For Immediate Release                                                   

Sara Sgarlat, PublicityDirector 
434-296-2772, ext. 49                           
ssgarlat@hrpub.com
 

“The genius of Lewis was that he made a
world more real to me than the one I lived in.”

     Such high tribute to the creator of the story behind Disney’s blockbuster movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is from the introduction by Neil Gaiman to Passport to Narnia: A Newcomer’s Guide (ISBN 1-57174-465-7), by guidebook guru George Beahm. Beahm is the prodigious author of more than 20 books including companions to the works of Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, and two widely popular guides to Harry Potter’s wizarding world: Fact, Fiction, & Folklore in Harry Potter’s World, and Muggles and Magic.  Five-time Hugo award-winning fantasy illustrator Tim Kirk has again added to the success of Beahm’s work with engaging drawings and a helpful map of Narnia.

     If you’re new to the enchantment of Narnia, and you’d like to know more about its rich characters, geographical features, and the influences behind C. S. Lewis’ creations, Passport to Narnia is your ticket. In  December 2005, when the first film of the projected 7-film adaptation of Lewis’ classic series is released, you’ll be well-prepared with this fun, fact-filled beginner’s guide to the world Lewis made so real to readers.  If you see the movie first, you’ll be happy to learn more here through the interviews, photos, guide to C. S. Lewis’ England, and in-depth look at the forthcoming film series. Travel-guide Beahm takes you through the wardrobe, to the lamppost in the Lantern Waste, to the edges of the Eastern Ocean, providing an insightful book-by-book synopsis of the series –all without spoiling any surprises!  This book makes a great gift at only $12.95!

     “Aslan, the Lion King… is the personification of Jesus---a connection Lewis felt was more easily accepted, and grasped, by children as opposed to adults.…”

     “As is often the case with writers, the germ of the story took a long time to yield fruit. In 1939, when London evacuated children to the countryside because of the justifiable fears surrounding Hitler and his bombing campaign against the city, The Kilns (C.S. Lewis’s home,…) played host to the young evacuees. The envisioned story: Evacuees from London come out to the country to stay with a kindly professor....Nearly a decade later, it took final shape as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of seven novels that…”

     “What ‘inspires’ my books?  Really I don’t know.  Does anyone know where exactly an idea comes from?  With me all fiction begins with pictures in my head.”--C.S. Lewis in a 1960 letter to Meredith, written seven months before his death.

October  2005 • Juvenile Nonfiction  •  ISBN 1-57174-465-7  •  Trade paper  •  $12.95