Princess Alyss of Wonderland

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-

I gave this book to my wife for christmas, (she is a big fan of the looking glass wars) and its now a week later and she is still flipping through it. It was a great purchase

This is a well-crafted scrapbook with some beautiful artwork. It is an excellent companion piece to Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars trilogy (it is NOT the third book of the trilogy as one review here erroneously states). If you like those books and/or the Hatter M. graphic novel spin-off, Princess Alyss of Wonderland provides additional backstory (or "evidence") in a visually entertaining manner. A fun read.

Please pass it on! Princess Alyss of Wonderland is NOT the 3rd installment of the Looking Glass Wars. It is a scrapbook of the lost art and letters of Princess Alyss while she was a little girl living in exile in London and meant to give fans of the series even more to mull over. I had seen the cover art for this and was waiting for the book because I knew my 6-year-old would love it. We had a wonderful time going through the book together and discovering all the hidden extras and card game(!) and fun but it wasn't until I sat and read it on my own that I realized how it worked for adults as well. The narrator is a historian who guides the reader through the whole probability of this really having occurred - it's a fully formed factual basis that adds up to support the premise that Alyss was REALLY a princess from Wonderland. Visually the kids will love it - but adults get something to wrap their heads around as well. Beautiful job. midwestmom