Canterbury Readers Vote LWW #1 Book

Stuff.co.nz reports: C. S. Lewis’s classic children’s tale narrowly beat the Bible and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code in the What’s Your Favourite? competition run by Christchurch City Libraries, The Press and the Christchurch Book Festival Trust. About 5000 people voted for the overall favourite from a list of 20 books decided by an earlier poll. The voting spread throughout Canterbury after libraries in the Waimakariri, Selwyn, Ashburton and Timaru districts joined in. Christchurch libraries and information manager Carolyn Robertson said The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1950, appealed to succeeding generations because of its universal themes. “There is something about it which is really captivating,” she said. “That magic can happen in the most unlikely places.” It is often regarded as a biblical allegory as the children help the lion Aslan, a Christ-like figure, overcome the White Witch, who has cursed Narnia with eternal winter. Thanks to Coracle for the link!