I can't remember reading Alice in Wonderland in childhood, and enough feels unfamiliar that I don't think I ever did. Yet so much--so many of the images, phrases, characters and situations are very familiar, because this book is so woven into the popular culture. Yet it all read so fresh, was such a delight. Carroll reveled in word play of so many kinds. There are nursery rhymes, riddles, nonsense words, original poetry and verse parodies, puns. In fact, the sequel, Through the Looking Glass has a witty running joke about etymology and semantics. How's that for a children's tale? Alice herself, based on a real little girl the author knew, feels very much like a real little girl, and not a miniature adult. I'm not sure which story to name my favorite. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts ("Off with her head!") and the Cheshire Cat. Through the Looking Glass has the living chess game that must have inspired Rowling, Tweddledee and Tweddledum, "Jabberwocky" and Humpty Dumpty. The creativity and imagination is prodigious. And most of all, even for an adult (especially for an adult?) this is absolutely fun without one dull spot in either tale. This is one children's story that absolutely deserves its classic status.
