My favorite is Last Battle, The. (Sorry, I couldn't resist! )

I like it because its such a very somber book in the beginning, but it's done well. Then the excitement and joy of knowing about the New Narnia, and hoping beyond hope that it's real and that they can stay....and then they can!

I love the characters. Tirian is my favorite King of Narnia (Not including Pevensies), and you really get to see a great characterization of him. I love it that his best friend is a Unicorn. That facet of the story really brings out to me to human-ness, so to speak, of the talking beasts; that they really have personalities and can be made friends with.

The audio drama for The Last Battle was put on by me this afternoon as I did yard work.

The Magician's Nephew is my second favorite, just because the creation story is so cool and Digory is a really neat kid. His interactions with Polly just make me smile and enjoy myself.

BUT IT ISN'T THE FIRST BOOOK!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

*reigns self in* Yes, I'm a publication order fan. How could you tell?

It is to! I'm a chronological order fan .

My second fave book would be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Beautiful adventure book. Then third would be a tie between LWW and HHB.

This is almost like trying to pick which James Horner score is my favorite out of my top 5.....

*decides to go with VDT*

Magicians Nephew is an extremely close second, though. I like how everything is explained, especially where the White Witch comes from and why the lamppost is in Narnia. Also I just really like the fact that it's different from the other Chronicles.

After saying that, I picked VDT as my favorite (at the present, at least ). The fact that the book takes place away from Narnia was an interesting choice and comes off well. Also there are so many memorable scenes: The Dufflepuds, Ramandu's Island, the Dark Island, Eustace turning into a dragon and then finally turning back thanks to Aslan, the whole ending of the book.

*Sigh* It's a great entry in the series and also a magnificent stand-alone read.

HHB, definitely. LB next though.

I think HHB is since it seems a bit different from the rest--just set in a different time, etc. Just everything about it seems--different. And I like that.

Laura, those LB quotes give me the goosebumps!

Another very meaningful and glorious quote for me is right near the end, and I quote with my prime favourite parts in bold:

In the final chapter, "Farewell to Shadowlands", Aslan assures Lucy that they will not be sent away again, and says,

" 'No fear of that ... Have you not guessed?'
Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.
'There was a real railway accident,' said Aslan softly. 'Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.'
And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

Wow, I wonder how Lewis felt as he penned those final words ... I wonder, as spontaneously happened to Handel when he completed "The Hallelujah Chorus", if tears were in CSL's eyes. They surely are in mine. I dearly want this read at my funeral/memorial service, someday ... hopefully years from now.

How am I supposed to choose? I voted for whichever one I happen to be reading at the time. Although to be strictly accurate it's practically a three-way tie between LB, HHB, and VDT. MN comes really, really close too.
When I read LB I can always see very vivid images in my mind, more so than in the other ones. For some reason it captures my imagination more.

All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

This is one of my absolute favorite quotes of all time.
My favorite part in HHB is when Aslan tells Shasta that he was the lion throughout Shasta's entire journey. It's such a great moment. I always get goosebumps.
I like VDT because it's a great adventure story. And the last chapter is simply amazing.
MN has not always been near the top, but as I grow older I've begun to enjoy it more. I thought it was the most boring of the series the first time I read it. But now I appreciate Digory's story, and the creation of Narnia captures my imagination as well as the end of it does.

johobbit: I love that quote. I cry every time I read that book. Having it read at your funeral is a lovely idea! It would be so touching. I hope it is years and years from now too.

Oh what a ping-pong match in my head. Let's see..... today I'll go with LWW. LWW has always been the first Narnia book for me (I don't care what the "numeral-logical" people say). It was my first intro. to Narnia and the most memorable. The Pevensies are also my favorite set of characters to visit Narnia. As a whole, LB comes in a close second though. Quite nice "bookends" together, the first and "end" of Narnia.

My favorite is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which I am rereading at the moment. Why? Because I like it a bit more than my second and third favorites: The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy.

Actually, my top 3 are very close with just the slightest margin of difference in preference between them.

For VDT, I like the adventure and the balance of light and dark. It has the seriousness of the slave trade but the humor of the Dufflepuds and the magic of Coriakin. There is the Dark Island but Aslan's Country at the end. Also, Eustace-Dragon Eustace-Changed Eustace, Lord Rhoop but then Ramandu and his more famous daughter.

Puddleglum and Jill Pole almost got SC to number one and I was so pleasantly surprised by HHB that it stood out enough to almost make it up there. (I think too that I had lower expectations before reading it the first time.)

Anyway, that is my why.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader because it is set a sea. I love the oceans and islands. Alsdo its very different from the other books.

I voted Voyage of the Dawn Treader because I love all the adventures there are in it, plus it has my two favorite characters, Edmund and Lucy. I especially love the parts where Eustace turns into a dragon and when they meet Ramandu's Daughter.

I also love The Silver Chair and The Last Battle...but VDT is just a little bit better.

my favorite is VotDT!!!!!! I first read it when I was 6 years old and it's been my favorite Narnia book ever since!!!!!!

I'm going to have to say my favourite, though it's very hard since I love them all, is Prince Caspian. For one thing, it's been rather neglected in this poll. But, honestly, it's always been 'special' to me for some reason. It's got a different pace to it than any of the other CoN books, I think. I know it's been railed against and complained about and listed as the worst or most boring of the Chronicles at times, but I don't really see why it should be. Just because it's not full of action doesn't, or at least shouldn't, make it any less interesting. And besides, it's got the lovely part where they all follow Aslan, even though only Lucy can see him at first and all that. And the line about men going wild inside and not being able to tell.

I prefer The Silver Chair because it's the most cinematic besides The Horse and His Boy. So yeah. I don't really know why I picked Silver Chair over HHB, but I did.

ValiantArcher, I agree so much with everything you said about Prince Caspian. It's always been my favorite book.

Reasons, besides the ones Val has already stated:

- Lucy and Peter are my favorite characters, and both of them have a pivotal role in this tale, especially since it's Peter's last time in Narnia for a while.
- The chapter in which Lucy sees Aslan at night is beautifully written.
-The storyline is slightly different. It's less magical and more like something that would happen in medieval England. That's not necessarily what I'm looking for in Narnia but it is one feature that sets Prince Caspian apart.
- Peter's challenge to Miraz gives us a rich glimpse into Narnian culture that we don't often get. He uses the royal "we"! It makes me laugh.
- It's dangerous. The only other books that have the same or greater sense of peril pervading them are The Last Battle and The Silver Chair (incidentally my second and third favorites respectively). Given, the White Witch is intimidating but not in a visceral way.
- It features apples. I love apples.