“This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child.”

From C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.

In 1900 London, friends Digory and Polly have spent the summer playing in the nearby gardens.  However, when their indoor play mistakenly lands them in the study of Digory’s Uncle Andrew, and Polly touches a gold ring that instantly transports her to a different world.  Andrew tells Digory that he’s been training as a magician and the gold ring was enchanted, and he then gives Digory another gold ring to follow after Polly and two green rings to enable them to transport back home.  Once he touches his gold ring, Digory finds himself transported to the woodland area where Polly was also transported.  The children soon realize that the ponds scattered around the woods are portals to other worlds and they decide to investigate a few worlds before returning home.  When they pond-travel to a world called Charn, they accidentally awaken the evil witch Jadis that follows the fleeing children back through the portals to London.  Jadis then takes Andrew and Frank, a horse-drawn cab driver, under her control with plans to take over Earth, so Digory and Polly use their rings to transport Jadis and the others back to the woodland.  However, when the group witnesses Aslan the Lion create a new world called Narnia, it instantly launches a power struggle for the new world that will change the future and push Digory and Polly to their limits.

The first book in Lewis’ famed Chronicles of Narnia series is full of fantasy, wonder, and adventure.  Despite the original publication date, this series is still captivating and unique for today’s readers.  The Magician’s Nephew introduces characters and a world to create a solid foundation for the rest of the series, and is not to be missed.