It’s been more than a year since the release of Prince Caspian, and it’s just been nominated for an award.  More specifically, concept artist Justin Sweet has been nominated for Best Product Illustration for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.  The Chelsey Awards are given for excellence in science fiction and fantasy art or illustration. The awards have been presented since 1985 and are run by the Association for Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA). The awards were named after the artist Chesley Bonestell after his death in 1986.  They are presented at the World Science Fiction Convention.  The convention will take place in Montréal, Québec, to be held Thursday 6 August – Monday 10 August, 2009.

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Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: Caspian’s Army.
Based on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
Adapted by: Sadie Chesterfield
Illustrated by: Justin Sweet
Publisher: HarperEntertainment (April 1, 2008)

ISBN-10: 0061231576
ISBN-13: 978-0061231575

Summary of the book:

Fleeing from his Uncle Miraz’s soldiers, Prince Caspian falls into the company of three of the Narnians, Trufflehunter the badger, along with Nikabrik and Trumpkin, two dwarves. Caspian is taken further into the woods, where he meet up with other Narnians, They were afraid to trust him at first as they hated the Telmarines because they had stolen their land. He assured them that he would restore Narnia to them if they fought alongside him. With a magic horn that could summon the heroes of old in hand and his new army, Caspian was ready to began his quest.

Review of the book:

While this may sound like an apples to oranges comparison, this particular book, Caspian’s Army isn’t as good as the other adaptations of the Narnian Chronicles in this particular series. While the illustrations are just as splendid and the retelling of the tale is nicely paced, this story is a bit lackluster, especially after reading the Tail of Reepicheep.

Part of the problem would be that this book functions like a prologue for Prince Caspian as it’s ending is just left dangling. An old writers adage is to leave the reader wanting more, and this book left you wanting a lot more. While this book may be meant for children, I’m not sure if it’s ending would be as satisfying as the Tail of Reepicheep for them. It would be very easy to picture a little kid sitting up in bed after hearing this story and going ,“is that the end?”

The somewhat disappointing ending of the story aside, it isn’t that badly written. It’s still paced fairly well, and it does contain a good bit of dialogue. One of this books strongest features is it’s use of more “challenging” words like “extinct”. While most reading comprehension courses may teach that kids should skip a challenging word and only read what they know, it is far more important for them to be challenged and improve their skills in order to become better readers, and this book would help with that.

The art is still great. The use of the concept art just helps the story so much more than using a still shot form the film which could easily be blurry from the motion in it, and leave the characters looking rather awkward. This style of art just keeps the story going.

If you are looking for a well paced book for young readers that will challenge their vocabulary skills, with great illustrations this book is certainly worth the try. Certainly, the Narniafans that have to have every book, and parents with younger readers, would like having this in their library. However this story is simply “good” but not “great”, and it is almost better to wait until they are older to read the full story of Prince Caspian to them.

3 1/2 out of 5 shields.

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Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: The Tail of Reepicheep.
Based on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
Adapted by: EK Stein
Illustrated by: Justin Sweet
Publisher: HarperEntertainment (April 1, 2008)

ISBN-10: 0061231568
ISBN-13: 978-0061231568

Summary of the book:

Reepicheep was a brave little mouse who lived in Narnia. He wanted to free the land from the Telmarines and help Prince Caspian take his rightful throne. Reepicheep and the other mice took part in a big battle. The brave mouse was wounded in the battle and lost his tail in the process. The other mice were willing to remove theirs in honor of him. For their devotion, Aslan restored Reepicheep’s tail.

Review of the book:

Reepicheep! Yes, he is a mouse. Need I say more for any long time fans of the Chronicles of Narnia? If a fan sees his name on the book alone, they are immediately interested in reading it. Forget any comparisons to him and Puss n’ Boots in Shrek, Reepicheep the mouse is to Narnia what Chewbacca the Wookie is to Star Wars. He’s brave, fearless, courageous, heroic, but at the same time he’s also fluffy, cute and cuddly ( just don’t let him catch you saying that). Irregardless of who their favorite character is, fans will always have a soft spot in their heart for that lovable fur ball.

Naturally, due to his place amongst the vast collective of fans, a tie in book focusing on him would be in order. This book is by no means a brand new story. It is a nice retelling of the exploits of Reepicheep from the book Prince Caspian. It would have been difficult to try and come up with a new story focusing on him. Fans of the Chronicles can be very protective of the series and to many of them adding a brand new story to the legends would be unacceptable. The fact that it is the “same story” just different, doesn’t at all take away from the enjoy ability of the story. It is, afterall meant for the youngest of readers, so young children will finally have a Narnia book that is “just for them” as the novels are better suited for their older brothers, sisters and cousins.

The title of the book is a pun on Reepicheep’s actual “tail” and the type of “tale” that is a story, similar to what was done with the title the animated movie An American Tail with the mouse Fievel. As it is about him loosing his tail in battle and Aslan restoring it is a very natural one to make.

Unlike a lot of tie in books, this one does not feature pictures from the movie. Instead it utilizes some of the concept art and employs the art very nicely. The pictures give the story an almost surreal dream like quality that is missing from other tie ins and make it feel like a children‘s book and not a strict movie tie-in. Younger children may not appreciate it much, but older readers will appreciate the fact that everything doesn’t look “exactly” like the movie.

The story is short as it is meant for little kids and the dialogue is extremely limited. The story’s briskness aside, it is a fun and engaging read with very nice illustrations. Little ones will enjoy it and it is certain to make a good story to share with them for bed-time. I know I’d be glad to share it with a little one.

Four out of Five shields.

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