COVE

Lewis, C. S., The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), published by Geoffrey Bles, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, Wikipedia. The story begins when four children, Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter, are evacuated to the countryside during WWII. They are staying with a strange and mysterious professor in his strange and mysterious home. Perhaps what's most unique about the large house is the wardrobe it contains that transports the children to the magical world of Narnia. Narnia is very different from the world the children leave behind. Animals talk, magical creatures exist, and it's always winter but never Christmas. The children soon learn, however, that Narnia hasn't always been stuck in a state of perepetual bitter coldness. An evil White Witch has placed a curse over Narnia and has taken control, turning anyone who questions her authority to stone. While many of Narnia's creatures have been shivering from the snow and hiding in fear for much too long, the sight of Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter gives them hope. They refer to the children as the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve, and inform them of the prophecy that "When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone / Sits at Cair Paravel in throne, / The evil time will be over and done" (Lewis 81). Paired with the rumors that Aslan, a spirtual lion who holds great power, is on the move, the children's arrival in Narnia rally's the fantastical country's residents to prepare for battle in order to take down the White Witch and return peace and prosperity to the lands.

Lewis, C. S.. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Scholastic Inc., 1950.