Through the Wardrobe

February 1, 2020
The story of C.S. Lewis and how Narnia came to be. From a young age, books and imagination were enormously important to young Clive Staples Lewis--or Jack, as he preferred to be called--and here, the warm, folkloric text and colorful, detailed ink-and-acrylic pictures invite readers and listeners to consider how, through dark moments, he created his own stories as a bright refuge. Lewis had a close relationship with his brother, developed a love of religion, and found happiness with an American wife, but he also withstood the early death of his mother, isolation and bullying in boarding school, and the horrors of World War I in part through his creativity and storytelling. As befitting the creator of the beloved Narnia books, this illustrated biography maintains the sense of a story unfolding, leading up to the moments when the iconic stories came to be while simultaneously explaining Lewis' background, experiences, and some of his likely inspirations. Though Lewis dealt with much difficulty, the emphasis is on how he coped and, throughout his life, read, imagined, dreamed, pondered, and created. The endnotes provide a plethora of facts and additional information, nicely organized for potential research; these will likely elicit additional questions about his life and may lead readers to explore further. This engaging and affectionate re-creation of Lewis' life highlights resilience, creativity, and inspiration. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

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April 1, 2020

K-Gr 3-Maslo's picture book biography spotlights how Clive Staples Lewis became acclaimed author C.S. Lewis. Growing up, he faced numerous challenges: bullies at school, the death of his mother, the brutality of war. Using the characters that had saturated his childhood imagination, Lewis created his own world. The young characters who travel to Narnia not only experience magic and adventure; they learn how to handle adversity. This biography clearly links Lewis's lived experiences and written stories. For fans of the "Chronicles of Narnia," these connections will be meaningful. The bold, richly detailed illustrations, crafted with vibrant inks and acrylics, feature numerous gems Narnia fans will enjoy discovering. Images such as a young Lewis drawing a sword-fighting mouse, his cousins sitting in a wardrobe listening to his stories, and a glowing lamppost providing reading light on his school grounds act as subtle reminders that the author's childhood experiences made a profound influence on his most famous writings. His adult experiences, particularly war and the development of his personal faith and philosophy, are also recognized as important to his works. A particularly effective section of the book offers a broad overview of the "Narnia" series: intricately carved wardrobe doors open and scenes of Narnia are visible, including a panel devoted to each of the seven novels. Extended biographical information and a bibliography are included; end pages show letters from children to Lewis and his responses. VERDICT A finely illustrated biography equally suited to research or pleasure reading.-Elizabeth Lovsin, Deerfield Public Library, IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 6, 2020
In this picture book biography, Maslo crafts a portrait of how Clive Staples “Jack” Lewis’s upbringing and experiences influenced the creation of Narnia, relaying how tragedies in his life made him yearn for a better world. As Jack progresses from an imaginative child into a disillusioned adolescent, bullied in boarding school and wounded in WWI before finally becoming a faith-filled author and professor, Maslo conveys his journey in an accessibly lyrical style (“But when Jack was nine, his mother became sick and died. And his wonder-filled world began to crumble”). Stippled, crosshatched, and otherwise detailed illustrations done in dip pen, India inks, and acrylics on watercolor paper provide a lushly colored look into Lewis’s world, complementing the peaks and valleys of his creative and personal endeavors. Additional facts, trivia about Lewis’s inspirations, and a bibliography flesh out the back matter. A heartening story, and a rich supplemental read for young Narnia fans. Ages 4–8.

April 1, 2020
Grades 2-4 Maslo pulls strands from the early life of C. S. Jack Lewis that the author later rewove into his most renowned creation. She covers his early fascination with imagined lands, the traumas of his childhood, and alludes to his loss and recapture of religious faith, a topic which she expands upon in an afterword. A child evacuated during WWII inspired him to write stories set in Narnia and to discover that the worst moments of your life were only leading you to become the person you were meant to be. Like Caroline McAlister's Finding Narnia (2019), this is aimed at readers who are already passingly familiar with the series. The author makes Lewis out to be a staid, solitary figure who found love only at the end?the watercolor illustrations close with a poignant view of the author and Joy, a fan who briefly became his wife, walking through a doorway into a green land. The back matter includes a page of intriguing background facts and a source list for older readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)