Critics, though, said sponsoring a contest around a book as overtly Christian as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was over the line.
"This whole contest is just totally inappropriate because of the themes of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," said Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. "It is simply a retelling of the story of Christ."
There's an interesting post at Disputations about LW&W, and how Aslan is at best a poor analogy for Christ, because the wording of the chapter implies that any willing victim would be able to reverse death, not relying on the nature of Aslan. Tom has good points (as usual), and if I were a real blogger and knew how to link directly to it, I'd point you in that direction. On the other hand, I managed to read the whole series (in the proper order: i.e. The Magician's Nephew was second to last) when I was in first or second grade without picking up on the alegory at all and thought they were the best books ever. (Well, maybe not the Silver Chair, which I still don't like very much, but the rest of them).
Fortunately, I am a blogger. Here's the link. :)
I read the series as an adult (in the wrong order) and I simply wasn't impressed. I think maybe since I knew Lewis, I could see the rather obvious allegorical aspects and was turned off by the blatantness of it all. I wished I had read it as a child, though, I think I would have enjoyerd it more. Unfortunately I spent my childhood reading Stephen King (explains a lot, doesn't it?)