Review #80: Gabby and Gator

Dad:  "Gabby and Gator" by James Burks.
Gracie (age 10):  Gabs and Gades.
Dad:  How did you like it?
Gracie:  "Gabby and Gator" is great and good and glorious.
Lily (age 7):  The book is about a girl named Gabby who has no friends because she doesn't talk that much.
Gracie:  The bad bully boy said she was a freak.
Lily:  She was looking for a friend.  And she found a friend.  That would be the big, dog-eating, monster alligator.  But he didn't want to be a monster.  He wanted to be nice.
Elijah (age 5):  But he didn't know how to be nice.
Dad:  Why not?
Elijah:  He eats dogs!
Gracie:  Gator is a poodle-chomper.  He's hungry, and there's nothing else for him to eat.
Isaac (age 12):  Poor Fifi.
Gracie:  I think I know why he eats dogs.  When he was a little gator, he snipped that dog tail.  Remember?
Isaac:  And he's been addicted to dogs ever since.
Lily:  Gabby doesn't eat anything in this story except for that vegetable milkshake.  But Gator eats everything, even dogs.
Elijah:  They are opposites.
Gracie:  But it's not food that makes them a good match for each other...
Lily:  They both play instruments.  They recycle other people's trash together.  They played alligator-pulls-Gabby-around-on-skis.
Isaac:  They play together until the big bad bully comes and teases Gabby.  Gator throws him in the mud.  Then the bully tells the animal control.  It is actually the Inhumane Society, because the guy wants to kill all animals, even innocent teddy bears.
Gracie:  The animal control guy has a lumpy belly and a big nose.
Isaac:  He chases them, and Gator faces his worst fear.  Water.
Gracie:  His worst fear is a toilet.
Isaac:  No, water.
Gracie:  And a toilet.
Isaac:  Toilet water.
Gracie:  He's afraid of toilets because he got flushed down a toilet when he was a little baby gator.
Isaac:  But they live happily ever after.  Kind of.
Dad:  How would you describe the art in the book?
Gracie:  This is a graphic novel.
Lily:  The pictures are unrealistic.
Isaac:  My favorite thing about the book is how he doesn't try to draw the pictures realistically.  He likes to draw the characters with pointy noses and exaggerated sizes.
Lily: (speaking to Gator)  You're just a big cartoon!
Gracie:  I think it's funny how the bully boy is so wide and flat!
Lily:  He's like a skinny square.
Gracie: (holding up her hands)  He's only that thick.
Dad:  What about Gator's design?
Gracie:  He's pretty cool.  He's got checkers on him.
Lily:  His eyes aren't even on his head.
Dad:  And he's got floating eyebrows.
Gracie:  Everybody should have floating eyebrows.
Lily:  I like the three twins.
Dad:  I believe "three twins" is called triplets.
Lily:  Ha ha ha ha!
Gracie:  He did a good job making the triplets look like popular people.
Dad:  Would you guys be friends with Gabby?
Gracie:  I like her.  I'm friends with everybody.
Dad:  Would you be friends with an alligator?
Gracie:  Maybe.  If I got to know him well.
Lily:  I would make a model of a dog and give it to him first to see if he eats dogs.  I would make him a dog out of bacon.
Gracie:  I'd be afraid he'd eat our little sister Evie.  I'd bring Gator home, but I'd just lock Evie up in the bathroom.
Dad:  You'd rather lock up Evie than the alligator?
Gracie:  Oh yeah.  I'd lock up the alligator.  Sorry, Evie!
Dad:  But the gator is terrified of the bathroom.
Gracie:  Oh yeah.  Sorry, Gator.  I wouldn't lock him up.  I'd just wait until Evie was on vacation.
Dad:  Who is this book for?
Gracie:  Everybody.
Isaac:  The book is especially for people who don't fit in.
Gracie:  If you don't fit in, buy yourself an alligator.
Lily:  And hope it doesn't eat you.

Gabby and Gator, by Elijah

Gator and Fifi, by Isaac

a peek inside Gator, by Lily

off to the pool, by Gracie

Author/Illustrator: James Burks
Published, 2010: Yen Press
Like it?  Here it is

Review #79: The Little Drummer Boy

Lily (age 7):  Ezra Jack Keats...
Dad: ...who is a very famous illustrator...
Lily: ...made the pictures for The Little Drummer Boy.  Rum pa pum pum.
Isaac (age 12):  Isn't this a song too?
Dad:  It is a song.  And you know, I never really liked the song.  So I didn't expect to like this book when I first saw it.  But I LOVE it.
Isaac:  Why?
Dad:  Because the pictures are so awesome.  I love the book despite not being a fan of the song.
Lily:  Is the illustrator even alive still?
Dad:  I don't think so.
Lily:  That's sad.
Isaac: (flipping through the pages)  Good.  There are more than three wise men in this book.
Gracie (age 10):  One, two, three, four, five.  And a drummer boy.
Dad:  You guys are sticklers for that.  You mentioned that in a different Christmas review too.
Isaac:  The Bible doesn't say three wise men -- it doesn't tell how many.  It only says wise men came.
Gracie:  With three gifts.
Dad:  Tell me about the pictures...
Lily:  The art is beautiful.
Isaac:  My favorite part of the book is the collage-y art.
Gracie:  It looks like cut paper in one part, and then it looks like a stamp here, and then it looks like paint over there, and string there.
Isaac:  I see watercolor in there.  Acrylic.  Marbled paper.  All kinds of art smashed together.
Dad:  That's called "mixed media."
Isaac:  And his drawings aren't smooth.  They are kind of bumpy.
Dad:  A good word for that would be "painterly."
Isaac:  That's a word?
Dad:  It means the paint looks like paint.  Sometimes people use paint but they try to disguise it - they want it to look like a photograph.  Other people are happy to let their materials show through.
Isaac:  I paint painterly.  But it's not like I'm trying to paint realistic or painterly.  That's just how it comes out.
Gracie:  The art in this book is emotional.  The boy is all sad... "I am a poor boy too, I have no gift for you..."
Dad:  And the art is gray...
Gracie:  But then the next page got all happy when he said, "Shall I play my drum for you?"
Lily:  Yellow!  It's beginning to be yellow.
Isaac:  Bright yellow.  The pictures are very moody.  When the drummer boy is happy the colors are brighter.
Dad:  From one page to another.  Perfect use of cools and warms.
Gracie:  Sad... then... Yea!  Sad... then...Yea!
Lily:  The yellow brings happiness.
Dad:  And the colors stay warm for the whole rest of the book.
Gracie:  Pa rum pa pum pum.
Lily:  He also leaves lots of sky and space in the pictures.
Dad:  That's one of my favorite things about the book.  He fills the whole page with color, but he doesn't feel like he has to pack it full of characters.
Gracie:  They save Jesus until the end of the book as a surprise.
Lily:  You don't even get to see Mary's face until the end.
Isaac:  Why is baby Jesus is holding a stick?
Dad:  Now, was there a drummer boy in the Bible?
Gracie:  No.
Dad:  How do you feel about them making up a character?
Isaac:  I think it's fine.  People have made history-type-things like that before.
Dad:  Historical fiction?
Isaac:  Yeah.  Like, maybe a story about a war has a guy who wasn't really there, but he's in the story.
Gracie:  Why don't you like the song, Dad?
Dad:  The tune for one thing.  But it's also because of what we were just talking about.  There are plenty of awesome things in the Christmas story that actually did happen.  Why not sing about those?  Why make up pretend stuff?
Isaac:  But then you got the book.
Dad:  Yep.  The art attracted me.  And as a book, it actually makes me feel less weird.  Maybe because in a picture book you inherently have to make up so much anyway -- any illustrations have to be imagined.
Gracie:  Pa rum pa pum pum!
Dad:  How do you guys feel about the song?
Gracie:  I love it.
Isaac:  I don't think it's bad.
Dad:  It is respectful to the real story.
Isaac:  It's not making fun of it or anything.
Dad:  Granted, we'd never sing The Little Drummer Boy at church, but I don't think it's a song to be avoided.
Isaac:  Ha ha ha!  The whole choir singing "Ba rum pa pum pum!"
Dad:  Any last words?
Gracie:  Ezra Jack Keats, make more books!
Lily:  He's dead!
Dad:  That would be a little hard for him now.
Gracie:  Oh yeah.

drummer boy, by Isaac

drummer boy, by Lily

Gracie makes a funny: "The ox and lamb kept time"
(see their watches?)

Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats
Published, 1968: Macmillan
Like it?  Here it is

Z-Dad's Fan Art

When it's time to work up another batch of Bookie Woogie reviews, the kids and I pile onto the couch with 2 to 4 choice books at a time.  Once we're all "reviewed out" we start the Drawing Party.  We head to the kitchen table, spread out the books for inspiration, and whip up some Fan Art.  Dad included.  It's a blast!  A whirlwind of paints and crayons and pencils.

Even though I make pictures along with the kids each time, I only post the kids' Fan Art with the reviews.  I want to make sure the emphasis of Bookie Woogie stays on children's responses to children's books.  There's a lot of behind the scenes work on my part, but I truly see this as the kids' blog.  A first time visitor even has to do a bit of hunting just to find out who "Z-Dad" really is.

However, the kids have bugged me many, many times over the years to post my drawings alongside theirs.  And the last time they asked, it dawned on me that I could work up a separate post as a place to share some of my Fan Art.  So here it is!

Don't worry, you're not going to see drawings from all 78 reviews so far -- I've just singled out a few highlights.  I've also included links back to the kids' original reviews if you want to revisit them.  And why not give it a try yourself?  Grab your kids!  Grab a book!  Make some Fan Art!



Shadow: Review #78




If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now: Review #59




Millie's Marvellous Hat: Review #58




The Cuckoo's Haiku: Review #56




The Lion and the Mouse: Review #54




Who Needs Donuts: Review #49




The Arrival: Review #37




Scribble: Review #31




A Curious Collection of Cats: Review #30




Babymouse: Review #25




Jazzmatazz: Review #21




Inkheart: Review #12




Hush Little Dragon: Review #11



***Update:  I've decided to keep adding to this post from time to time.  Here is some additional Fan Art I made with the kids...


A Book: Review #19




The Cinder-Eyed Cats: Review #63




Mirror: Review #74




A Pet for Petunia: Review #87




Fairly Fairy Tales: Review #90




Zita the Spacegirl: Review #92




Bone: Review #93




The Terrible Hodag: Interview #11




The Watcher: Review #105




Creepy Monsters Sleepy Monsters: Interview #12




Blue Chicken: Review #111




The Hobbit: Review #114

Review #78: Shadow

Dad:  Today we are taking a look at the book "Shadow."  Wow.  What did Suzy Lee do inside these pages?
Gracie (age 10):  She created magic.
Dad:  We are big Suzy Lee fans.
Gracie:  Suzy Lee, you are a marvel.  I never would have dreamed a book could get any better than "Wave."
Isaac (age 12):  But it did.
Gracie:  "Shadow" is outstandingly outrageous.
Lily (age 7):  It's about a girl who makes these shadows.
Isaac:  She's in her basement.
Gracie:  It's her attic.
Isaac:  I think it's a basement.
Gracie:  I think it's an attic.
Dad:  I always thought it was a garage.
Lily:  The little girl makes shadow shapes, and then they turn
alive.  Oh wow.  How does she do that?
Isaac:  See that little bit of yellow!  Everything that comes to life is starting to turn yellow.
Lily:  It's a world of shadows and magic.
Gracie:  Yellow magic.
Lily:  She makes a whole bunch of different characters.  There was a Fox and a Bunny and a Bird and a Princess and an Elephant and a Crocodile!
Isaac:  Then they start seeping into the real world.  See, the Fox is escaping!
Dad:  You guys keep saying Fox, but I always thought he was a Wolf.
Isaac:  I always thought he was a Fox.
Dad:  Actually, he's sort of human.  He looks more like a person wearing a mask and tail.  See, he's got people-hands.  Hmm, do you think it's really actually the girl?
Isaac:  That's what I was thinking.
Dad:  Because the Elephant got made out of the vacuum's shadow.  And the Crocodile got made out of the saw.  But how was the Wolf made?  Do you remember?
Gracie:  (Gasp!) The girl's shadow!  She did it!  That's why it looks so much like a person!
Isaac:  But didn't she make the Princess with her shadow also?
Dad:  She made both -- the Princess and the Wolf.  Do you think that's her two different sides?  She's got a good side and a dark side, and they play with each other?  Or am I reading too much into it?
Isaac:  You're going crazy.
Dad:  Hah ha!
Isaac:  Anyway, the Wolf escapes from the Shadow World.
Dad:  We need to decide if we are going to call him a Fox or a Wolf.
Isaac:  Oh yeah, I just said "Wolf" didn't I.
Dad:  It doesn't matter.  We just need to pick one and be consistent.
Isaac:  Wolf.
Lily:  Wolf.
Dad:  Wolf it is.
Isaac:  The Wolf escapes from the Shadow World.
Gracie:  There is magic between the worlds.
Lily:  The Wolf is evil, but then he turns nice after they scare him.  Then all the shadows come up into the real world, and she plays with them.
Isaac:  The two worlds smash together.
Dad:  That's one neat way Suzy Lee's books are similar to each other... "Wave," "Mirror," "Shadow."
Isaac:  In her books, worlds come together.  And things start coming to life.  And her books are two colors only.  And in the middle of the books there are explosions.
Gracie:  The books explode into colors.
Dad:  Tell everyone about the color in this book.
Gracie:  The pictures are yellow and black and white.  The book starts out with zero yellow.  The yellow appears when things start coming to life.
Dad:  The color is almost like a character itself.
Isaac:  The yellow is getting bigger and bigger, and turning more and more stuff alive.  Then it starts seeping onto the opposite page.
Lily:  It's everywhere!
Isaac:  Then at the end it's all yellow.
Gracie:  Yellow was a good color to choose.  Yellow is like light.  Light from a lightbulb is yellow.
Isaac:  The yellow shows that stuff is coming to life.
Dad:  The light is life.
Gracie:  But the end makes me sad.  The little girl becomes friends with her shadows.  They are having fun, and then...
Isaac:  Then it's dinnertime.  The light comes on and everything is back to normal.
Gracie:  It's so sad.  All her fun adventures and happy times are gone now.  Right when she makes friends with the Wolf.  It's so, so sad.
Isaac:  She turns the light off.  But then you hear another click, and the Shadow World comes back alive and dances.
Gracie:  Everybody down there is partying.
Lily:  Ha ha!  Look at the Bunny swinging on the string!
Gracie:  They all party after she's gone - they are having fun without her.
Dad:  See, so it's not too sad.  The fun continues.  She'll see them again.
Isaac:  Oh!  I never noticed this!  At the end, all the stuff that was cluttered is still on the ground, but the animals are also there dancing on top of them.
Gracie:  Yeah - there's the vacuum.  So how is the Elephant alive?
Dad:  She brought him to life, and now he can live on his own apart from the vacuum.  Maybe they will clean up the mess for her.
Isaac:  I need an elephant to clean for me!
Gracie:  You feel a connection to them all.  It made me so sad when I saw the light turn on and everything was just gone.  You have a special connection to the girl and her friends.
Dad:  Is it going to be fun to do our fan art pictures for this review?
Lily:  YEAH!!!
Gracie:  Dad you have to put up your picture on the blog this time.
Dad:  Mmmm... I don't put my pictures up.
Gracie:  You have to this time.
Isaac:  Let's have a vote.
Dad:  None of the blog readers want to see my pictures.  These reviews are about your reactions.  They come to read about you guys.
Gracie:  They might want to know about you too.  Please?
Dad:  Well...  Maybe I'll share my picture later in a special post.
Gracie:  Yea!  Dad's going to put his picture on the blog!
(editorial comment:  check back this Friday...  I'll put up a post with my pictures...)
Dad:  In closing, do you guys have anything you'd like to say right to Suzy Lee?
Lily:  You make wonderful books!
Dad:  Do you think other people love her books as much as we do?
Gracie:  Not possible.  We love her books more than anyone else in the world could.
Isaac:  Except maybe her mother.
Gracie:  Thank-you, Miss Suzy Lee!
Dad:  Well, she didn't send it to us.
Gracie:  Yeah, but...  Thank-you for just existing... to make this book.  Thank-you for existing.  Because you are the awesomest ever.

Shadow, by Lily (painted and pressed)


Shadow, by Gracie (painted)


Shadow, by Isaac (cut paper)

Author/Illustrator: Suzy Lee
Published, 2010: Chronicle Books
Like it?  Here it is

Review #77: The Chronicles of Narnia

Dad:  What books did we re-read as a family over the summer?
Kids:  Narnia!!!
Lily (age 7):  We called it the "Summer of Narnia."
Gracie (age 10):  On the first night, we made a big fort in the living room.
Isaac (age 12):  A big fort out of blankets.
Gracie:  We ate popcorn in the fort while we listened.
Isaac:  Dad made tickets for "The Summer of Narnia" and hid them all over.  We had to find them before we could go inside the fort.
Dad:  Before we talk about specific books, tell me about the series as a whole.
Gracie:  In each book, these kids travel from our world to a world called Narnia.
Lily:  I like all the exploring in the books.  One time they went in a boat to the End of the World.  One time they went underground to the center of the earth.
Dad:  Is it the same kids in every book?
Gracie:  Not in every book.  Sometimes there are new kids.
Dad:  Who is the one character that appears in every Narnia book.
Gracie:  Aslan!
Elijah (age 5):  He is a lion.
Gracie:  Narnia is the place where a lion is king.
Elijah:  If we ever get a lion for a pet, I would name it Aslan.
Dad:  There are seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series.  But why don't you each choose one book, and then you can tell us about that particular book in the series.  Which one are you going to pick, Lily?
Lily:  "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."  It is about a wardrobe.  And a witch.  And a lion.
Dad:  Ha ha ha...  Well, there's a good summary of the book's title.
Lily:  These four kids go to a house in the country.  Lucy goes into a wardrobe and comes into Narnia.  It is a place where animals can talk.  And the trees are alive.  And there was a faun!
Isaac:  Mr. Tumnus.  Goat man.
Lily:  Lucy went to the goat man's house, and they had tea.  And there is an evil witch who makes it always winter.
Gracie:  She enchants their brother Edmund by giving him Turkish Delight.
Lily:  They try to save him from the witch.  The beavers help them.
Isaac:  Mrs. Beaver tried to bring everything along on the trip.
Gracie:  "Thank heavens I brought the butter knife!"  She even tried to pack her sewing machine.  "You don't suppose my sewing machine will fit, do you?"
Lily:  The witch can turn people into stone with her wand.  But Aslan breathes on the stones and he makes the stone alive.  The animals turn back to how they were before because of his breath.
Dad:  What was your favorite part of the book?
Lily:  I like how you can get through the wardrobe into Narnia.
Dad:  Does it make you want to hunt around our house to see if there are any nooks that can take you places?
Lily:  Well...  I have tried to once.  In your closet.  It didn't work.
Gracie:  I've already checked in all the closets about twenty times.
Isaac:  Me too.  In my closet.
Dad:  You guys are only checking closets?  Maybe that's your problem.
Elijah:  I think a hidden place is behind the bookcase.
Dad:  Okay, next book...  Elijah's turn!  Which book are you going to pick?
Elijah:  "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."
Dad:  What is the Dawn Treader?
Elijah:  It is a boat that was shaped like a dragon.
Dad:  Who was on the boat?
Elijah:  Reepicheep.  He is a mouse.  He likes to fight people with a sword.  I think Reepicheep is braver than me.
Dad:  Who else was on the boat?
Elijah:  King Caspian.  He wanted to go to the End of the World.
Dad:  What did they see on their way there?
Elijah:  A place where dreams come true.  Some dreams can be really scary.  They also found a dragon's cave.  Eustace was sleeping in the dragon's cave.  When he woke up, he turned into a dragon.  He put on a bracelet when he was a boy, and when he turned into a dragon it hurt because he grew.
Dad:  How did he stop being a dragon?
Elijah:  There were different kinds of skins on him, and he had to scratch them to get them off.  It didn't work very good when he did it.  But when Aslan did it, it worked better.  Then Eustace turned back into a boy.
Dad:  What are some other places they discovered?
Elijah:  There was a place where if somebody puts part of themself in the water, it turns to gold.  If you went swimming, you would turn to gold.  And there was a place with some people that were invisible.  One footed people.
Isaac:  Dufflepuds.
Gracie:  Elijah covered everything pretty good.  Wait!  The mermaid people!  They saw mermaid people, and Reepicheep thought they were declaring war.  So he freaked out and jumped into the water.
Dad:  What was your favorite part, Elijah?
Elijah:  I like it when Eustace turns into a dragon.
Dad:  Who's next?  What book are you going to pick, Isaac?
Isaac:  "The Silver Chair."  It is about finding a prince.  The lost prince of Narnia.
Dad:  Who are the kids in this book?
Isaac:  Eustace and Jill.  And there's also Puddleglum.  You can't forget Puddleglum!
Gracie:  Puddleglum is the best!
Elijah:  Puddleglum is my favorite character.  He is a webbed-hand and webbed-footed guy.
Isaac:  Puddleglum is a marshwiggle.  They are tall muddy people.  He is the most carefree of all the marshwiggles, which is kind of freaky because he is always looking on the downside.  He's always sad about stuff.
Dad:  Where do their adventures take them?
Isaac:  The first place they go is to the giants' castle.  But they had to escape.  They found out they were going to be made into pies for the Autumn Feast.  They tried to get out as fast as they possibly could.  Then they fell into this pit and met these people that live underground.  This is the Underworld.
Gracie:  There is no light there except dull gray.  And there is a huge, huge, huge underground lake.
Isaac:  The queen of the Underworld is a witch.  And the Silver Chair traps the prince under a spell.
Gracie:  "In Aslan's Name, let me go!"
Dad:  That is probably my favorite family reading moment EVER.  The first time we read these books together, a few years ago...
Gracie:  I was freaking out at that part.  I was jumping up and down.
Dad:  You were literally screaming out loud at the characters in the book, "Listen to him! Listen to him!"  You were so emotionally involved in the story.
Gracie:  This time, my favorite part was Puddleglum's speech.  "You might be right.  There might be no Aslan.  But I'm going to keep following him, even if he isn't real.  Even if we are making him up, he's way better than what you've got down here!"  Only, he said it way more dramatically than me.
Dad:  How about you Isaac?  What was your favorite part?
Isaac:  The snake lady.  The witch turns into a giant snake, and they have to try to kill her.
Dad:  Okay Gracie, you're up.  Final pick.
Gracie:  I am going to tell you about how Narnia starts.  It is in "The Magician's Nephew."  It is a prequel.
Dad:  Who are the kids in this one?
Gracie:  Digory and Polly.  Digory's Uncle Andrew gives them rings and they can travel to different worlds.  First they went into a dead world called Charn.  Queen Jadis was the empress there.  They rang a bell and woke her up.  She grabbed them, and they traveled back to our world.  They had to get her out of our world because she was destroying everything.  But instead of bringing her back into Charn, they accidentally brought her to Narnia.
Dad:  What happened when they landed there.
Gracie:  There was no Narnia yet.  But they heard singing, and then they got to see Aslan make the world of Narnia.
Elijah:  Aslan makes things grow by singing.  He can do anything.
Isaac:  They even made a taffy tree.  Anything you planted in the ground would grow.
Dad:  What was your favorite part of the book, Gracie?
Gracie:  They go to a big garden and pick an apple of youth from the tree of life.  Digory's mother is sick back home, and he has to get the apple of life to cure her.
Dad:  So what's the verdict?  Are you glad we spent the summer reading these?
Elijah:  If there weren't books about Narnia, we wouldn't know anything about Narnia.  I hope I will go there someday.
Dad:  What would you do there?
Lily:  I would go find the creatures and make friends.
Elijah:  I would go to the place where I could turn into a dragon.
Dad:  You would want to be a dragon on purpose?
Elijah:  Yeah.  I could fly.  I actually want to be in the suit of a dragon.
Dad:  Who is your favorite character from the series?
Gracie:  Puddleglum.
Isaac:  Puddleglum.  He's funny.
Elijah:  Reepicheep and Puddleglum.  Reepicheep is a fighter, and he would be on my team so I could fight bad guys with him.
Dad:  Do you like the movie versions?
Isaac:  The movies are great, but the books are even better.
Dad:  Are you excited about the next movie coming up?  "Dawn Treader" is out soon.
Isaac:  We are so going to that!

Aslan breathing on the Mr. Tumnus statue, by Lily

Reepicheep and Caspian aboard the Dawn Treader, by Elijah

Jadis and Digory by the apple tree, by Gracie

Puddleglum and Prince Rilian fight the serpent, by Isaac

Update:  Check out the site 5 Minutes For Books for our review of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" movie!


Author: C. S. Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Published 1950-1956
Like them?  Here they are