Alice in Wonderland
Book
Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a whimsical novel and can be enjoyed by children and adults of all ages. This charming little novel was originally published in 1865 and follows the adventures of a little girl named Alice who falls asleep and dreams that she follows a white rabbit down into a magical world called Wonderland. During her adventure, she encounters a myriad of people and places that don’t make any sense. Things like cats that talk, mad hatters who sit at a never-ending tea party, mock turtles, walruses, dodos, queens obsessed with cherry tarts and living decks of cards. Throughout her journey she realizes how scary and silly it can be if the world did not follow any kind of order and anything could be and do whatever it wanted.
The novel is remarkably short, standing at only 116 pages and is perfect for a fun family adventure. Reading this book together as a family can present an interesting opportunity for a variety of talking points. With older children, it could be interesting to discuss what a world without rules could look like and what the consequences of such a place might be, as throughout the story, Alice is faced with a similar idea and is put face-to-face with the consequences of such a desire. With younger children, it could be an opportunity to explore and discuss how the imagination can be used for fun as well as give us endless opportunities to create things out of the ordinary with only our minds.
Movie
Alice in Wonderland has been adopted hundreds of times with the first adaptation dating all the way back to 1903. However, the recommended adaptation that we will be talking about today is the classic 1951 Alice in Wonderland produced by Walt Disney. This charming movie is bright, cheerful, enthusiastic, bizarre, and fits the basic plot of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Alice falls down the rabbit hole and afterwards is confronted with a myriad of strange and bizarre people and events that culminates in a trial to determine who stole the Queens of Hearts’ tarts, resulting in Alice waking up when she is piled on by a deck of cards. This being said though, it is the recommended version of the story to accompany the book, there are a myriad of other adaptations which can be chosen from that may be more entertaining to you and your family. There are longer adaptations, newer adaptations, far more bizarre adaptations, and some adaptations that do not follow the events of the book whatsoever. It should be noted though that most of these adaptations are entertaining, but some of them may be considered far scarier than others, such as the 1933 version by Paramount Pictures known for its disturbing choice of make-up and costumes. The visuals give the movie a bizarre, almost frightening look at Wonderland. The 2010 Tim Burton adaptation follows an adult Alice as she returns to Wonderland; it is more inspired by the continued poetry of Lewis Carroll than Alice in Wonderland or Alice Through the Looking Glass (the sequel to Alice in Wonderland).
Rating
Though the book may contain some slightly disturbing aspects, such as a queen who insists on running around cutting people’s heads off whenever they displease her, an instance where a baby turns into a pig, and Alice being chased by a butcher, it is not a particularly scary book. Most of the time Alice never seems to be afraid of anything that is happening, though she is confused and upset to the point of tears by things not being as they should. The 1951 movie removes many of these more uncomfortably bizarre scenes creating an even more child friendly adaptation of the story. For that reason, the book and the movie (the movie originally being rated G) will be given a rating of G, as it is appropriate for all audiences.
Movie Night Treat
* Bread and Butterflies *
It is always fun to make treats to eat while you watch a movie. It creates a fun way to bring the story to life, as well as a way to teach young children how to begin preparing food for themselves. This simple treat is easily accomplished by children of all ages, and is simple, delicious, and can be modified in a variety of ways to accommodate food preferences.
Though Bread and Butterflies do not appear in the novel by Lewis Carroll, they do appear in the Disney adaptation and are wonderfully adorable and simple to make in real life.
Ingredients
Favorite kind of sliced bread
Butter
Your favorite flavor of jam, honey, or nut butter
Marshmallows (medium or large)
Any small garnish such as raisins, other dried fruit, chocolate chips, or seeds
Toothpicks
Two butter knives
1) Gather ingredients and let the butter come to room temperature before use.
2) Toast two slices of bread per person and butter as soon as they come out of the toaster to ensure that the butter melts. If the butter is too cold it will not spread nicely on the toast. (It is essential that you do not use too much butter as this will completely saturate the bread and prevent the toast from staying upright later on). Once the toast is buttered place on a cooling rack so that sweat of the bread does not accumulate between the plate and the toast.
3) Once the toast has completely cooled, spread your choice of jam, honey, or a thin coat of nut butter (peanut butter weighs more than jam or honey would and if you would like to attempt the gravity defying stunt of the butterfly wings keep this in mind).
4) Take three medium size marshmallows or two large marshmallows and split them halfway down the middle.
5) Spread the marshmallows apart and place the toast (Jam sides together) into the crack of the marshmallow (please note that this is not the most stable of treats and will be greatly benefited by the implementation of a toothpick to prop up the wings. If you are making this treat with young children, the toothpick is not advised). If the butterfly wings are too heavy to sandwich between the marshmallows, instead lay the butterfly wings down flat on the plate with marshmallows aligned between the two slices.
6) Chocolate chips, raisins, seeds, or any other small edible decoration may be used to create the eyes. These can be attached by placing a small amount of your jam onto the back of the decoration and placing them on the face of the butterfly. If the wings will not be gravity defying, they may also be decorated with any of the small treats to give the wings a pattern.
Enjoy the movie!