Chronicles of Narnia book revierv : The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe

By Brian Hobbs

While few people may have read all seven books in C.S Lewis ' Cltronicles of

I{arnia, a vast majority are familiar with the second book in the series.

The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. What an interesting name to those who may

not have heard it before. I will not spend much time summarizing the plot of this fairy

tale, which has threads of Christian theology throughout. It tells the tale of four siblings

- Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy- who leave for the English countryside during air

raids in London during WWII. They stay at the large house of a distinguished professor

and find a magic wardrobe during a game of hide and seek that leads the to another

world, the world of Narnia.

Narnia is a magical world, with fauns,talking animals and centaurs and a white

witch holding the whole of the realm under her dictatorship. The white witch, who

represents Satan, tricks the young boy Edmund into betraying his siblings and all of

what is good in Narnia. In the story, there is a lion named Aslan who comes to save

Edrnund - and all of Narnia- from the clutches of the white witch.

There is no way to capture the power of the story without reading it.

36. Who wrote The Chronicle of Narnia?

A. Brian Hobbs.

B. C.S.Lewis.

C. Edmund.

D. Narnia.

E. Peter.

37 . fhe Chronicle of Narnia is a ... book.

A. fiction

B" scientific

C. nonfiction

D. religious

E. historical

38. "...young boy Edmund into betraying his siblings and ...." (Paragraph 3)

The synonirn of the underlined word is....

A. brother and sister

B" the white witch

C. distinguishedprofessor

D" fauns, animals, and centaurs

E. close relatives

It is probably one of the most important books I've ever read. Not for its heavy

philosophy, practical instructions, or memorable quotes; but for its simple ,r.rrug. of

ltow wonderful life can be when viewed tluough the eyes of an innocent .t ita.

Each story is only a page or two, a delightful narrative of how Totto-chan views

the world, and hor.v Mr. Kuroyanagi inspires the chiidren to explore, learn, feel and have joy. There
are several charcoal drawings that capture the tenderness of the stories,

making us feel apar:t of Totto-chan's world.

One of my favorite vignettes is the story of losing her hat in the septic tank at the

school, and proceeds to dig it out. The headmaster r,valks by, and after u fery questions to

satisfy his curiosity, and hearing her earnest explanations, he lets her continue with the

simple instruction, "make sure you put it ali back!,,

Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Windor,v is a celebration of childhood, learning

and caring. We've enjoyed reading one or tr.vo stories for becltime of'tand-on for a coupl-

of years, and almost don't want to finish the book because it will mean there are no more

stories. Totto-chan seems so real and loveable, and her headmaster is a role model for

parents and teachers.

The book is written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and translated by Dorothy Britton.

What is the text about?

A. A summary of children biography.

B. The novel of Totto-chan.

C. Children's activities.

D. A description of Mr. Kuroyanagi.

E. The headmaster and teachers.

Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Window is a story . . ..

A. of an innocent children
B. containing philosophy of life

C. that teaches us that life is actually wonderful

D. that motivates children to explore the world

E. that describes good headmasters and teachers.

According to the text, who inspires the children enjoying their childhood?

A. Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.

B. The teachers.

C. The headmaster.

D. Dorothy Britton.

E. The little girl.

THE PRINCESS DIARIES

Meg Cabot

Harper Collins

Young Adult

ISBN: 0380814021

304 pages

As the hilariously funny tale called The Princess Diaries begins, Mia Thermopolis is just a regular high
school freshman at Albert Einstein High School. Well, as regular as you can be when you live in a loft
in downtown New York with your flighty artist Mom. And as regular as you can be when your best
friend is Lilly, a punky and spunky militant who produces her ownTV show.

As readers can guess from the title, this book takes the form of a diary, written by Mia. Over the pan
of a month, she relates her daily woes and embarrassments in heart breaking detail. As with most
teenaged girls, Mia thinks she is hopeless, looks-wise. She's tall 5’9 and klutzy, and not so gifted in
the chest department.

Then there is school. One of Mia’s biggest problems is the fact she is flunking Algebra and, to make
matters worse, her Mom has begun dating her teacher. Gross.

In the boy department, the cutest one in school has the locker next to hers, but doesn't even know
Mia exists, even as his snooty girlfriend Lana, a popular cheerleader, torments her. And to top it off,
Mia is developing some sort of weird crush on Michael, Lilly’s computer nerd brother.
Then one day, Mia finds out she is a princess. Okay, I know that doesn’t sound bad to most girls, but
Mia hates the idea instantly. How does this fairy tale come true? Her father is ruler of the principality
of Genovia and since Mia is his only child, she is next in line to the throne. Her dad sends in the big
guns to convince Mia that being a princess is what she is meant to do: her formidable grandmother
comes to New York to give Mia "Princess Lessons". And as the word spreads around Albert Einstein
High School that Mia is royalty, her life just gets more crazy.

The ending of The Princess Diaries is a twisty one and will leave you jonesing for more stories of Mia
and the rest of her friends.

Reviewed by Jennifer Abbots

1. Who wrote The Princess Diaries?

A. Mia Thermapolis

B. Jennifer Abbots

C. Meg Cabot

D. Albert Einstein

E. Lilly

2. What is the communicative purpose of the text above?

A. To criticise an art work, event for a public audience

B. To entertain and to deal with actual in different ways

C. To describe the story of the princes diaries

D. To present (at least) many different aspects of an issue

E. To explain the processes involved in the formation of sosiocultural phenomena

3. Which one is true based on the text above?

A. The Princess Diaries was written by Jennifer Abbots

B. Mia was a student in Albert Einstein High School

C. The Ending of The Princess Diaries is amazing

D. Mia was avoided by her friends

E. The princess Diaries is the title of movie