Is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe an appropriate first “real” book for a six-year-old?
My father, Lee, didn’t seem to care.
A minister and lifelong superfan of C. S. Lewis, Dad handed me a used, musty-smelling copy and, probably, said something like, “You’re gonna love this.” It was his way, as a walking encyclopedia with a vast knowledge of popular culture, to help my sisters and me discover our next musical or epic adventure in novel, film, or album form, rounding us out, you might say. And so, while jotting notes for his next sermon, sipping piping hot coffee across a table at a McDonald’s in Jackson, Mississippi and chuckling a bit at my literary struggles, Dad helped when I called out words I didn’t yet understand. “Dew?” “The water on the grass in the morning.” “Hag?” “Like a witch.” “Turkish delight?” “Candy.” He always had an answer. What he may not have foreseen was how many hours I’d spend throughout childhood and beyond dreaming of six-year-old me’s idea of Narnian life: always on the move, bow and arrow at the ready, eating whatever the land provides, introducing myself to every animal with the hope they’ll actually reply, generally staying just out of sight…
But back to our topic today: there’s a great deal to be had on an epic set of audiobooks, voiced by some of the best, and just about guaranteed to delight all ages. You’ve probably already guessed which audiobooks I’m talking about – but keep reading because we’re still one more blog-ish anecdote away from the reveal.
So, as we developed Audiobook Builder 1.0, way, way back in 2006, I made a research purchase from the iTunes Store: the early 2000’s audiobook of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as read by Michael York – a childhood hero of mine for leading a wave of youth from their caves of steel, concrete, and glass back to reality and old age in Logan’s Run. That purchase gave us just about everything we needed to figure out how audiobooks on Apple devices work and, if you’re an Audiobook Builder user, you know how that adventure turned out. Sadly, I never told my father that little bit. Wherever you are, Dad, now you know – and thanks again :).
And now, at last, the reveal. As I write this, there are at least 8 complete sets (31 discs!) of the entire The Chronicles of Narnia from that same early 2000’s production for under $20 shipped at Amazon – a plug for which we receive zero payola, by the way, because we’re not in it for those sweet, sweet affiliate bucks. Besides Michael York, you’ll hear Kenneth Branagh, Jeremy Northam, Lynn Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, and Alex Jennings narrate the adventures of several children who meet many an amazing talking animal, human, giant, dwarf, witch – I could go on but you and I both know it’s the talking animals we love the most – as they learn of courage, sacrifice, forgiveness, redemption, and other fine virtues. You’d be hard-pressed to dream up a better way to teach your own kids lessons like these – short of being a real-life Narnian! – which is why my own kids get a chapter or two at bedtime, these days.
So, now that you’ve ordered your set, don’t forget you can convert these fantastic tales to audiobook files that work on just about any Apple device – iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more – with our Audiobook Builder. As always, drop us a line at support@splasm.com if you have any questions and we’ll be happy to help out!