GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- With Friday's release of the film version of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the marketing push to promote the sale of Narnia books and other related merchandise is reaching a crescendo — and nowhere more so than in Christian retail stores.The movie, which is expected to be a hit, already has boosted sales of the seven-title Narnia series published by HarperCollins.While the publishing company is distributing the C.S. Lewis books and other related merchandise to general retailers, its Zondervan division, a Grand Rapids-based publisher of Bibles and other religious books, is responsible for getting Narnia items into Christian bookstores and gift shops.Large, elaborate in-store displays at many stores depict wardrobes, lions, lampposts, knights and other Narnia items and characters. Besides the original books, Christian retailers are stocking their shelves with a variety of movie tie-in products, from music CDs to figurines.
