Alice in Wonderland Books

An occasional review will focus on this point. Alice in Wonderland is no more children's book than, "The Lord of the Rings".

The reason this five star book gets less stars occasionally is not because of its contents or purpose; it is because of either being mistaken for a kids book, in which case one wonders why it is forced on kids, or it is so dated that even the reader thinks it is gobbledygook.

You will find the book full of references to items of the time and play on words of the time.

If you fall into either of these categories then you need to first purchase "The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition"; this will clear this understandable confusion. Be aware that every sentience is a play on words for a jab at the culture of that time.

I will not go through the story, as that is why you are buying this book. However I will say that it is a classic and should be part of everyone's cultural education.

When you make it through this book and enjoy it the next challenge should be "Alice's Abenteuer Im Wunderland" German Translation.

If you are also interested in sci-fi then try to get a copy of "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Henry Kuttner.

Best of Henry Kuttner "Mimsy Were the Borogoves"

Well the book has all the text, and some of the pictures I remember. But the type is very small, and the introduction very long. It will do, but I really wanted one like the Alice I enjoyed as a child.

I got really disappointed when I received the book. I was looking for the original Lewis Carrol Book and this one was an adaptation for Children.

I feel truly decieved with Amazon.

Be aware - this is an adapted version! I was not aware of it when I bought the item - it does not say so clearly anywhere in the book description, only in the reviews. "Through the looking Glass And What Alice Found There" that it is paired with is not an adapted version, though

Wonderland?

People today consider Alice in Wonderland a nice children's story. I was looking forward to a simple story similar to the movie. However, upon reading it, I was surprised by the obscure symbolism and meaning Lewis Carroll incorporates into the text. He tells the story from an innocent child's point of view and uses a confusing and random plotline to create a satire of society. Initially, the story is very puzzling. Some chapters must be read multiple times simply to absorb what happened. This wackiness and disorderly organization, although it may lead to making the reader confused, serves a higher purpose in understanding the story. Written in 1865, during the very beginnings of the "Guilded Age" in America, the book strongly emphasizes corruption and insensibility in society.
Overall, I enjoyed Alice in Wonderland. It helped me gain a new perspective on our society. Initially, I was skeptical about the quality of the book. However, as I continued reading, I became used to the writing style and began to appreciate the themes and messages it contained. Everyone should read Alice in Wonderland. Not only does it contain powerful theme about corruption and chaos in society that everyone can learn from, it can also be read in a very short amount of time. However, it should not be read only once, lest much of the meaning be initially misconstrued as unimportant nonsense. It must be examined thoroughly to obtain the most amount of personal growth.

As if the original, colorful tale of ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and its sequel --- or the countless film and theater adaptations of it --- weren't enough to delight anyone old or young enough to read or be read to, "historian emeritus Agnes MacKenzie" has found the journal of the real little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll's classic.

Read, in Alyss's own words, how one birthday went terribly, horrifyingly wrong, and she and Hatter Madigan escaped the chaos by jumping off a cliff into the Pool of Tears. Alyss ended up standing alone in a strange world called London, and that's where it all began. After a stint as a street urchin, Alyss went to an orphanage and was adopted by the Liddell family. That is where she met the author/reverend/mathematician Charles Dodgson, who became known to the world as Lewis Carroll.

Mr. Dodgson was the only person who would call our heroine by her true name, Princess Alyss Heart (the awfully unimaginative Liddells rechristened her a boring "Alice"). He took an interest in Alyss and her adoptive sisters, and soon he had written a story about Alyss that would keep readers captivated for decades to come.

That's where everything went wrong. Alyss was indignant when she read Mr. Dodgson's story, as it mentioned silly things like rabbit holes and made no indication that Alyss, not Alice, was a princess. Luckily we have the rest of her journal here to set us all straight.

PRINCESS ALYSS OF WONDERLAND shines not in its blatant retelling (with lots of poetic license) of a classic story, but in its incredible delivery. It is a gem of a book, with real photographs of Dodgson and the Liddell sisters as well as imaginative drawings and letters in envelopes to pull out and read, as in the Jolly Postman series. Alyss is a new Eloise, with a bright outlook on even the darkest things. The only place where the book falters is in its sometimes needless notes from the "historian" who discovered Alyss's diary when they attempt to prompt what is next to come in the story.

This is a fragile book that needs to be taken care of (be especially mindful of how you unfold the Oxford map), but it will delight most little girls as well as give them a glimpse into life in mid-1800s Britain. The biggest danger is its rewriting of history and of a classic children's book that shouldn't be tampered with. With that taken into consideration, however, this is a lovely story of a vivacious little girl fighting not to lose her imagination and trying to find her place in the world.

--- Reviewed by Hannah Gómez

THis book is filled with more tricks and moveable pictures than a 5 year old can play with. its fantastically presented starting from the cover all the way to the deck of cards in the back pocket.


certainly a wonderful addition to a book collection

-4 thumbs up-

The visual art of the book was good, but the content left much to be desired. Best enjoyed by a young fan of the series.

I returned this book it wasn't what I wanted --I like several others thought it was the the next book --guess I should have read the reviews before ordering.

This book adds very little to the Beddor and Alyss Heart universe. However, it is wonderfully crafted and helps continue the mystique that Beddor is creating that Alyss was a real person trapped in Victorian England. It fills in a few gaps of her stay in England, but it is not necessary to read in order to understand The Looking Glass Wars or Queen Redd. The Hatter M comic books do far more for the overall storyline.

Just be aware that these reviews are confusing because some are for the old zimmerman version and some are for the echo library version. The old zimmerman version has the old German script and original illustrations. It has also changed the parables to fit the German culture. This was done with the full support and approval of Lewis Carroll. It is out of print, but some of the reviews still refer to this older version. The echo library version, maroon cover, is in modern english type and has no illustrations. Sad. There is no explanation of the text or translation, though it may be direct from the old zimmerman version. If you can get a copy of the older version with the old script and illustrations it is a treasure! Plus it is beneficial to know how to read the old script.

I purchased this book for a friend who reads German. It looks great with nice illustrations. I was a little worried about the Dover edition since they are normally thin floppy paperbacks, but this book exceeded my expectations. The font is not bad like someone else mentioned. It looks like old English, but I don't find it hard to distinguish the letters.
I just wish there were more classics in German on Amazon.

Please be warned that this book is written in the old fashioned German script font and was very hard to read. It actually gave me such a head ache that I couldn't pick the book back up and never finished it.

Personally I think the typeface, like the illustrations add ambiance to the book.

A paragraph from the back cover:

The Translation of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has always presented a special problem. The humor, popular children's verses, songs and especially the puns were thought at first to make it untranslatable. The problem was solved by Antonie Zimmermann with the-hearty approval of Carroll-by substituting popular German children's verses and puns for the English originals. "How Doth the Little Crocodile?" for instance, is turned into a parody of a German Romantic ballad. All in all, this is still the best of the 15 or more German Translations.

The Dover edition has held up well. Mine was printed in 1974 and has not started to yellow.

It would not have been so difficult had it been in an old English typeface. Unfortunately, it was in an old German typeface: something similar to Schwaben Alt perhaps. If you can find a sample typeface on the www, good, otherwise you will have to reverse-engineer it from familiar words and pencil in your notes. It was an unexpected additional challenge, but a welcome one.

that Alice is a bit Crazy, and the book is wonderful but far away from a classic view of the story and the caracter

I found this in mint condition in a used bookstore for 5 dollars, and bought it thinking my toddler would like the pop-up features. Only upon actually reading it, did I discover that the way the story is written is not very kid-friendly, and some of the illustrations and pop-up features are really pretty weird & surreal. The only feature my little one loved was the pull-down tab that covers the entire cheshire cat except its smile [ok, I loved it too!].But as an adult, I enjoyed the book, and it is definitely a unique take on Lewis Carroll's classic tale...there is definitely something of the wonderland in this book!

J.Otto's illustrations are incredibly amazing!!!! Besides I think this pop-up book really reflects Alice in wonderland's world. It has a lot of different types of pop-ups, and tiny details which make the difference such as a book on the first page that can be opened and has actual pages inside. Everything unfolds, hides or something.
I actually bought this book twice, the first one was for me and I found it so great that I bought a second copy to give as a gift.
The only recomendation I would give is not to buy it for small children since it is a very fragile book

This book is really too mature for young kids. I gave it to my 5 year old niece for her birthday, and while I was reading it I regretted giving it to her because I had to change some of the phrases (as I was reading) to make them more kid-friendly. If my sister ever reads it aloud to her young daughter, she'll probably be miffed with me for giving it as a gift.

The illustrations in this version of the Carroll tale are rich and imaginative, with eye-popping pop ups alongside the original 'Alice' text.

This pop-up version is destined to be a classic for it's gorgeous designs.

I just finished reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass, and what Alice Found There" in two days. There's a reason why these stories are considered classics. Like "Peter Pan" and "Chronicles of Narnia", these are tales that help us return to our childhood and re-experience the magic that we've felt and imagined. A smoking caterpillar and a disappearing cat may be absurd, but they're really imaginative. And I do believe that "Wonderland" and "Looking-Glass" are open to interpretation, since the word play and the riddles found here are too silly to be scientific.

I don't mind Hugh Haughton's annotated texts, as long as just enjoy reading these two children's tales peacefully.

A

The first thing that must be said for anyone who's seen Disney's Alice in Wonderland and wants to read the book because they loved it so much is beware. The book and the movie, while following the same story line, are nothing alike, and if you expect them to be you'll most likely end up as disappointed as I was.

Perhaps it's because I grew up with the fluidly poetic Dr Zeus, or perhaps I just expected something that the book simply was not, but I found Carroll's tale bland and void of the essential, natural art to story-telling that all "absurd" imaginative pieces need to be enjoyable.

Though I must give credit to Carroll for what I feel he deserves- in his time, this was a wildly fantastic book with a plethora of crazy characters, riddles, poetry and inspired plot twists that carry the reader around Wonderland with the famous protagonist.
The Characters however, were truly brought to life by Disney to a degree unrealizable within the written format. I don't fault Carroll for this, but when you've seen the movie first...
I also found the transitions between scenery and scenes to be lacking in impact because there is little distinction made between one place and the next. I realize that Carroll was describing a dream (which is vague by nature), but I feel that his writing could have accentuated the transitions to give the reader more involvement in the fading between one land and the next- what we have instead is something close to "Alice was walking in a forest and now she's crossing a river." Call me picky, but such a lackluster transition is bound to bore.

Most agitating were Penguin Classic's annotations that literally littered the text with information completely irrelevant to the story. Boasting on the back that my copy is "the most comprehensively annotated edition available", they weren't lying. To get this title though, they stuck an annotation into every nook and cranny manageable. By the end of the fifth chapter I almost threw the book out of the bus window because I had read more about Lewis Carroll's diary entries and queer habit of wearing gloves everywhere than of Alice herself. At that point I more or less stopped regarding the annotations at all- content instead to deny their existence rather than try my patience at reading them. I was upset at this because there were several places where an explanation, allusion or elaboration was truly helpful, but they were one in stack of fifty and the remaining forty-nine were just too painfully superfluous to sift through

Through The Looking Glass also failed to leave an impression on me. It was a very simple extension of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but in the same exact format, with the same trite transitions and utterly lackluster performances.

I thought it was a painful struggle to finish Through The Looking Glass, and then found myself face to face with Carroll's original short story Alice's Adventures Underground- the original short story that he had written for the young daughter of a close friend which his friends had urged him to elaborate upon. Following that, I found an essay written by Carroll, Alice On Stage, about his thoughts on the cinematic production of his tale. I'm sorry; I just couldn't bring myself to bother. That was enough of Lewis Carroll for me.

As I implied at the start, stick to Disney's movie. I love to read, but Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a story meant to be seen and heard, not read about.

I had not read these books since I was probably seven or eight, and I am glad that I finally got around to reading them again. These are some of the most fun childrens books (or any books for that matter) ever written. A previous reviewer gave this book a poor rating because it was only a childrens book. I fail to understand how being a childrens book means that a book is bad. Many childrens book are among the best books that I have ever read. Just because a book is a childrens book does not mean that it is a book just for children. Lewis Carroll wrote this for children, but it is probably even more enjoyable for me to read now than it was when I was a child, for now I understand many of the double meanings and world plays that you would never understand as a child. Carroll is better with word plays than any other author that I can recall reading. He is a master of molding sentences that simply slide right off of your tongue because they flow so smoothly. This is definitely one of the best childrens books ever written.

Overall grade: A+

I was shocked when i saw that the Alice books got 3 stars. these are literary classics , the two most complicated "children books" with many levels of interpretation. I know people have different tastes but this deserved an overall score of at least four.

It's a fantastic book, of course, and it certainly doesn't need me to praise it as millions have done before. It's probably one of the most unique things ever written: the only book that could be considered both completely a children's story and completely a book for adults. The only problem with the Penguin edition is that it's grossly over-annotated. For scholars this may be very helpful, but sadly enough a lot of the notes are either irrelevant to non-professors or provide critical instead of historical or biographical commentary which, in my opinion, ruins the greatest delight of the book: AAIW/TLG are highly interpretable and symbolic stories, but unfortunately the commentator is always interrupting like a nagging pedant before the reader has a chance to reflect. Once again, both stories well deserve their status as true English classics but another edition might be a better choice.

So far this has been a great book.It was about a girl that saw a rabbit he was very late for something.Alice wanted to see what he was late for so she folled him into his rabbit hole.And she kept folling him.This is my review.

It was the cover's picture of Alice and the Rabbit that caught my attention to get this book. Out of the many editions I would recommend the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Helen Oxenbury is a talented illustrator who won England's Kate Greenaway medal for illustrators. She draws Alice like a modern girl very different from Disney's Alice whith her neat hair, apron, and the poofy dress. Some of the pictures are coloured and some are not. This is the unabridged story with a bigger font than the others. It is better for readers because novels usually have small fonts which are very hard to read.

This book would be awsome for Christmas, Hannukah and Easter presents or just a present for your family and maybe for yourself because it it paper back. However, it has thicker paper than the fragile pages in other paperback novels. I would not recommend this for traveling because it weighs more then the other paper back novels.

You might get another version of Alice in Wonderland because you think that you are not going to read it again after you finish, but if you get this book, you will want to read it again and again after you finish.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an exciting fantasy novel by Lewis Carroll. His other works include Alice Through the Looking Glass, Phantasmagoria, Sylvie and Bruno, and Rhyme? And Reason? All of which are very creative and imaginative, but his best would have to be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book is enjoyed by most, but fantasy lovers and mature young adults seem to really love it. Once you read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you get hooked and you have to read more. Carroll paints a vivid picture of Wonderland and all of it's crazy inhabitants you find around every corner. Each chapter has a different plot and character even though the complete novel has a pretty well known main idea. Carroll keeps it interesting all through the book. You can really tell that he's trying to get the point across of the world not being perfect and it would be better if people just went with the flow. I would definitely recommend this to my friends. Most of them would enjoy it. It is a really fun, fun book! -Review By Madi Joiner

It was the cover picture of Alice and the Rabbit that caught my attention. Out of the many editions of Alice in Wonderland, I would recommend Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Helen Oxenbury is a talented illustrator who won England's Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrators. She draws Alice like a modern girl very different from Disney's Alice with neat hair, an apron, and the poofy dress. Some of the pictures are coloured and some are not. This is the unabridged story with a bigger font than the others which is good for reading because alot of other novels have very small writing which is hard to read.

This book would be awesome for Christmas, Hannukah and Easter presents or just a present for your family and maybe for yourself because it is paperback. However, it has thicker paper than the fragile pages in other paperback novels.

You might get anothe edition of Alice in Wonderland because you think you're not going to read it again after you finish, but if you get this version, then you will want to read it again and again after you finish.

Written by Jenny

I understand there are a lot of political jabs and innuendos in this book. Perhaps they were applicable when this book was written. To me this book was silly. I'd prefer to listen to "Jefferson Airplanes" version...White Rabbit, or the question in "Matrix"...how far does the rabbit hole go? For a young kid, this book may prove to be quite a trip.

I have read this to many children, and I find "Through the Looking Glass" to be a better first exposure to the works of Carrol than "Wonderland."
This book should be read aloud, before being given to the child (to read on their own.)
The transition into a fantasy realm is gentler and more clearly detailed in "Looking Glass." Kids don't tend to ask "why" as much since they immediately suppose "The Looking Glass House" has different laws. Once kids have enjoyed "Looking Glass" they readily accept the more cumbersome introduction to Wonderland.
Carroll intended you to read this book to a child, not hand it to them. I read these on my own as a child and really struggled with the language. Your first exposure to these works should be listening not reading.
So I recommend you buy the book on tape. Then once your in love with it, read the book!
Carrol was an Anglican Christian clergyman in the Oxford spirit of C.S.Lewis and others, so I find any ties to drug culture or other weirdness laughable.
This book is quoted in print and elsewhere all the time. People who haven't read this are undoubtedly missing out on the references.

'Tis love, 'Tis love, that makes the world go 'round!

This book is awesome. Read it. If you like things that are illogical, you'll love this book. Most people've already seen the movie, so I really don't need to describe much, but the Disney movie doesn't really capture the awesomeness. Trust me, it's great. Get it.

Alice in Wonderland is a great book that i very much enjoyed. The story was very interesting and enjoyable. I liked how the author made things symbolize something else. Like the way the rules of the game they were playing were also the rules of the land. Even though this book is intended for young kids, this book is excellent for all ages.

Alice in Wonderland is a great book that i very much enjoyed. The story was very interesting and enjoyable. I liked how the author made things symbolize something else. Like the way the rules of the game they were playing were also the rules of the land. Even though this book is intended for young kids, this book is excellent for all ages.

There is one thing that all potential customers must keep in mind when buying any Alice book: Do not purchase one that does not include the illustrations of John Tenniel! This edition includes all of them and the quality of the reproductions on the pages are excellent. Tenniel's illustrations help add to the childish excitement of Carroll's stories and will be especially invaluable to teenagers and adults, having just by nature of growing up lost some of the imaginative innocence, that ability to stretch reality, that we all possessed as kids.

Of course, the illustrations wouldn't mean jack if they didn't have a captivating story to work with. Carroll's amusing tale of nonsense is targeted as a kid's book, and that is always where many of our fondest memories of it will remain, but as a college student reading it I was amazed by its power to suspend reality and return me to a level of imagination that I had simply thought I lost somewhere along the way. The trip down the rabbit hole can be quite a different experience from a different point of view.

This particular edition also includes a good introduction and very helpful explanatory notes organized chapter by chapter. The introduction and notes offer insights to Carroll's life and his relations with the real life Alice and her family that, from a student viewpoint, reveal an interesting and more personal side of the Alice tales.

The Modern Library edition is a nice choice for the adult reader, featuring all the wonderful original illustrations (by British political cartoonist John Tenniel), a thoughtful forward by A.S. Byatt, and just enough notes and commentary to provide some additional historical and cultural context.

Lewis Carroll was an imaginitive genius and has created some of the most unforgettable and timeless characters with this work - the Mad Hatter, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, the hookah-smoking Caterpiller, the perpetually late White Rabbit - and the absurd situations Alice finds herself in are poignant and amusing at the same time.

However, one thing I did not realize coming back to these stories for the first time as an adult was just how largely character and situation-driven these stories are. Carroll moves rather disjointedly from one nonsensical scenario to the next, paying very little attention to a cohesive narrative thread. Indeed the world of Alice is best experienced as a whole, when the menagerie of characters can come to life, but these stories could just as easily be read out of order or taken out piece by piece. The creative work doesn't suffer a bit because of this, but readers should not come to these books expecting a novelistic experience.

These are creatures to love, lines to savor, and the most curious things to consider.

Musical
Book by Charles Turner
Music and lyrics by Steve Moore
Large, flexible cast / easy sets
Adapted from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

This engaging musicalization of the well-known classic has toured with enormous success in California, and has grown in popularity since it's publication. The journey of Alice through the mirror to the land of bizarre characters and strange pretzel-logic is retold in this ingenious adaptation with a great sense of farce and loving touch of humanity. All the popular characters are brought to life with full flair and color. The music is extremely melodic and captures the essence of plot and character developments.