I spent a magical, enjoyable day reading Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan. The story is beautiful and the book had so many great quotes about reading, imagination and life. I absolutely love “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis and that book is the stepping point for Callahan’s fictional novel.
George is an eight year old boy with a weak heart who is nearing the end of his life. His parents and his sister, Megs, are struggling with their grief and inability to “fix him” because they love him dearly. Megs is a brilliant college math student who can always find factual answers to problems. George is an imaginative little boy who loves to hear the story of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and wants to know where the story comes from . . . Megs wants to give George the answer to his question, so she works up the courage to go and ask the great C.S. Lewis where he got his story. And that is where the magic of this novel begins!
I was so drawn into the lives of these characters and I smiled and cried as I read Once Upon a Wardrobe. (Yes, I needed a tissue for parts of it, but in a good way.) You don’t need to have read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” to enjoy this book, but you might want to . . . or even watch the movie – we have both at our library! I feel like I need to read Callahan’s other novel – Becoming Mrs. Lewis – because I really liked learning more about C.S. (Jack) Lewis! This book is full of heart and hope!
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