Philip Pullman interview at Third Way

PP: And this, incidentally, is one of my quarrels with Lewis: the children in the Narnia books who have gone through all these experiences aren't allowed to stay in the world and make it better for other people - they're whisked off to heaven. That's not a Christian attitude.
I: They spent quite a long time in Narnia, didn't they, as kings and queens, bringing peace and justice?
PP: Not in this world. They're still children. They're off on holiday with their parents and they're all killed in a train crash. That's grotesque.
I: Maybe it's an artistic flaw?
PP: It's a bloody great big one.
I: It seems to satisfy a lot of people.
PP: It disgusted me when I read it.
Lewis is a contradictory sort of character for me. I loathe the Narnia books, and I loathe the so-called space trilogy, because they contain an ugly vision. But when he was talking about writing for children, and about literature in general, Lewis was very, very acute and said some very perceptive and wise things.