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C.S Lewis' famous Narnia book: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has been named as the one parents most want to share with their own youngsters.

"Narnia? What's that?" said Lucy. "This is the land of Narnia," said the Faun, "where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the Eastern Sea..." - From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.

The C.S. Lewis novel – first published in 1950 and the second part of Lewis' famous Narnia series – has topped a poll conducted for the BBC Parenting magazine. Winnie the Pooh was runner-up when parents were asked to name the books they loved as children and now wanted their own offspring to enjoy.

The charming tale told in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - about the magical land of Narnia, which could be accessed through an unassuming wardrobe in a country house - has captured the imaginations of children and adults for over half a century.

Magic Kingdom

The story unfolds as four children: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, discover the entrance to the magic kingdom of Narnia. This, they discover, is a world where time passes at a different rate to mundane reality (they find they've spent years in Narnia by the close of the first book). It is here that they meet Aslan the great lion and the cruel White Witch, a tyrant who holds the land hostage in an eternal winter.

In the novel the children – together with Aslan and a whole host of funny, enchanting (and enchanted!) memorable characters - embark on a journey of discovery that leads to an ultimate battle between good and evil. This is a tale that will enchant all those – of any age – who enjoy fantastical flights of imagination (and perhaps have been turned on to fantasy by the Harry Potter novels). This inventive book - and the rest of the series are a must-read at any age.

Cornerstone of the seven volume Chronicles of Narnia, the book was partly inspired by the life of Christ (with Aslan cast in the role of one who sacrifices himself so that those he is pledged to protect might live), as well as by four children who were evacuated to the author's home during the Second World War.

Upon meeting his wartime house guests, C.S Lewis was apparently surprised at the lack of imaginative stories his young guests knew and decided to set about writing one. Jotting down a rough opening scenario and then setting it aside, he eventually returned to finish the tale in 1949, almost a decade after he had begun it. The further six books: The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle were subsequently written and released as episodes, unfolding the tale with a book each year.

Chocolate Lovers

Among the other poll winners Roald Dahl's chocolate lovers fantasy Charlie And The Chocolate Factory came third, while The Lord of The Rings author J.R.R Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins starring prequel - The Hobbit - came fourth.

As part of the survey, parents were also asked which children's films they most wanted their children to see, with the magical musical nanny movie Mary Poppins topping that list. The 1971 film version of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory - starring Gene Wilder as the master of Dahl's fabulously sinister sweet factory – also appeared, making this tale the only story to appears in both lists.

BBC Parenting magazine editor Stephanie Cooper said: "Everybody has fond memories of the first books they read, or the ones that were read to them at bedtime. We also recall outings to the cinema, perhaps as part of a birthday treat or to keep us occupied on a wet afternoon in the school holidays, and the films that stayed in our minds forever.

"Because such an important part of being a parent is sharing such experiences with our own children this is a perfect subject for BBC Parenting magazine's first issue and the survey choices are bound to spark a healthy debate."

Poll Winner

The Chronicles of Narnia have been - and remain - some of the most enduringly popular children’s books ever published. The poll winner – and best known - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe alone, has been translated into 29 languages!

The two polls look like this:

Top five books:

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

2. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

4. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

5. The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

Top five films:

1. Mary Poppins

2. The Wizard of Oz

3. The Railway Children

4. The Jungle Book

5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Chronicles of Narnia are published in the UK by Harper Collins, where they are available as a boxed set and as individual volumes.

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