The Writer Who Found Joy

Reviewed by:

G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing alumnus from Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Title:

C.S. Lewis: The Writer Who Found Joy (Here I Am Series #2)

Author:

Written by Daniel DeWhitt, illustrated by Marcin Piwowarski

Publisher:

B&H Kids (B&H Publishing Group)

Publication Date:

July 11, 2023

Format:

Hardcover (board book)

Length:

32 pages

OVERVIEW

Few Christian writers have inspired more people to consider Christianity than C.S. Lewis. From his children’s books The Chronicles of Narnia to his apologetics books like Mere Christianity, his writings have inspired millions. But what led him to faith in the first place? Young readers learn with Gilbert the Owl about C.S. Lewis’ life, from his childhood to his final years, and what influenced his books.

Since Lewis mapped out his conversion story in Surprised by Joy, and his late-in-life marriage to Joy Davidman has become so famous through the movie Shadowlands, books about his life tend to follow all follow the same plotline. The recent movie The Most Reluctant Convert embraces this fact by closely basing its dialogue on things Lewis wrote about his life. Being such a short book, this one doesn’t have much space to break the formula. However, it does tell everything in a charming tone paired with lovely illustrations.

The addition of Gilbert the Owl (perhaps named for Gilbert Keith Chesterton, who so influenced Lewis’s outlook on faith) to point out little clues to readers adds a layer of impish fun which works better here than in the previous Here I Am! Book. The previous book featured Shep the Sheepdog in a story about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and while the book was entertaining, a perky talking animal character feels odd in a book about Christian martyrdom. A talking owl pointing things out to readers about C.S. Lewis fits the humor that was in Lewis’s writing, and reminds readers how talking animals feature in his Narnia stories.

Cute, entertaining way to introduce readers to C.S. Lewis.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

4 stars

Suggested Audience:

Young readers (grades 1-3, age 6-8) to the story of C.S. Lewis.

Christian Impact:

Daniel DeWitt manages to make the complex spiritual questions that Lewis faced feel relatable.

NOTE: ECLA readers who enjoyed this book may also enjoy:

https://eclalibraries.org/2022/08/22/once-upon-a-wardrobe/

https://eclalibraries.org/2019/08/14/c-s-lewis-a-very-short-introduction/

https://eclalibraries.org/2019/02/25/becoming-mrs-lewis-the-improbable-love-story-of-joy-davidman-and-c-s-lewis/

https://www.amazon.com/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com