C.S. Lewis

Beatrice Gormley's biography of C.S. Lewis is one of the better introductions to his life for young readers who have met him through Narnia and want to know who made those books. She follows him from his Belfast boyhood, through his atheism and conversion to Christianity, through his Oxford years and his friendships with Tolkien and the Inklings, all the way to his late-life marriage to Joy Davidman. More than fifty photographs help bring the timeline to life. Booklist and the BCCB both praised it for accessibility and warmth. The book is explicitly faith-forward, published by Eerdmans, and is an ideal fit for Christian families and educators. Readers looking for deep literary analysis of Lewis's fiction will want supplementary reading, but as a readable life story for ages 10 to 14, this does its job well.