Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [Library Binding]

Lewis Carroll (Author), DeLoss McGraw (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Curiouser and Curiouser...Fall down the rabbit-hole and let DeLoss McGraw take you on a tour of Wonderland.

In over a hundred dazzling watercolors, artist DeLoss McGraw unflinchingly captures the ethereal beauty and dreamlike qualities of Carroll's fantastic story. His visual trek through Wonderland is a deep poetic journey that transforms our view of the subterranean world and reveals Alice as we have never seen her before.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DeLoss McGraw's illustrations bring the magic of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to a younger audience, with abstract splashes of color that render the Caterpillar a bit less eerie and the Queen less terrifying than Sir John Tenniel's interpretation. One hallucinogenic image captures Alice awash in deep blue watercolor, her long legs rising in an ethereal haze as her head reaches the ceiling. A small green window and miniaturized chair accentuate her rapid growth.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-Up-McGraw provides a unique visual interpretation of Carroll's classic tale. As in Natasha Wing's Hippity Hop, Frog on Top (1994; o.p.) and Edward Lear's The New Vestments (1995; o.p., both S & S), his gouache illustrations are marked by bold, rich colors and a collage-style layout. His work suggests the influence of early 20th-century abstract, fantasy, and surrealist painters, as well as that of contemporary illustrator Brian Wildsmith. At times, the trip through Wonderland appears nightmarish. The images of Alice with the bottle of poison in front of her face and the executioner as a masked club card clutching an ax are particularly jarring. The story can be read on many levels. McGraw has chosen to portray the deeper, darker side of Alice's adventures. This is definitely a sophisticated and special interpretation that will appeal to a very limited, mature audience.

Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060294981
• ISBN-13: 978-0060294984
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,931,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the pen name of Oxford mathematician, logician, photographer and author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, is famous the world over for his fantastic classics "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," "Through the Looking Glass," "The Hunting of the Snark," "Jabberwocky," and "Sylvie and Bruno."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enticing illustrations, like that of a modern master painter, May 17, 2002

By 

J.P. (SF Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Hardcover)

Do you remember the first time you saw a painting by Marc Chagall? His fantastic creatures wearing hats and trousers, people kissing while floating in mid air, layers of events happening at once, and conversations between animals and flowers? If Chagall was alive and asked to illustrate Alice's Adventures, it may have looked very similar to this.

Only this is better.

Simple and yet very rich illustrations bounce you from page to page. They are vibrant but not overwhelming, you are curious about where the images will take you next, it makes you hungry for more. And you get more! There is a printed illustration on almost every other page of the book! There seem to be as many small images, lending themselves as nuances to Carroll's text, as there are full-page illustrations. In a word, it's fantastic.

I disagree with the editorial review of the School Library Journal. While I see this book as sophisticated, I also see very young children relating to the artwork. The dream is at times spooky and frustrating like the real world can be, just as at other moments it can be a playful party. Although Alice in Wonderland may not have been originally intended for child as young as three or four years old to read, they will be enticed into trying. A child as young as four will relate to this Alice, she is a small girl with flowing hair and dresses in an easy style. Deloss McGraw has illustrated a modern and truly dreamlike interpretation of Carroll's classic. Finally we have a total departure from the formal British and more grown up Alice that John Tenniel portrayed all those years ago and has been an influence upon artists attempting it since.

Albeit a short, but important side note: the size 14 - 16 font is very readable for both old and young eyes, and comes in very handy for those readers-out-loud at late bedtimes in a dimly lit room.

Of all the illustrated versions there are of this classic story, this will be the version your child would first pick up from the shelf.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Now I Understand", November 10, 2001

By 

Naomi C. Newman (Wayne, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Hardcover)

Now I understand the timeless appeal of Lewis Carroll's classic
"Alice in Wonderland". Of course the story is magic to readers of all ages but for me what is especially magical are the illustrations. Deloss McGraw has turned "Alice" and the world of illustration on its head. Now I understand why this book has just received the New York Society of Illustrators 2001 Gold Medal for Original Art.

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Wait for "Through the Looking-Glass" !!!, October 17, 2005

By 

Zahra Leone (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Hardcover)

DeLoss McGraw has been one of my favorite artists for years. I love what he did for "Alice". I saw the display of his preliminary sketches for "Throught the Looking-Glass" at Arundel Books in Los Angeles two years ago. It was a marvelous treat, and portends yet another feast for the eyes and mind.