Writing Diverse Narnia, a guest post by R. M. Romero
Like many people, I have a complicated relationship with C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. I was first introduced to the series when my dad took me to see a play of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the local high school, and I was immediately enchanted. Magic had always felt out of reach, which only distant (and usually animated) people in far away lands where dragons still filled the skies had access to. The idea that magic could be on the other side of something as ordinary as a door captivated me.
I couldn’t get enough of The Chronicles of Narnia. I thought of the White Witch every time it snowed, wondering which of the trees in my neighborhood were on her side. I would check my closet every morning to see if it led to the Lantern Waste. I was thrilled when I got the chance to try Turkish Delight…and subsequently horrified that Edmund sold out his siblings for that. (Seriously Edmund, what were you thinking?)
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I read book after book in the series until I finally reached The Last Battle. At that point, I realized what the series had been an allegory for all along. Some kids may have seen themselves in the Christian nature of the story, but I felt like I’d been tricked. I wanted Aslan to just be a wise and magical lion from over the sea; I wanted Edmund to be a boy who made a bad choice because he was jealous and sad, not a metaphor for how every human being’s soul needed to be redeemed; and I wanted the Pevensies to become the Kings and Queens of Narnia again, not to die in a train crash and go to Heaven.
As I grew older, I saw other problems in the series, ranging from the misogyny behind the Problem of Susan to the rampant Islamophobia. But the idea of being able to travel to another world stayed with me. To this day, I jokingly call myself a “Narnian exile,” because I’m often homesick for a place that doesn’t exist.
I never did find another, better country in my closet. What I found in myself was the ability to make other countries through my writing, to take myself on adventures with my imagination and occasionally, to take other readers with me.
This ability became a lifeline during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. Stuck in my 650 square foot apartment and teaching English to people all over the world at odd hours, I was desperate for an adventure of my own. So, I decided to write one. It would have all the things I love in it: Jewish mysticism, Yiddish and German folklore, a narrator who spoke directly to the reader like he was an old friend, and very deep, very dark woods.
The end result was Tale of the Flying Forest. It’s the story of a Jewish tween named Anne Applebaum who, after learning that she has a long lost twin brother, travels to the magical flying forest of Bei Ilai to rescue him. Along the way, she must find the courage inside herself to face monsters she’s only ever read about in her favorite book and use the wisdom her late mother passed down to her about courage and kindness. She also gets a sword, something I desperately wanted at eleven.
Tale of the Flying Forest is Narnia, if Narnia was grounded in Judaism rather than Christianity. It’s “Hansel and Gretel” without the vaguely antisemitic overtones and “The Snow Queen” if Gerda was armed with more than just her innocence. It’s for lost boys and the girls who try to find them. And, most of all, it’s for anyone looking for a world where their heart truly belongs.
Meet the author
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R. M. Romero (she/they) is a Jewish Latina and international bestselling author of fairy tales for children and adults. She lives in Miami Beach with her cat, Robin Goodfellow, and spends her summers helping to maintain Jewish cemeteries in Europe. Her work has been named an Indie Next Pick, a Jewish National Book Award Finalist, a two time Sydney Taylor Notable Book, a Carnegie Award nominee, and a Best YA Book by Kirkus, Reactor.com, Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, BCCB, the Bank Street College of Education, and SLJ. You visit her online at rmromero.com
About Tale of the Flying Forest by R. M. Romero with illustrations by E.K. Belsher
A spellbinding and lyrical modern fairy tale about a girl who journeys to an enchanted world to find the twin she’s never met, filled with lavish illustrations that bring the magic to life, perfect for fans of the Chronicles of Narnia.
After her mother passes away and her father retreats into his grief, 11-year-old Anne Applebaum is afraid the only happy endings she’ll ever have are in The World to Come, a collection of fairy tales about the flying forest of Bei Ilai. In its pages, children outsmart demons, girls train as knights, and songs come to life. But even these stories can’t stop Anne from feeling alone. So when a raven tells her that she has a long-lost twin brother named Rainer, she sets out to find him. Anne soon learns that Bei Ilai is a real place—and she must step through the door into this magical realm to seek her brother.
But the dangers in the flying forest are just as real as its beauty. To overcome the challenges and monsters she faces, Anne must lean into the magic contained within her and her Jewish faith—especially when she discovers Rainer is locked away by a being more frightening than any dragon.
Because the most terrifying villain of all is one who used to be a hero.
ISBN-13: 9780316539487
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: 10/15/2024
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years
Filed under: Guest Post
About Amanda MacGregor
Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.
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