For most of his life, C.S. Lewis was an academic, working at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and focusing on Renaissance and Medieval Literature. Whodathunkit, right?

Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, and became an atheist as a teenager, only to decide in his early thirties to rejoin the Anglican Church. After his conversion back to the Church, much of his work—including his children's literature—was influenced by Christian themes and motifs.

Though Lewis wrote everything from poetry to essays to literary criticism to theology, he's most famous for his Chronicles of Narnia—a fantasy series of seven books set in the mythical land of Narnia.

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

The first of Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the tale of four children living in a country house during World War II. One day, one of the children opens a wardrobe in the house, only to find herself transported to the magical world of Narnia, where animals talk, a witch rules, and mythical creatures abound.

It's one of the worlds' fave kids' stories, and in it, we'll find all the hallmarks of children's literature—including loads of the fantastic and a whole group of child protagonists.

Prince Caspian (1951)

In the second book in the serious, the four children return to Narnia, where they find that things haven't been going so well. The throne of Narnia has been usurped, and once again, they must save the magical land from destruction. That's children's lit for you.

Chew on This

Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is full of the fantastic. Have a look at these quotations from the book.

C.S. Lewis was a didactic writer who was big on teaching his young readers the difference between good and evil. Check out our analysis of the theme in Prince Caspian, the second book in the Narnia Chronicles.