Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 2
Plot development: 3
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

This may be Callahan's best book so far! A superbly paced book about the struggle between imagination and logic. A beautiful look at the relationship between a brother and sister and the preciousness of life.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan. I had just finished Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan when I got the notification about having access to Once Upon a Wardrobe. My favorite book I read with my students was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, so I was excited to continue to read about Lewis and possibly about Narnia. This book did not disappoint! An 8-year-old boy, George, needs to know if Narnia is real. His big sister, Megs, goes to Oxford where Lewis tutors. George figures that Meg can just go ask Mr. Lewis if Narnia is real. Well, that is where the fun begins. Megs will do anything for George since he is very ill but is hesitant to go to Lewis as he is on a different campus of Oxford University that doesn't allow women (remember this is 1950 England). Megs eventually gets up the courage to visit Mr. Lewis at his home at the Kilns. She gets story after story to tell to George. Don't want to spoil the book so won't get into too much more detail. If you like stories about families, CS Lewis or Narnia, this is the book for you.

This book was just as magical as Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but in a completely different way.

My heart sung and tears were shed. I loved the characters in this story and I was so invested.

Thank you so much to the author for giving me an insight into the life of such a creative and intelligent mind.

Such a heartwarming book. I loved getting to know more about C.S. Lewis' life, with a heartwarming and touching story along the way. There were a few times it brought me to tears. I really felt connected to the main character, Megs, and her love for her brother.

Once Upon a Wardrobe is a fantastic read and one that I simply didn't want to end. I loved how Meg was so intent on finding out what her brother George wanted to know about the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

It was obvious a great deal of research went into this book, capturing the era, the location, and the people of the time perfectly. The information on C.S. Lewis was fascinating, as were the glimpses we got of his early life.

Narnia is a magical place and Once Upon a Wardrobe was just as magical and a book I'd highly recommend. I didn't want to put it down and was so disappointed when it was over.

Pick this book up and get lost in an earlier, simpler era and the world of a young boy who fell in love with the fantasy of Narnia.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.

This was a good book, but not just my cup of tea.
If you like this genre you will probably enjoy this book, it just wasn't the type of book that I am interested in or that holds my interest.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. A beautifully written story by. Patti Callahan filled with love and history with CS Lewis, a girl and her young brother. Wonderful.

Patti Callahan has hit this one out of the park - or is it wardrobe? I didn't realize how good her writing is. I'll be looking for her next one - and finding those she wrote before.

"And you've allowed me to see that we are exchanged not by being able to explain it all, but by its very mystery. That is - finally, that is - enough."

Once Upon a Wardrobe tells the beautiful story of CS Lewis journey to writing The Chronicles of Narnia. The story is told through a young, fictitious woman at Oxford, Megs, and her seven-year-old brother, George - who is dying because of a heart condition. George has read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. and wants to know how Mr. Lewis came up with the story.

Megs tracks down CS Lewis at Oxford and embarks upon a friendship with him that will change the way she sees life - and will help her brother make beautiful sense of the story.

Megs relays her stories from Mr Lewis to her brother each time by beginning, "Once Upon a Wardrobe...". What follows are accounts of Mr. Lewis' life that allow us to piece together the events that have formed the man who would give us the world's greatest story.

I'm glad I read this on Kindle, because then I could highlight all of the wonderful parts I want to put in my book journal. There are SO many!

Thank you, Patti Callahan, for writing another beautiful book (I also loved Becoming Mrs. Lewis) - can't wait for publication day!

Great story a little fantasy a lot f love. You have to get to know Megs and George, you will read this book more than once. You need a fair amount of time to really settle in and enjoy ALL of this exceptional story.

Once Upon a Wardrobe was a pleasurable book to read, one in which it was good to revisit CS Lewis and his Tales of Narnia. I will assume that Callahan did her research on Lewis as it all seemed credible, and I learned much about this famous Christian writer. Her background writing lighter contemporary fiction gives her the chops for fleshing out a good story, but any romance is not in the forefront of the book. Nor is it a book intent on proselytizing, but does explore the intersection of faith and issues of life and death. Interestingly I learned from her bio that she had been a pediatric nurse, and her understanding of childhood diseases was used sensitively.

Another great book. Good story and characters. If you have read Becoming Mrs. Lewis you will enjoy this as well.

Huge thanks to Harper Muse publishing and to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy! Once Upon a Wardrobe was an enchanting, magical journey and I'm so happy I had the chance to read it early!

It takes place in 1950 when eight-year-old George, who doesn't have much longer to live, becomes enthralled by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and asks his older sister for the only thing he wants for Christmas: to know where Narnia came from. Ah. That's a tough one for Megs, whose whole life is all about logic, numbers, and equations! Fortunately, C.S. Lewis is an English Literature tutor at the university Megs is attending. A bit unfortunately, Mr. Lewis refuses to give Megs a straight answer to the question and instead tells her stories about his growing up years to share with George.

The book goes back and forth between Mr. Lewis' stories, and with Megs sharing the stories with George. I was enthralled by both! The author did a fabulous job!! I loved how much Megs adored her brother and would do absolutely anything within her power for him.

Although I'm generally not one for reading books more than once, I am saving this book to read again. Definitely! I highly recommend it!

Patti Callahan, author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis, has written another fabulous book. Once Upon a Wardrobe is a heartwarming book teaching us that kindness, compassion, and love know no bounds. It emphasizes the fact that not all of life's lessons can have exact answers like a math problem.

George was born with a "weak heart." He is now 8 years old and is wise beyond his years. He has finished the newly published Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe and is intrigued by the characters. His big sister Megs is studying math and physics at Oxford, home of C.S. Lewis. He begs her to ask Lewis where Narnia came from. Megs gets up the courage to ask Lewis. Instead of giving her a direct answer, he begins to tell her stories of his younger life. She goes home every weekend to share these stories with George. The journey these siblings take will make you laugh, cry, and reexamine how you process your experiences just as Megs did.

I don't give many books five stars, but this one deserves them. I will be rereading this book to make sure I did not miss anything.

This is the kind of book that makes a reader cry and feel happy at the same time. Such love in this family and among friends, even from a friend who is a world famous author. This is a charming story.

If you read my reviews, you'll know I mostly review horror. My readings of fantasy and the other-worldly started as a child with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I imagine that millions of fantasy lovers began with C. S. Lewis' Chronicles. Once Upon a Wardrobe starts with the question from an ill little boy: Where did Narnia come from?
His sister seeks his answer, becoming a friend to Lewis and his brother while they tell their life stories.

The book is a combination novel and biography of C.S. Lewis. Although it has sad moments, it is full of kindness, imagination, hope, and love. Also, beautiful descriptions of Oxford University.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me review an eARC of this sweet book.

I was instantly transported to Worcestershire, England 1950 where we meet eight-year-old, George Henry Devonshire who knew Doctors couldn’t help him, and he didn’t have much time left with his family. Things turn around for George when he finds a book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. He is intrigued by the lion on the cover. Little did George know this book would change his outlook on life. This magical story transported him from his bed into Narnia – “where it’s always winter but never Christmas. Where animals can talk, and the back of a wardrobe opens to another world.” It was wonderfully mysterious! George wanted to know more.

He can’t wait to share this story with his sister Megs Devonshire, who was brilliant with numbers, loved her brother and looked at things logically. Megs didn’t believe in magic, but her brother did. He had a request of her, since she had heard of the author, “The professor who wrote about this magical place, was real, and he lives only a train ride away in Oxford, where Meg goes to school. This man would know the answers to George’s questions.” George wanted to know, “Where did this land of the lion, white witches, and fauns and beavers and castles come from?...How did Aslan…come to bound onto the pages of a book?”

This was a tall order for Megs, but she would do anything for George, so she would find a way to ask his questions, “Was Narnia real?” She wondered why this mattered to her brother.

I adored George and his relationship with his sister. I also enjoyed the special times Megs had with C.S. Lewis and his brother, Warnie as they sit to have tea and share stories from their life that give clues as to how Narnia might have come to be. This is an enchanting story that gives readers a peek into the childhood of C.S. Lewis. This is a hopeful, endearing, delightful, and heart-wrenching, tale which unfolds as readers follow the journey of George and Megs as they get to know C.S. Lewis.

I enjoyed and agree with Douglas Gresham’s (the stepson of C.S. Lewis) quote at the end of the book, “In this amazing book Patti’s portrayal of my stepfather C.S. Lewis or “Jack” as he preferred to be known, comes once more to life, and he shows a very full understanding of what is needed to make us understand a little less carelessly, what the world expects of us, no, indeed demands of us until finally we get there!”…“I advise you to read, this book, then wait for a while and then read it again for while it may not be Narnia, there is magic in it and that, deeply moved me.”

I enjoyed “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” and this memorable, hopeful, and heart-breaking story you won’t want to miss. I agree with Douglas Gresham this book is magical. I’ll be reading it again! I know you will want to do the same!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

I recently read Patti Callahan's Becoming Mrs Lewis, and when I heard about this book I couldn't wait to read it. So I was thrilled to be offered an early look with an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.
And I loved this book. Maybe even more than Mrs Lewis (and that's saying a lot). It was heart-warming, thought-provoking, and entertaining all at once. Despite the young lead character, George, being so ill that you knew he wouldn't survive to the end, his story was never maudlin or overwhelming. Like George, the reader can just accept the way he sees things. And Megs is the best sister ever. She gives George (and by extension, the reader) the greatest gifts with her stories. Thank you, Patti Callahan for another excellent book.

Those who have read and enjoyed C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe will find something to love in this book.

Megs, who is 17 and a mathematics student at Oxford University, has an 8-year-old brother, George, who is terminally ill with a weak heart. But when George reads the first in the Narnia series in 1950, his life is changed forever. He is enthralled by the magical adventure portrayed by the author and dreams of having adventures of his own, though none can be found in his own wardrobe.

Learning that the author is the tutor of English literature at nearby Oxford, he begs his sister to ask Lewis a question: is Narnia real? Although Megs is loath to approach the celebrated author, she finally broaches his estate,.is discovered by his brother Warnie and welcomed inside. She visits often, listening to stories about Jack (what C.S. Lewis preferred to be called) and Warnie and reciting them back to George at home (Jack won't let her take notes). Jack never answers Megs' questions directly, so she and George discuss the stories at length to try to discover how the the Lewis brothers' experiences and passions led to the first in the remarkable Narnia series.

I was expecting a depth of emotion that the author didn't quite deliver to my satisfaction in the first part of the book. I found it more of a retelling of portions of Jack's life than how they resulted in Narnia, the children who journeyed there, and the land's inhabitants. But all that changes in the final 20 percent of the book. Fellow Oxford student Padraig proposes a solution that may allow his friend Megs to fulfill one of George's biggest dreams, and the resulting story is beautifully told, magical, and heartfelt, with an enlightening epilogue.

It was worth waiting for.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although I had heard of “Becoming Mrs Lewis” before I hadn’t gotten around to reading it or anything else by this author. This book was my first introduction to her and it blew me totally and completely away. It was sad, poignant, happy, amazing, and brought me to tears… which doesn’t happen often and makes it so much more difficult to read. This is definitely a book I’m so happy I came across and can see reading it again and again and getting different bits from it each time. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.