words were read, he wanted to listen to the whole story over again.