A World within a World : Portal-Quest Fantasy in Children’s Literature

World-building in the fantasy genre has an impact on how the imaginative world is perceived by the reader. Within the children’s fantasy genre, the subcategory of portal fantasy has expanded over decades resulting in portal-quest fantasy amongst others. However, the combination of how portal-quest fantasy and world-building interact in the genre of children’s fantasy is still unknown. Previous research on the subject of children’s fantasy has tended to center on different thematic approaches, for example racism and religion. Thus, this essay will address this gap in academic research by comparing the world-building techniques in C. S. Lewis’ novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and J. K. Rowling’s novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) and shows that both novels belong to the sub-category of portal-quest fantasy. By analyzing two different important scenes from both novels and how the authors use space and imagery in relation to world-building, a comparison between the two novels and the findings regarding similarities and differences are made. Both novels qualify as portal-quest fantasy. However, there were more differences found in relation to similarities. The aim of this essay is to open a discussion in the academic field regarding the importance of research related to world-building within children’s fantasy.