Alice Through the Looking-Glass [Hardcover]

Lewis Carroll (Author), Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0763628921 | ISBN-13: 978-0763628925 | Publication Date: October 11, 2005

Welcome back to the world of Helen Oxenbury's Alice! An exuberant edition of the Lewis Carroll masterpiece, lavishly illustrated by one of the most beloved children's book artists of our time.

Helen Oxenbury's ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND set a new standard for contemporary editions of Lewis Carroll's beloved classic. And now she has illustrated its companion, ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING- GLASS, with equal intimacy, warmth, and charm. Here again is Alice, dressed in her bright blue jumper and ready for adventure like any modern child. All it takes is a bit of curiosity about the room reversed in the mirror and suddenly Alice is in the Looking-Glass world with all manner of comical and magical characters — Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the lion and the unicorn, and a whole game board of chess pieces come to life.

On page after page, Helen Oxenbury's incomparable line drawings, sepia illustrations, and full-color paintings give today's children their own utterly accessible view into Lewis Carroll's timeless nonsense.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2 Up–In this delightful companion to Oxenbury's illustrated version of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Candlewick, 1999), Alice now wears black tights and a white long-sleeved shirt to suit the winter setting (Without, the frost, the blinding snow,/The storm-wind's moody madness–/Within, the firelight's ruddy glow,/And childhood's nest of gladness). Leaving the cozy room behind, she steps through the looking glass and into a world depicted in warm watercolors, sepia-toned illustrations, and line drawings. Not a word of the original tale has been altered. The artwork echoes the whimsy of the language, clearly showing Alice's amusement at the antics of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, her frustration at the impossibility of slicing a Looking-glass cake, her affection for the gentle White Knight, and her exasperation when both the White and the Red Queen fall asleep snuggled against her. The large font and numerous illustrations, including many single- and double-page paintings, make this edition inviting for reading aloud or alone. The artwork has an engaging openness to it, and Alice comes across as a real child, making it easy for readers to imagine themselves exploring the wonders of this make-believe realm.–Joy Fleishhacker,School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 4-7. Oxenbury won the Kate Greenaway Medal for her illustrated edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1999), and she continues her splendid interpretation with this companion title. Once again, Oxenbury contributes small, black-and-white drawings and full-page watercolors, and her subtle use of color and shade adds layers of meaning to the story. The kings and queens of the chessboard seem vibrantly alive, all grand gestures and magnificently haughty expressions, yet Oxenbury reinforces the notion that they are still only game pieces by painting them in monochromatic shades of either red or white (indicating their home side of the chess board), unlike other characters, such as the charmingly rendered Humpty Dumpty, who appear in vivid full color. In many images, the sturdy line sketches appear within richly dimensional watercolor worlds, and the juxtaposition of both in the same scene, like the coloring of the chess pieces, calls attention to Carroll's own playful jumble of solid, real-world elements (chess pieces, kittens, Alice herself) and delicious, wholly imagined fantasy. But children certainly won't need to look for deeper significance in the pictures to enjoy the wild adventures. Young and old alike will easily embrace Oxenbury's Alice, who seems both old-fashioned and modern, and comfortable in worlds on both sides of the mirror. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763628921
• ISBN-13: 978-0763628925
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,258,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Missing, December 3, 2009

By 

Steven C. Watson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Through the Looking-Glass (Kindle Edition)

Some of the poetry seems to be missing from the work, it really bothers me. You're better off to buy a copy than use this free one.

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Edited, July 6, 2010

By 

Michelle Mcmullin - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Through the Looking-Glass (Kindle Edition)

I was very disappointed to discover that this version of the book is missing pretty much all the poetry. The songs are shortened and details are left out. I advise purchasing the book rather than downloading the free version. This is one of my favorite books from my childhood and I sorely missed "The Walrus and the Carpenter". Not to mention the loss of the Jaberwocky. On a side note- I'd forgotten that the many Alice in Wonderland movies often combined the two books.

73 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poetry missing, December 21, 2009

By 

Anne Mason (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Through the Looking-Glass (Kindle Edition)

The poems are missing from the book, which makes it an incomplete work. Sometimes, I guess you get what you pay for.