A lovely and entertaining prequel to the Narnia series. It tells the story of Digory and Polly, who discover a magical world through the use of magic rings created by Digory’s uncle, Andrew, who’s a magician.

The children find themselves in a place called Charn, where they awaken an evil queen, Jadis, who was sealed in a deep sleep by her own people after she brought destruction and death to her own kingdom. Jadis is powerful and manipulative, and she follows the children back to London, where she wreaks havoc and chaos.

Eventually, the children, along with Uncle Andrew, a cab driver named Frank, and Jadis herself, find themselves transported to a new world, a new land called Narnia, where they witness its creation at the hands of the great lion Aslan. The story ends with the origins of the wardrobe from “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” and the children returning home, changed by their experiences and their newfound knowledge of good and evil.

Of course, the book is full of religious allegories, exploring themes of good versus evil, temptation, and the consequences of actions. Although I found the pace to be a bit slow, I still very much enjoyed stepping back into Narnia.