One Fun Day with Lewis Carroll: A Celebration of Wordplay and a Girl Named Alice. Kathleen Krull. Illustrated by Julia Sarda. 2018. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: Lewis Carroll was an expert at fun. A day with Lewis was always fabulous and joyous--as he would say, frabjous. Young Lewis could make anyone grin from ear to ear, like a Cheshire cat. His ten brothers and sisters adored him. He coaxed them into games of cards, chess, and croquet. He led adventures, galumphing across the leafy wonderland of the English countryside. They found rabbit holes to peer down, toads and caterpillars to befriend, flowers to talk to, trees to climb. Their burbles of delight would brighten the tulgey wood around them.
Premise/plot: Kathleen Krull's latest book is a picture book biography of Lewis Carroll, author of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Is there more that could be said about Lewis Carroll? Yes.
Is a picture book the best place to give a complex and thorough
treatment of the man and his work? Probably not. Some of what I've read about Carroll, I wish I could unread.
My thoughts: Alice in Wonderland was one of my first loves. We had multiple copies of it growing up--still do. It's hard to resist new or used copies of the book. My mother would read aloud to my sister and I. We'd each have a copy in hand. It was magic--pure magic. When this review copy came, I knew I would have to reread the books. I did. It was just as magical as I remembered.
I really love the narrative of this biography. It's fun, playful, joyous--a bit silly.
His young friends never knew what a day with Lewis would hold. Sometimes he'd propose six impossible things before breakfast: Should they draw ridiculous things, like much of a muchness? Should they try to soothe the Jubjub bird? Should they argue with the mysterious twins Tweedledum and Twiddledee? Should they beware the dreaded Boojum? Should they go on a hunt for the Snark? Should they play with a vorpal blade as it goes snicker-snack?
I would recommend it to all ages. But in particular I would recommend it to reading families who have read Alice in Wonderland or who soon plan on reading it with their children. I was introduced to Alice at a young age, and cannot imagine a time without Wonderland. But if your family hasn't had that exposure, I could see why this book might not be appealing/interesting to children.
That being said, I really disliked the illustrations. Some of Krull's other picture book biographies have had beautiful, wonderful illustrations. That is sadly not the case with this one.
Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 1 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 10
© 2018 Becky Laney of
Young Readers
