Am I finished with the Summer of Narnia 2026 yet? No, far from it. Kobunsha not only published the Chronicles of Narnia in their Classics line, they produced these audiobooks, narrated in Japanese and available from Audible. They all have simple yet attractive covers in bright, pastel shades. I’ve noticed that about Japan and also …
I came across these very unusual — to say the least — and minimalistic covers of the Chronicles on a deep internet search. I don’t recall having seen them anywhere before in all the years I’ve been doing the Summer of Narnia. It’s sophisticated design, yet simple, in keeping with the Japanese aesthetic. I think …
A year ago I speculated on how the Netflix version of The Magician’s Nephew would handle Aslan’s creation of the world through his song. When I came upon this illustration, I realized there was another way to handle it. I call it the “Hakuna Matata” method. It’s used in animated musicals a lot, like The …
Somewhere in the late 1970s or early 1980s the British publisher that held the rights to the Chronicles, Williams Collins, Sons & Co., ** decided to update the look of the books to appeal to the current audience of young readers. Up to then they had relied on covers using Pauline Baynes’ original artwork, but …
Some months ago I was researching flag design and wondering what sort of flag Jadis would create for Narnia during the years that she ruled it. I came up with this design. The red sun represents Charn’s, the white star its lone companion, and the dark blue background Charn’s empty sky. The mountains denote …
Lampost, Pevensies, and Aslan come together in this free-form stitched piece of textile art by Heidi Rhodes.
This illustration, by artist Forrest Burdett, is an art print that mimics a design for a book cover. It includes all the elements but Aslan and Mr. Tumnus, giving the viewer the idea kids defeat the witch, who is glowering on the bottom, on their own. As an artist I like this intentionally naive, folkloric …
Let’s return to Asian publishing for some more unusual editions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The left one is from 1969 and published in Hong Kong through a Christian publication company. Clearly the cover artist did not read the book and created a Halloween scenario — with Halloween colors — based on …
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