School Library Journal-Rezension
Gr 6 Up-This story of Alice Liddell and her relationship with Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) and his masterpiece is a busy book. It contains a fictionalized account of how Alice in Wonderland came to be; historical information on childhood life in Victorian England; puzzles and games invented by Dodgson; family trees for Alice, Dodgson, and Queen Victoria; a bibliography; and a walking tour of Oxford. The tone and style of the writing, apparently meant to mimic the literary Alice, give the narrator a distinct voice that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes irritatingly smug. Thus, the book lacks focus. The illustrations are flat and insipid, particularly in contrast to the many photographs throughout the story, most taken by Dodgson. The author is a devotee of Alice in Wonderland and has created a work that will appeal to others with the same passion. It is doubtful that the majority of those readers will be children.-Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book-Rezension
A Swedish admirer has been inspired to put together an unusual compendium of material, both fictional and nonfictional, about Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, Oxford, early photography, and many other aspects of the Alice books. This charming tribute to an endearing classic will be enjoyed for the information, illustrations, games and puzzles, and the author's humorous delineation of the real people involved. A unique pleasure, delightfully illustrated. Bib. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus-Rezension
The author of Linnea in Monet's Garden (1987) explores the connection between Alice Liddell, the book Alice, and its creator in an inviting array of anecdotes, biographical details, descriptions of the Oxford setting, photos (many by Dodgson, still renowned as a photographer of children), period illustrations, and Eriksson's precisely detailed art. Björk introduces this wealth of material with an engaging account (lively with ``conversation'') of Alice's first telling on a river picnic. The bulk of the book details the peculiar ups and downs of the friendship between the child and the confirmed bachelor (whose best friends were always little girls, although there's no hint that these ties were anything but deliciously whimsical and rather cerebral), the two of whom apparently lost interest in each other as she got older (Mrs. Liddell would also, periodically and inexplicably, try to terminate a friendship that would then be reinstated with full honor). Meanwhile, much of the pair's playful interaction (especially concerning logic and numbers) was incorporated into Alice. The author wraps up her account with what happened later to the people, the books, and Oxford itself. Eriksson's profuse, exquisite illustrations are as carefully researched as the text. An entrancing portrait of the genesis of a classic, of a unique friendship, and of Victorian Oxford. Addenda include a map, family lists, puzzle solutions, ``Societies for Alice and Carroll Friends,'' and bibliographies of Dodgson's books and the author's sources. Charming. (Nonfiction. 7+)
