Also by this author: The Friend Who Forgives: A True Story About How Peter Failed and Jesus Forgave, The Bright Light and the Super Scary Darkness, The Bright Light and the Super Scary Darkness, How Much Is a Little Boy Worth?, Lottie Moon: The Girl Who Reached the World
Series: Here I Am! Biography Series #2
Published by B&H Publishing, B&H Kids on July 11, 2023
Genres: Children's, Children's Educational
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The lion, the writer, and the search for joy.
Not every author can write about theology, literature, and a talking lion and end up delighting readers for generations. But not every author is C.S. Lewis. This biographical picture book welcomes readers to get to know the man behind Aslan and the magical wardrobe and to experience the joy that fueled his imagination.
Young Clive Staples Lewis once loved wonder and play but was unable to trust God after the death of his mother. He left behind his belief in God and became a soldier and a professor. But he never stopped hoping to find true joy. This unique picture book, narrated by a bespectacled owl, tells the tale of how the man known as Jack embraced Christianity, was surprised by joy, and then used his words and writings to share that joy with the world.
C.S. Lewis: The Writer Who Found Joy is the second book in the Here I Am! biography series for kids, which highlights fascinating and faithful Christians in history.
Also available:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Teacher Who Became a Spy
Lottie Moon: The Girl Who Reached the World
This picture book biography introduces a favorite Christian author and apologist to children. It goes through C.S. Lewis’s life from his childhood to his death, highlighting his journey to faith and some of his major accomplishments. Daniel DeWitt tells Lewis’s story in a way that kids can relate to and understand, and the charming illustrations from Marcin Piwowarski capture recognizable likenesses and help tell the story. The book deals with some heavy topics, such as cancer and wartime realities, but the author handles everything in a simple, age-appropriate way. The story shows how C.S. Lewis learned to trust God and found lasting joy in the midst of life’s challenges.
The narrator is Gilbert the Owl, a character created for this book. This adds an enjoyable layer of whimsy without feeling gimmicky, and the owl sometimes appears on the page, mentioning a fun fact in a text box that’s off at the side or the bottom of the page. This never disrupts the flow of the story, and it’s all very conversational and engaging. Some of the illustrations also include place names and other details, and there are twenty lions that kids can search for throughout the book. Some of the lions are very prominent in the illustrations, while others are more subtle and hidden.
C.S. Lewis: The Writer Who Found Joy is a great introduction to C.S. Lewis’s life. It covers multiple topics of interest, including some of the inspiration for the Narnia books, and it teaches kids about the important role that Lewis’s Christian faith played in his life and writing. This is appropriate for parents to read aloud to young children, and elementary-aged kids can read this to themselves. I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend this to adult fans as well. Picture books are for everyone! I would also recommend the Bonhoeffer biography from this series, and look forward to future installments.
