Best Books About Family-Friendly Fantasy by C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis is one of the most beloved fantasy writers in the English language - the creator of Narnia, the magical land that children enter through a wardrobe, and one of the great imaginations of the twentieth century. And his writing is, almost uniquely, clean: no profanity, no graphic content, nothing that would make a parent hesitate. The darkness in Lewis is moral - temptation, betrayal, the battle between good and evil - rather than graphic, and his books can be read aloud to children and returned to for a lifetime.

Lewis wrote more than the Narnia books, and the Narnia books themselves are not all equal. If you are new to Narnia - or if you have read one or two of the books and want to know which to try next - this guide will take you through Lewis’s best work for families, organized by what each book offers.

The Essential Start: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe#

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)#

The best possible introduction to Narnia, and one of the greatest children’s books ever written: four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy - are evacuated from wartime London to a country house, and Lucy, the youngest, discovers that a wardrobe leads to Narnia - a land frozen in “always winter and never Christmas” by the White Witch, and waiting for the return of the great lion, Aslan.

It is the essential Lewis for every age: the door into Narnia, the battle between good and evil, the sacrifice and the resurrection - all delivered with a storyteller’s warmth. It can be read aloud to children as young as six or seven, and it rewards re-reading for a lifetime. If you read only one Narnia book, this is the one.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Why It Works for Families#

The book’s genius is its combination: the cozy English children, the magical land, the talking animals, the witch and the lion - and underneath, the deepest themes, delivered with a light touch. The book is an argument about courage and betrayal and redemption, and it is also a story about four ordinary children who become kings and queens. It is the perfect family read: something to be shared, chapter by chapter, and discussed afterwards.

The Narnia Books: A Complete Guide#

Lewis wrote seven Narnia books, and they are best read - most readers agree - in the order they were published, rather than in Narnia’s internal chronology. Here is the complete series, in reading order.

Prince Caspian (1951)#

The second published book: the Pevensies return to Narnia a year later (in our time) only to find that centuries have passed in Narnia - the land is ruled by the Telmarines, and the old Narnians, the talking beasts, are hiding. The book is about the prince, Caspian, and the restoration of the old Narnia. It is the essential read for readers who loved the first book: the same children, a new adventure, a deeper story about faith and the old ways.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)#

The third published book, and for many readers the best: Edmund and Lucy, with their dreadful cousin Eustace, return to Narnia and join Caspian - now king - on a voyage to the edge of the world, seeking the seven lost lords. The book is a sea voyage, an episodic adventure, and a deepening of the series’ spiritual themes. It is the essential read for the adventure, and it contains one of the great moments in the series: Eustace’s dragonish transformation and his undragonning.

The Silver Chair (1953)#

The fourth published book: Eustace, with his schoolmate Jill, is sent to Narnia to find Prince Rilian, the missing son of Caspian - and the book is a quest into the Underworld, with the Marsh-wiggle Puddleglum, one of the great comic creations in children’s literature. It is the essential read for the quest, and its climax - Puddleglum’s speech against the powers of the Underworld - is one of the most moving passages in the series.

The Horse and His Boy (1954)#

The fifth published book, and the most unusual: a story set in Narnia’s neighbor, Calormen, following a boy and a talking horse who flee north to Narnia, and the girl they rescue on the way. It is the essential read for readers who want a different corner of the world - and it contains the series’ most explicit account of Aslan’s working in the lives of ordinary people.

The Magician’s Nephew (1955)#

The sixth published book, and the prequel: the creation of Narnia, and the story of how the wardrobe came to be - two children, Digory and Polly, stumble into the Wood between the Worlds and witness Aslan singing Narnia into existence. It is the essential read for the backstory, and it contains one of the most beautiful passages in all of Lewis: the creation of Narnia, and the first appearance of evil in it.

The Last Battle (1956)#

The final book: the end of Narnia - a false Aslan, a great battle, and the revelation of what lies beyond the world. It is the darkest of the series and the most explicitly religious, and it is the essential read for readers who want the series’ conclusion - though it is best saved for older readers, and for those who have read the whole series.

If You Loved the Doorways: Lewis’s Portals#

The wardrobe is the most famous doorway in children’s literature, and Lewis’s books are full of doors - paintings, pools, rings, hills. These are the essential reads for the portals.

The Magician’s Nephew, and the Wood between the Worlds#

The prequel introduces the most beautiful of Lewis’s portals: the Wood between the Worlds, a quiet forest full of pools, each one a door to a different world. It is the essential read for the doors, and it explains how the wardrobe came to be.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the Painting on the Wall#

The third book’s portal is a painting - a picture of a ship at sea that comes alive - and it is one of the most enchanting of Lewis’s doors. It is the essential read for the doors at their most magical.

If You Loved Aslan: Lewis’s Great Lion#

Aslan is one of the great characters in children’s literature - the lion who is not safe but is good, who appears when he is needed and is never tame. The Narnia books are, in the deepest sense, about him. These are the essential reads for Aslan.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Return of the King#

The first book introduces Aslan at his most powerful: the great lion who returns to Narnia, who pays the price for Edmund’s betrayal, who rises again. The book’s account of Aslan’s sacrifice - the stone table, the dawn - is one of the most moving passages in children’s literature, and it is the essential read for Aslan.

The Horse and His Boy, and the Lion Who Works in Secret#

The fifth book shows Aslan at his most mysterious: a presence who appears at key moments, who has been guiding the characters all along without their knowing. It is the essential read for the deeper understanding of Aslan.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the Lamb at the End#

The third book ends with one of the most beautiful of Aslan’s appearances: at the edge of the world, where Aslan appears as a lamb - and explains that in the children’s world, he has another name. It is the essential read for the series’ deepest themes.

If You Loved the Children: Lewis’s Heroes#

The Narnia books are full of children - the Pevensies, Eustace, Jill, Digory, Polly - and Lewis’s children are real: brave and frightened, good and failing, growing through their adventures. These are the essential reads for the children.

The Pevensies, and the Kings and Queens of Narnia#

The four Pevensie children are the heart of the series: Peter, the eldest, who must learn to lead; Susan, the gentle one; Edmund, who betrays and is redeemed; and Lucy, the youngest, who is bravest and most faithful. Their arc - from wartime evacuees to kings and queens of Narnia - is one of the great arcs in children’s literature.

Eustace, and the Boy Who Is Changed#

Eustace Scrubb begins as one of the most unlikable children in literature - spoiled, smug, dreadful - and the series is about his transformation, most powerfully in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where he becomes a dragon and is undragonned. It is the essential read for the child who changes.

Digory and Polly, and the Children Who Saw Creation#

The children of The Magician’s Nephew witness the creation of Narnia - and the book is about the first temptation, the first sin, and the first hope. It is the essential read for the beginning of it all.

If You Loved the World: Lewis’s Other Fantasies#

Beyond Narnia, Lewis wrote other fantasies - stranger, deeper, and written for older readers. These are the essential reads beyond the wardrobe.

Out of the Silent Planet (1938)#

The first of Lewis’s science-fiction trilogy: Dr. Ransom, a philologist, is kidnapped and taken to Mars - Malacandra - where he discovers a world of strange creatures and a deeper theology. It is the essential read for readers who want Lewis’s imagination in a different register.

Perelandra (1943)#

The second of the trilogy, and for many readers the best: Ransom is sent to Venus - Perelandra - a world of floating islands and a new Garden of Eden, where the temptation of the first woman is being replayed. It is stranger and more beautiful than the first book, and it is the essential read for Lewis’s deepest imagination.

That Hideous Strength (1945)#

The third of the trilogy, set on Earth: Ransom, now the head of the eldila, must oppose a sinister institute that is trying to remake humanity. It is the most ambitious and the most uneven of the three, but it is the essential read for the trilogy’s conclusion.

Till We Have Faces (1956)#

Lewis’s own favorite among his books, and his most beautiful: a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, told by Psyche’s sister Orual - a book about love, jealousy, and the difficulty of seeing the gods clearly. It is the essential read for older readers who want Lewis at his most profound.

Building Your Own Shelf: A Reading Order#

Here is a suggested path through Lewis’s best work for families:

• Start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for the essential introduction.
• Move through the series in publication order: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, and The Last Battle.
• Try Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra for Lewis’s other worlds.
• End with Till We Have Faces when you want his deepest book.

For more books in this spirit, our thoughtful guide to clean books for teens helps you find more wholesome, substantial reads, and our thoughtful guide to books without explicit content extends the shelf into stories that are rich without being graphic. The stories section of our site is full of guides like this one, so there is always another door to open.

Why Lewis Endures#

C. S. Lewis created a land that children have been entering through a wardrobe for seventy years - and he did it with prose that is clean, warm, and full of wonder. His books are arguments about the things that matter: courage and betrayal, sacrifice and redemption, the lion who is not safe but is good. They can be read to children and returned to for a lifetime, and they reward every age differently: the child finds adventure, the adult finds theology, and everyone finds Aslan. The wardrobe is always open - and it leads somewhere real.