Happy Birthday, Alice! A Children’s Classic Turns 150

Alice may have been a young girl when she fell down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll’s 1865 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but she’s no spring chicken now — in 2015, this children’s classic made it to a century-and-a-half of fame. The S-Collection houses many copies and adaptations of Alice; the illustrations and languages may change, but the story and themes stay the same.

In 1865, Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) published Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, creating his plucky heroine from the image of Alice Liddell, the daughter of a family friend, who begged him to write down the stories he told. The character of Alice became larger than life even without the “eat me” cake, and was depicted in further book, stage, and film adaptations throughout the next 150 years.

To find versions of Alice in Wonderland in the S-Collection, try a title search (one at a time), “Alice in Wonderland” and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

To find adaptations of the Alice stories or books about Alice in Wonderland, try a keyword search of “Alice in Wonderland.”

To find books about the author, try keyword searches of “Lewis Carroll,” “Charles Dodgson,” and “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.”

To find books about the real Alice, try keyword searches of “Alice Pleasance,” “Alice Liddell,” and “Alice Hargreaves.”

To see other resources about Carroll and Alice in Wonderland, visit the display cases in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library in December 2015 and January 2016.

Non-Fiction About Alice in Wonderland

Bjork, Christina.
The Other Alice: The Story of Alice Liddell and Alice in Wonderland. 1993.
This illustrated biography of Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll lets the reader get a feel for what growing up Victorian might have been like.
[SSHEL OAK STREET SB. D644BJ:E]

Carpenter, Angela Shirley.
Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass. 2003.
A look at the life of one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors, this book describes Carroll’s difficult childhood and how he came to know and write about Alice.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION SB. D644c]

Fiction Adaptations of Alice in Wonderland

Beddor, Frank.
The Looking Glass Wars. 2006.
Alyss Hart has been kicked out of Wonderland by her aunt, the evil Red Queen. She must struggle along in England, posing as Alice Liddell, hoping she can find her way back home and claim what is rightfully hers.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S. B3903l]

Gaston, Gerry.
If You Were Alice in Wonderland. 2014.
An Alice in Wonderland choose-your-own-adventure; lovers of Alice can decide what she should do next on her epic quest.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S. G219a]

Holden, J.T.
Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland. 2009.
Alice heads back down the rabbit hole and meets the familiar faces, this time with accentuating poetry.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S.811 H7113a]

Kovac, Tommy.
Wonderland. 2008.
Alice doesn’t make an appearance in this comic, but her mysterious predecessor, Maryann — the girl the White Rabbit mistakes Alice for — does. What does Wonderland look like when Alice isn’t there?
[CCB S. 741. 5973 K8493w]

Le Gallienne, Eva.
Alice in Wonderland: A Play in Two Acts. 1949.
The classic story adapted for the stage, this play version of Alice in Wonderland is perfect for young readers and actors.
[SSHEL OAK STREET S. D66 411949]

Rhatigan, Joe.
Alice in Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole. 2015.
This newly retold version of Alice in Wonderland is perfect for young children who aren’t quite ready for the verbiage of the full Lewis Carroll tale but will love an introduction to its most fantastical characters.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION Q. SE. R341a]

Scieszka, Jon.
Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. 2008.
The Disney animations are here captured in illustration and will be familiar to any lovers of the film. Scieszka’s interpretation of the traditional text accents the fantastical images.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION Q. SE. Sci279w]

Carroll, Lewis.
Jabberwocky: The Classic Poem from Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. 2007.
While the Jabberwocky does not appear in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it is nonetheless deeply entrenched in the Wonderland mythos. Illustrations by Christopher Meyers place the classic poem on a more contemporary stage — a basketball court.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION Q. S. 811 C236j2007]

Other Illustrated Versions of Alice in Wonderland

Anderson’s Alice: Walter Anderson Illustrates Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 1983.
Illus. Walter Inglis Anderson.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S. D664a1983]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 2006.
Illus. Alison Jay
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S. C236a2006]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 2009.
Illus. Oleg Lipchenko.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION Q. S. C22al2009]

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. 2009.
Illus. Rodney Matthews.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S. C236a2009]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 1998.
Illus. Abelardo Morel.
[SSHEL S COLLECTION S. D664a 1998]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 1999.
Illus. Helen Oxenbury
[CCB AND SSHEL S COLLECTION S. D664a1999]

Alice in Wonderland. 2007.
Illus. Lisbeth Zwerger
[SSHEL S COLLECTION Q. S. C236a2007]