Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy. 25 novels and stories. Illustrated
C. S. Lewis · 2025
68/100
👎 Skip It
The anchor of a complete Chronicles of Narnia alongside George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll, and Lord Dunsany makes this a legitimately rich survey of fantasy's formative texts — the kind of collection a genre enthusiast would treasure. The complication is Cabell's Jurgen, whose adult allegorical satire is buried in an anthology with no content notes or editorial framing to guide readers or parents. The lack of curatorial apparatus and digital-only format also limit its appeal. Worth it for a discerning adult fantasy reader who knows what they are getting; too uneven to recommend broadly.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: mixed content — Cabell's Jurgen contains adult allegorical sexual satire; no parental guidance provided in anthology. We still scored it 68; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
📚 Buy the book ↗📱 Read on Kindle ↗🎧 Listen on Audible ↗ affiliate links · support the site, never the verdict
As an Amazon Associate and Audible affiliate, Penny earns from qualifying purchases. This never affects the verdict — see our affiliate disclosure.
Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety62
substance78
craft75
originality55
accuracy80
hype52
age-fit58
human-eye66
Penny’s verdict68
Cross-pollinate