Alice in a Winter Wonderland
by Jan Brett (Author) Jan Brett (Illustrator)
A striking rendition of Alice in Wonderland transported to a shimmering Alaskan tundra, in Jan Brett's rich signature style.
When Alice spies a white rabbit checking his pocket watch before hippity-hopping down a crevasse in an Alaskan glacier, she knows she must follow him. And so she pops down the rabbit hole, into a world of absurd personalities, topsy-turvy action, and laugh-out-loud silliness. Favorite characters like Cheshire Cat and the Duchess and King and Queen come to life as vibrant animals native to Alaska making this classic tale shine through a fresh lens, certain to appeal to readers of all ages.
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School Library Journal
Gr 3-5--As Native Alaskan Alice and her sister rest with their sled dogs in a midwinter turquoise and jade green scenery, she spots a white rabbit descending a glacier. Such a view invites her to follow the rabbit, venturing into a whimsical world and encountering creatures like the extinct Great Auk and Smilodon, and mythical ones like the gryphon. This retelling follows the classic by Lewis Carroll with anthropomorphism, puberty symbolism with Alice's shrinking and growing, and her interaction with the Queen of Hearts. The narrative provides vocabulary words and phrase repetition, allowing an interactive reading with upper primary kids covering the fantasy unit. Although the narrative appears playful, it is also reminiscent of the 19th-century nonsense literature that Carroll mastered. Brett offers detail-oriented, intricately beautiful illustrations characteristic of her work. The watercolors and gouache, with collage art, are enhanced with decorated borders showcasing clubs, diamonds, hearts, and space cards. VERDICT A highly artistic rendition of a loved fantasy for the classroom and the public library shelves.--Kathia Ibacache
Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
★ "A highly artistic rendition of a loved fantasy for the classroom and the public library shelves. . . The narrative provides vocabulary words and phrase repetition, allowing an interactive reading with upper primary kids covering the fantasy unit. Although the narrative appears playful, it is also reminiscent of the 19th-century nonsense literature that Carroll mastered. Brett offers detail-oriented, intricately beautiful illustrations characteristic of her work." -School Library Journal, starred review
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Fantasy
Winter
Alaska
