Gather Letters To Children Authored By C.S. Lewis Accessible In Document

charming! Lewis thought it a shame that the dog sent to space didnt return with superintelligence and try to conquer man that Till We Have Faces was his best novel even though it was a critical and commercial flop! that Joyce was overrated, and Nietzsche a better poet than philosopher.
Little tie bits like these make this thin volume worth a read for every true fan, “We hope that you enjoy these letters, They were written to children just like you who read and loved The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis said that he wrote these tales because they were the sort of books he would have liked to have read when he was a child.
And though the letters in this book do not have your name on them, consider that they are yours.
For surely, if he could have, C, S. Lewis would have written them to you, ”

“Im so glad you like Till We Have Faces, because so few people do, It is my biggest flop for years, and so of course I think it my best book, ”

“Dear Lucy It makes me, I think, more humble than proud to know that Aslan has allowed me to be the means of making Him more real to you.
Because He could have used anyoneas He made a donkey preach a good sermon to Balaam, ”

“Ive been reading Pride and Prejudice on and off all my life and it doesnt wear out a bit.
”

These are just a few of the gems Ive uncovered whilst reading this book of letters, I love C. S. Lewis and his heart for stories and children, Its also bittersweet and heartbreaking that he penned his last letter the day before he died to a young boy named Phillip:

“Dear Phillip To begin with, may I congratulate you on writing such a remarkably good letter I certainly could not have written it at your age.
And to go on with, thank you for telling me that you like my books, a thing an author is always pleased to hear.
It is a funny thing that all children who have written to me see at once who Aslan is, and grown ups never do!”

This letter touched me so much, and it reminded me that all authors, traditional or indie or somewhere in between, are all the same.
We love hearing how our stories have inspired hearts,

All in all, I read this entire book in one sitting, It was super encouraging and instilled a deeper love and appreciation for the Narnian storyteller amp God who gave him breath.


Highly recommend

this book! The way you speak to children says a lot about you, andonce againLewis did not disappoint.
A short, enjoyable read. Ugh I just love Lewis! And even more so after seeing his letters to children, He accepted their criticism, answered their questions with such wit and humor and humility, and encouraged them in their writing.
I loved the letter to the mom who was worried her son loved Aslan more than Jesus, What a delight this was to read! The only thing that makes me sad about this is that there werent more letters.
It was beautiful! I really enjoyed this book, C. S. Lewis in my opinion is a great author, The letters that he wrote back to the children were very understandable, My favorite was when he explained how to pronounce Aslan and the meaning of him, I would recommend this book to anyone young or old, I envy these children their luck in corresponding with Lewis, The brilliant man died when my mother was only five years old, so I missed out by miles in my chance, but it was wonderful to read these collected responses.
Lewis was so humble in receiving praise and encouraging to those who expressed an interest in writing, I was thoroughly impressed by his discussion of theology, how he never spoke down to any of these children, never tried to dumb things down.
It also amused me that he even encouraged his young fans to write fanfiction, for lack of a better term, stating ".
. . there will be no more of these stories, But why don't you try to write one yourself, . . and if you try, I'm sure you will find it great fun, " He seems like he was a wonderful man and I am glad that I am at least lucky enough to know him through him many works.
What a joy to read C, S. Lewis' words of wisdom to his young readers, He encourages and challenges them, but always in a tone that respects them as equals, As expected he is winsome and kind, The letters humanize Lewis and made me sad that he is not still on this earth,

Note: I have an edition of this book from, Not sure how different it is from this version, but I'm sure it is similar so I'm counting recording it here! Short and sweet, this book contains letters Lewis wrote in response to letters children sent to him.
The letters answer questions about the Narnia series and other Lewis books, evaluate children's writing/pictures and respond to their other various inquiries.
The book reflects the kind nature of the author, The letters CS Lewis wrote to children seem to reveal that he remained young at heart to the end of his days, and we are all better for it.
Perhaps some of his most endearing writing,

“Reepicheep in your colored picture has just the right perky, cheeky expression, I love real mice. ” I just love Lewis. If he writes it, I read it, These letters are especially chatty and full of life, In fact, being a somewhat over the top Lewis fan, I even cried when the letters were on my birthday, and as if I did not know the ending of the story I cried at the end too.
There was something emotional about reading letters a person wrote not knowing their own expiration date, Maybe we are doing that very thing right now,

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is Lewis's letters to a young writer named Joan.
He treats almost as an adult Inkling in his noholdsbarred reviews of her writing, I wonder what became of Joan, She didn't seem to give up after some very hard words from Lewis, They wrote back and forth over many years,

Where are you, Joan I love this book, Its a small collection of C, S. Lewis responses to letters that children wrote to him about his Narnia books, The letters are so nice he takes the children and their news/concerns/ideas seriously and responds to them with interest and concern as though he were responding to an adult.
Id love to get a letter like that even now! Peoples letters are so interesting, and this collection of Lewis letters to children is no exception.
His letters were warm and clever and insightful, This is a great book for Narnia fans because many of the letters are Lewis answering fan mail from young readers and responding to their questions.
He addresses how to pronounce Aslan and the question of Susan in the Last Battle and how he was inspired to write the novels.
I found myself growing sadder as I got closer to the end, knowing that his death was coming nearer.
The book concludes with the last letter he wrote the day before he died, Highly recommended for Narnia fans, Selección de la correspondencia que mantuvo Lewis con varios lectores infantiles de sus diferentes obras no sólo de Narnia, como indica el título.
La edición es un poco irregular creo que sucede lo mismo en la original inglesa dado que sólo se tienen las cartas del autor, normalmente respuestas a cartas de esos niños, por lo que no siempre es fácil seguir el hilo y queda la sensación de que se pierde información por el camino por ejemplo, cuando un lector envía una poesía y Lewis le da consejos generales, no se incluye la poesía por lo que se está un poco a ciegas.
Por lo demás, la obra es sencilla y cotidiana, Sobresalen algunas cartas con consejos de escritura, varias peticiones de oración, explicaciones filosóficas y religiosas de algunos aspectos, así como de realidades presentes en los libros de caballería y en las propias obras de Narnia y de la Trilogía Cósmica.
One of the most delightful and interesting little books I've read in a long time, These letters demonstrate C. S. Lewis's sense of humor and his respect towards children, not to mention admirable commitment to keeping in correspondence! The book is a quick and easy read, little more than one hundred pages, and has a brief description of Lewis's childhood and then a selection of the many letters he wrote in response to the many young fans who wrote to him.
Lewis answers the young readers' questions about Narnia and some other material, and shares details from his life, as well as some thoughts on writing and theology.
Any fan of Narnia would enjoy this little collection, This was such a sweet collection to read, C. S. Lewis was a very special person,


/This book is a treasure, He never dumbs down his responses to his letters, Always engaging and sometimes a mentor, Each letter is answered so personally and never a blanket response, His last letter back to a child was the day before he died,
Its a wonderful collection that I feel gives a lot of insight to the man he was, Even more so than biographies on him, A través de estas cartas conoces muchos datos interesantes: cómo se forjó Narnia, la relación entre Jack y sus lectores, el carácter del escritor y algunos hechos de su vida que le marcaron en su obra literaria.
Of course I would rate this bookstars, as I do nearly everything CS Lewis, It is very touching to know that this busy and brilliant college professor did not think it beneath him to answer childrens letters.
I also loved it when he closed his letter asking the child to pray for him, What a blessing this man was and still is! for us on this side of Narnia, Satisfying and lovely. I don't have many cohesive thoughts, just warmth and satisfaction from reading it, Lewis's letters are encouraging, instructive, and occasionally just about mundane things like the weather,
I love how often he encourages children to write their own Narnia stories, He answers lots of questions about the Narnia books which is nice because every fangirl wants that little bit of more.

I love how intelligently he writes to children, He peppers his letters with references to other books and texts,
I love that he preferred sitelinkTill We Have Faces so much because that is my favorite,
It really is delightful that all his words of wisdom to these particular children are available for all children.

I am so glad I own this one, I foresee many happy rereads in the future, C. S. Lewis was a special soul, one of those rare people who retain the best of youth even into old age.
He had a rapport with children that was surely the product of his own childlike nature,

In his essay, “On Three Ways of Writing for Children,” he recounts an anecdote that, I think, provides some insight into his ability to speak to children as fluently and naturally as he does: “I have been told that Arthur Mee never met a child and never wished to: it was, from his point of view, a bit of luck that boys liked reading what he liked writing” On Stories,.
Now, unlike Mee, Lewis did know children and he had affectionate relationships with them, But the second part of that statement, that boys liked reading what Mee liked writing, I do believe can be applied to Lewis.
He simply liked writing the kind of stories that children like reading, As he says of his childrens books, “I put in what I would have liked to read when I was a child and what I still like reading now that I am in my fifties” On Stories,.


But no one who reads Lewis could possibly doubt this, One has only to read some of the essays collected in On Stories to see that Lewis was unabashedly fond of fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction.
When he wasnt gushing over the fantasies of George MacDonald, he was singing the praises of E, Nesbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, and David Lindsay. With this in mind, it ceases to be surprising that a bachelor should get along so well with children.
After all, parenthood does not automatically confer insight into the minds of children, Lewis gets along with children because he has never stopped being one, As he says to Phyllida: “Parts of me are still”, And that is what makes Letters to Children such a delight,

Lewis writes to his young correspondents much as he would to adults, He respects their intelligence. He never condescends or preaches, And he takes their questions, concerns, and ideas seriously, Of course, he doesnt write to children exactly as he might to an adult, In his letter to Francine, for example, he says that his experiences in boarding school were “too horrid to tell anyone of your age”.
Naturally he considers the innocence of children, But other than the omissions anyone with common sense would make when communicating with children, he writes simply as one person to another.


Many of the children who wrote to him thanked him for his books and asked questions about Narnia, including some rather deep theological questions, but some of his most charming letters are those that show Lewis at his most childlike.
He shares with his goddaughter Sarah a poem he wrote about a rabbit that lives in the wood by his college.
The little fellow, who Lewis calls Baron Biscuit, stood up and put his front paws on Lewis while Lewis was feeding him.
Theres nothing like a cute anecdote involving a rabbit to endear someone to me, But thats not all. He expresses his fondness for mice, which he never ever sets traps for in his room, thinks having a horse would be much better than having cars or planes, and suggests that if guinea pigs could talk theyd speak German.


I have but one complaint to make about this book and it has nothing to do with Lewis himself, but rather the editors Marjorie Lamp Mead and Lyle Wesley Dorsett.
In their annotated bibliography they list The Chronicles of Narnia in the new order and claim that this is “the order in which Lewis preferred that they be read”.
Since this is the book that includes the letter that started all this baloney, this review is the place for me to get up on my soapbox and denounce it.
So here goes.

The only evidence that Lewis wanted his books reordered to convey a chronological history of Narnia the sole piece of evidence is a letter he wrote in reply to an eleven year old boy named Laurence on April,.
Little Laurence suggested that the seven books be read in chronological order and Lewis replied “I think I agree with your order for reading the books more than with your mothers”.
Laurences mother believed they should be read in publication order, Lewis goes on to say that when he wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he had no intention to write any more Narnia books.
“So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone reads them”,

The decision to reorder these books, then, hinges on nothing more than a letter Lewis wrote to a child.
He lived for six more years after writing this letter, yet in those six years he did not make the change.
If he really did prefer chronological order, why didnt he make the change Could it be that he didnt actually have a preference for chronological order That perhaps he was simply acknowledging and validating the preference of a clever child

Earlier I said that Lewis writes to children much as he would to adults, that he doesnt condescend to them, and my own statement might be used against me to claim that Lewis would not have validated Laurences preference if he didnt truly agree with it.
However, I do not believe there is a contradiction here, To be polite is not to condescend, Lewis does sometimes disagree with the children who write to him, In particular, he critiques Joans stories and poems, often giving her practical writing advice,,, He does this with sensitivity to the young writers feelings, But his correspondence with Laurence is quite different, Laurence is not submitting his own writing to Lewis for appraisal, He is expressing a preference for reading in chronological order, There is no reason for this preference to be criticized, I cant imagine Lewis writing: Dear Laurence, How positively stupid of you to read the books in chronological order.
Stop doing so immediately. Yours, C. S. Lewis.

Furthermore, if the argument that a single comment in a letter to a child is to be taken as proof of the authors preference, then what of this comment he makes to Penny on April,: “Thanks for your letter and the pictures.
You draw donkeys better than Pauline Baynes does”Should the illustrations by Pauline Baynes be replaced by little Pennys drawings In a letter to Martin on January,, clearly in response to some question or concern Martin had about Susan Pevensie, Lewis writes: “.
. . perhaps she will get to Aslans country in the end, . . ”. This comment is written by Lewis after the final Narnia book had been published, Should The Chronicles of Narnia be rewritten to include Susan getting to Aslans country Lewis always encourages the children in their creativity and I think his comment to Laurence should be read in the same vein as his comments to Penny and Martin.


The editors of Letters to Children include a footnote to the letter to Laurence that says “Lewis later reaffirmed his preference for Laurences sequence”.
They cite Walter Hoopers book Past Watchful Dragons, There Hopper writes: “However, the right sequence as Lewis caused me to copy it down is this: The Magicians Nephew , The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , The Horse and His Boy , Prince Caspian , The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , The Silver Chair , and The Last Battle ”.


But only a little later Hooper writes: “For the purpose of following, as it were, the mental processes of the author, I have chosen to summarize the books in the order in which they were written”.
That order, of course, is the one generations of Narnia fans experienced, the one that begins with the Pevensie children discovering the entrance to Narnia in the old wardrobe, a discovery spoilt by reading The Magicians Nephew first.


To my mind, Hoopers statement that Lewis considered Laurences order to be the “right sequence” is undermined by his decision to summarize the books in publication order.
By doing so, he demonstrates that the order in which Lewis wrote the books is the best order to experience the books.
By reading the books in the order that presents “the mental processes of the author,” the reader experiences what Lewis experienced, the reader discovers Narnia as Lewis discovered Narnia.
And isnt that what we want Dont we want the magical experience that Lewis had when he discovered in his mind the “picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood” On Stories

Now Im not saying that someone who decides to read the books in chronological order is doing anything wrong.
What I am saying is that chronological order should not be presented to new readers as the “right sequence” to read the books.
If I had not read these books in thes, if I were a newbie and I read that the author preferred the books to be read in chronological order, I would have definitely read them in chronological order.
After all, I would say to myself, who better to tell me how to experience these books than their author The result would have been that the magical discovery of Narnia through the eyes of the Pevensie children would have been lost.


Rereaders might enjoy reading the prequel first, but first time readers should not be robbed of the experience of discovery.
Prequels, by their nature, are not meant to be read first, On the contrary, prequels come into being when the history of something comes to be of interest and this only happens after that something is already known and loved.
Only then does one ask, how did this come to be I wonder if next we will all be told to read The Silmarillion before The Hobbit.
.