The story revolves around the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Their parents send them to live in the relatively safer English countryside during World War II. They live with a quaint old Professor Kirke who has a large and highly exciting house that the children explore on a rainy day. Lucy is the youngest, and she explores an enormous wardrobe they discover in an otherwise empty room. Inside the huge wardrobe, Lucy is transported to the magical world of Narnia, where it is always winter in a wooded forest. On her first visit, she meets a Faun named Tumnus, and the tone of the book is immediately set. The Faun hesitantly asks Lucy, "'Excuse me – I don't want to be inquisitive – but should I be right in thinking that you are a daughter of Eve?'" (Lewis 11). Immediately, this charming story becomes more than simply a children's tale. It becomes a much deeper look into spirituality and the Bible, and mirrors Lewis' own beliefs on those subjects. Critic Myers continues, "He sees the seven Chronicles as constituting a new literary genre, which he calls 'scripture,' 'a sort of Bible for a Bibleless age'" (Myers 166). While the book certainly has an important message, Lewis manages to do an exceptional job with the writing. The book is not too "preachy" or overdone; it simply carries an important message threaded throughout that some children might not even understand the first time they read this story. However, this is a classic children's book, and if the children read all seven volumes, by the end they will certainly understand at least some of the underlying themes and ideas as they relate to the New Testament and spirituality.

             There are several allegories that relate to the Bible, and the New Testament in particular sprinkled throughout the novel. Aslan, the lion, is the leader of Narnia, and a good, righteous character. Many critics have called him a symbol of Christ in the novel, but critic Myers disagrees.