The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy

Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy

Author: C.S. Lewis

Genre: Fantasy

Age Level: Eight to Twelve Years Old

Characters: Shasta, Bree, Aravis, Hwin, Prince Corin, Aslan

Plot: In this third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, we meet up with a young boy named Shasta. He lives with his supposed father in Calormen where he works hard to satisfy his cruel father's needs. One day, he hears his father discussing selling him as a slave to a stranger. Shasta walks outside and finds the man's horse. Soon, he finds out that his horse is a Talking of Horse of Narnia. Shasta and Bree, the horse's name, escape together from slavery. As they are traveling on their way to Narnia, the two encounter a girl named Aravis and another Talking Horse of Narnia named Hwin. Aravis is escaping an unwanted marriage. When they go through the city of Tashbaan, Shasta is accidentally mistaken for a Prince Corin, and is taken to the Narnians who are in the city. Queen Susan and the other Narnians welcome him and discuss a plot to get out of the city. The real Prince Corin shows up later and Shasta and he trade spots. The Narnians are now fleeing the city. Meanwhile, Aravis is found by one of her childhood friends. The two end up in a bad situation where they accidentally overhear a plot to conquer Narnia. Soon, Shasta, Bree, Aravis, and Hwin meet up together again and head towards Narnia. Shasta is able to rush ahead to tell of the plot. Battle erupts between the two sides. In the meantime, Shasta meets Aslan, the lion. He finds out that Prince Corin and he are twins. His real name was not Shasta but Prince Cor. Everything works out in the end. Aravis and Prince Cor get married and become a good King and Queen of Archenland.

Precautions: This book is a family friendly book. Although it does have a battle scene in it, the battle is not detailed enough to gross readers out. I would highly recommend this book along with the others in the series because it is pure, clean entertainment.

Ratings: This book is great for children. It will keep their minds engaged to the story throughout the entire course of the book. C.S. Lewis does a great job with fantasy.