The cottage is full of books- travel books, dinosaur books, birds of the british isles, extinct animals, books written in Italian . . . Books make me happy and rooms full of books make me feel mysterious and whimsical. I love reading to my children, playing the different character parts with changes in my voice and accent to fuel their imaginations. My mother read to me and took us to the library often- encouraging us to cherish the books and the worlds within them. My father created the most wonderful on the spot bedtime stories, an oral tradition he has continued to share with his grandchildren.
When I spied C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on the shelves here I realized my children had not yet joined Lucy on her adventures in Narnia. Before we began, I told Logan and Jude to take turns going inside the large wooden wardrobe in our room (wardrobes are quite plentiful in Europe.) They were skeptical and curious and wondered why on earth a person might go inside a wardrobe! But, of course, they will never think of a wardrobe the same way again.
It had been ages since I had read the story myself, and as an adult I found myself sobbing and sobbing through the text as Aslan sacrificed himself for Edmund as I know that Christ has sacrificed himself for all of us. And for me, I too will not think of a wardrobe the same way again.
When the book was finished we watched the new movie version after which Logan and Jude straightway grabbed their swords and invisible bow and arrows to battle a White Witch in the living room.
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