Walking through the Wardrobe: A Devotional Quest into The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

by Sarah Arthur

Do you hunger for other worlds? Always looking for what's just around the corner? Do you long to go beyond this ordinary life, to find adventure in magical lands like Narnia? The quest is not to be taken lightly. You just may discover there is another Kingdom out closer than you realize, as near as your heartbeat, just through that door. Are you ready to take the first step? Join best-selling author Sarah Arthur (Walking with Frodo) as she ventures through the wardrobe with the cast of The Chronicles of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in the quest for the true Kingdom. Other Short-cut cover opens to full-color, full-page piece of art.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Devotional, Faith, Spirituality

226 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2005

About the author

Sarah Arthur is a fun-loving speaker, Christy Award finalist, and author of numerous books for teens and adults, including the bestselling ONCE A QUEEN, the first in her acclaimed Carrick Hall Novels. Among other nerdy adventures, she has served as preliminary fiction judge for Christianity Today’s Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival in northern Michigan, and co-directs the Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreats. She lives in Lansing, Michigan with her husband and two preteen sons.

Reviews

[Corrin Woodbrooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - Some really great nuggets in here that got me thinking, and so good to read a book about someone who loves Narnia as much as me

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY recommend for anyone who is at all a fan of the Narnia franchise. It was really interesting to see all the biblical analogies that I've missed despite reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe probably four times now. Lewis is an absolutely genius, and this devotional is amazing.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walking Through The Wardrobe: A devotional quest into The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe; Sarah Arthur
Another Christmas book. A devotional canvassing LWW by C.S. Lewis. This one isn't meant to last for the year with a daily reading. Arthur is a Lewis fan and you can see that this is more of a study into the first Narnia book itself rather than an outright Bible study.The chapters are longer and they break LWW down by characters giving a profile of each and how they're related to the Christian message that Lewis was conveying. Each chapter cross references other works of Lewis, adds trivia tidbits about his life or origins of story elements, and also poses questions for self reflection and Bible verses to read and ponder related to each subject. It's a very thorough exercise. I would suggest the same caveat that I did regarding A Hobbit Devotional - that of being firm in your faith before reading so as not to worship the fictional material, but other than that, I really liked this one. It's hard to misinterpret Lewis when it comes to his expounding on Christian principles anyway. New Christians or those flirting with Christianity could get something out of this. And even if the Christian connection isn't what you're after, it still is good for laying out how all the main characters fit together. Secularly speaking, I always thought that four main characters was too many, but I have a new perspective after this. So I recommend it to everyone, Christian or not.

[Jessica Previte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful eye opener into C S Lewis’ fantasy world. So much I missed (and this is but one insight) such as when Susan and Peter question the Professor Kirk (who is CS Lewis, with the Master Teacher being Jesus Himself) about Lucy’s behavior and to “come and see” (with childlike enthusiasm and faith) this other world. The Professor presents them with logic … the ‘trilemma’. He suggests “she’s a pathological liar, clinically insane, or she’s telling the truth”. She’s not crazy, she’s not one to tell lies, so in the remaining opinion she’s utterly honest. Then the author ties this similar ‘trilemma’ argument about Jesus — Jesus was not a raving lunatic, he was perfectly sane in every respect. Jesus tells the truth about himself (he never budged from claiming to be God) - either he tells the truth about himself or he is lying about everything else (forget the beatitudes, the sermon on the mount, love one another, etc). Therefore the remaining opinion concludes that Jesus was in fact who he said he was … the Son of God. The author of this devotional dives into such spiritual depths that each section is an in-depth look into our own hearts and souls.

[Michelle Lunsford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not realize when I first purchased this devotional that it's intended audience is youth. That did not, however, diminish my enjoyment or the impact of this resource for me and my faith journey. For while the context of application in this devotional is most applicable to high school age, the main content is good fodder for thought and reflection of adults as well.

I got this because of my love of CS Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia, but also because I'd read and enjoyed another devotional by the author (Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany). This definitely resonated with me because of the Narnia connection, and Sarah Arthur's writing style, again though aimed at a younger audience, did not disappoint. I enjoyed the format of "walking" with different LWW characters. The suggested scripture readings and the question/journal prompts were all good. This is one of those resources that I'll be keeping for my library, because I can see myself returning to it again in future.

[Gloriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid theology, and really interesting parallels drawn between the Narnia story and the Christian walk. Arthur touches on a variety of topics under the umbrella of Christianity, and does a great job pulling out overarching themes and lessons.

I also learned a lot about C. S. Lewis and his other literary works.

It is a bit dated and definitely geared toward teenagers, but a worthwhile read for any Narnia fan!

[Shanna Klutts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite truthfully, the last few chapters could have been combined into one dynamic one. Separated out, they were kind of a let down as an ending. Still, very good devotional book for those who are seeking after God and wanting to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

[Becky Carlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We enjoyed this so much as a family!! Vivid character study through different themes, supported with a lot of scripture and critical thinking questions.

[(Jen) The Artist Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a huge "Chronicles of Narnia" fan ever since I first read the series in elementary school, so of course I loved this book. It's a nice little book that guides you through topical devotions based on "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I'd agree with other reviews that say that this is probably aimed at readers younger than myself, but I still enjoyed this book. As a Jane Austen fan, I hope to get my hands on Sarah Arthur's earlier devotional "Dating Mr. Darcy" soon.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little devotional book based on TLTWATW; I think it was originally intended for a bit younger audience than middle-aged moms, but still liked it very much.

[Geneviève · Rating 3 out of 5]

light and enlightening

[Ella J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this deviotional.
It has help me see so many spirtual truths that are found in the Narnia book series.

[Diane Stephenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I believe this book was written for youth, I thoroughly enjoyed the author's style of writing.

[Skye Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was great fun. I found lots of the insights and tidbits of information fascinating.