Which C.S. Lewis Narnia book won the 1957 Carnegie Medal for children’s literature?

The Last Battle won the 1957 Carnegie Medal for children’s literature.

The Last Battle is the seventh and final published volume in The Chronicles of Narnia. It was published in 1956 and received the Carnegie Medal in 1957, an annual British award for an outstanding book for children. Lewis dedicated the novel to his goddaughter Lucy Barfield, whose name inspired the character Lucy Pevensie.

The story centers on the final conflict in Narnia and includes the false Aslan created through a donkey wearing a lion skin. Its themes include deception, loyalty, judgment, and the end of the Narnian world. The book’s conclusion is notably more eschatological than the earlier adventures.

The publication order and internal chronological order of the Narnia books are different. The Last Battle is the final book published and is also the final episode in the series’ internal chronology. It is sometimes confused with The Silver Chair, which won the Carnegie Medal in 1954.