BOOK REVIEW: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Rébecca Dautremer

BOOK REVIEW: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Rébecca Dautremer

Hodder Children’s Books
November 2015
Hardcover, $29.99
Reviewed by Steph O’Connell

Picture Book/Illustrated Novel

9/10

 

 

We all know the story of Alice in Wonderland, and yet, every so often, a new edition is released. 

More often than not it’s the same story we already know, but with some kind of twist or a different batch of illustrations to accompany it.

The thing that stands out so much about this re-illustration of the well-known, 150-year-old tale, is that it takes a different direction from many others. 

Dautremer’s Alice is dark of hair, more like the original Alice Liddell upon whom the tale is based, rather than the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Alice who features in so many versions of this story. Further to this, while many of the other versions of this story have surreal and bizarre images to tie in with the story which imbues much of the same, Dautremer’s version taps into the darkness of the text. 

Throughout the books we are given frequent sketches, but the full page illustrations are reason enough alone to buy this book.

These images are surreal and colourful, engaging, and somehow dark and hinting at something a little more serious than many seem to take the text. So much effort has clearly been put into these spreads, and the end result is stunning.

I’d be half inclined to track down a second copy of the book in order to tear out and frame the images if that didn’t go against every book-loving bone in my body. 

This is an Alice in Wonderland for older readers who can appreciate the story behind he words on the page, of how this tale came to be.

 

 

Category: Book Reviews, Other Reviews