The Chronicles of Narnia she felt were upsetting to children. Poskanzer also noted Lewis presented his Christian message subtly enough as to avoid boring children with overt sermonizing. Examples include: Philip Pullman's fantasy series, "His Dark Materials", is seen as a response to "The Chronicles". Pullman is a self-described atheist who wholly rejects the spiritual themes that permeate "The Chronicles", yet his series nonetheless addresses many of the same issues and introduces some similar character types, including talking animals. In another parallel, the first books in each series – Pullman's "Northern Lights" and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" – both open with
The Chronicles of Narnia of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. Except in "The Horse and His Boy", the protagonists are all children from the real world, magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in "The Magician's Nephew" to its eventual destruction in "The Last Battle". Inspiration for the series was taken from multiple sources; in addition to adapting numerous traditional Christian themes, Lewis freely borrowed characters