Prince Caspian is filled with adventure and magic, but it is the interaction of the characters that has its greatest claim on the imagination. The choice of having the Pevensies remain children is a pivotal one.

Lewis could have had them appear in Narnia as grown-ups, leaving Caspian as the sole representative of children among the major characters, but much of "The Chronicles of Narnia" is about the potential for courage in children as well as their potential for making good decisions. Having the Pevensies struggle through the wilds of Narnia and then face down evildoers fits well into the overall chronicles. It is in Prince Caspian that Lewis introduces the air of Narnia as somehow charged with Aslan's power, a mechanism for restoring the Earth children to their former strength and skills. This is useful for Lewis in that it allows Peter and the others...