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Other favorite fairy tale lists to check out:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Illustrated by Andrea D'Aquino
The design of Andrea D'Aquino's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is dead-on perfect, and if the cover somehow doesn't draw you in, the beautiful writing along the edges of the pages certainly will. D'Aquino's book opens with the infamous image of Alice's neck stretching up, but she adds her own flair to it as if to signal that what we are about to see is her personal spin on the story. D'Aquino's watercolor and collage illustrations are interspersed throughout the text, often taking up whole pages or spreads to emphasize events.
Illustrated by Yelena Bryksenkova
Yelena Bryksenkova's leporello Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is designed so that readers can flip through the images like a book or expand it out like an accordion to follow the story of Alice more linearly. We get framed, hand-written text, as well as type-written text, at the bottom of each panel, both of which serve to narrate the story: the hand-lettering features direct quotes from Carroll's version, and the type-written text allows Bryksenkova to speed up the narrative through summary. The pen and acryla gouache illustrations have a vintage feel, with muted colors and lots of patterning, and they walk an impressive line between sweet and quirky.
I have long, long been a fan of Robert Sabuda, and his pop-up adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is absolutely incredible (so much so that I actually own it in multiple languages). Every spread features a large, colorful, and masterfully-crafted pop-up, with smaller, additional pages and pop-ups within each spread as well. Sabuda does a wonderful job of imitating Tenniel's original style in his illustrations, giving Sabuda's interpretation an authentic and respectful feel.
Camille Rose Garcia's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is dark in tone and often color, giving Garcia the opportunity to truly explore the sinister side of Carroll's tale. Her illustrations range from small vignettes to whole spreads, with everything in-between, and Garcia fills her illustrations to the brim with text, objects, and colorful, dripping paints that enhance the feeling of despair and creepiness in the images. It's splotchy and messy and amazing.
Alison Oliver and Jennifer Adams' board book Alice in Wonderland is clever and colorful, morphing this classic story into a concept/primer book. The best part of this book is the detail. Oliver manages to slip in small references throughout each image: the text might only say "brown hat," but we see the Mad Hatter, his tea cup, and the little bat, helping readers to understand that there's a larger story beyond just the text. These additions encourage discussion and position the book to be not only a primer for colors, but a primer for the larger Alice story in the future. Pretty brilliant!
This playful board book has handwritten fonts and wonderfully appealing colors that keep readers of all ages engaged. Gledhill chooses to show rather than tell, so the text is minimal and the images carry a lot of the movement and energy, and the last spread opens the door for conversation around whether or not it really was a dream. There is a nice range of diversity in race with the human characters, and the sweet style with which Gledhill creates her characters makes even the Cheshire Cat look friendly.
Every inch of Anna Bond's adaptation is thoughtful: the colors are bright, the lines are soft, and the color palette is warm and inviting. Physically, the book is a stand-out example of design work. The endpapers are lovely and the incorporation of what appears to be handwritten font are great details, but it's the unique casewrap that sets this one over the top: the only difference is our view of Alice, where she's holding a bottle behind her. It makes readers feel like they're right alongside Alice on her trip to Wonderland, like they have access to an exclusive secret no one else could comprehend.
Júlia Sardà 's illustrations of Alice hearken back to the original Alice Lidell––the title character and original inspiration for the book––and she is portrayed with Sardà 's trademark look of constant indifference. There are huge swatches of dark colors in both the foregrounds and backgrounds of the images, and the line work is precise and detailed. The dust jacket of the book is embossed with gold foiling, both around the title and the Cheshire Cat's eyes, highlighting the well-rounded design of the book as a whole.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Written by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by Minalima
If you know anything about Minalima, you already know how incredible this book is. Featuring both stories, Minalima takes readers on a creative, interactive, brilliantly-designed journey though Wonderland and the Looking-Glass. There are chess boards, puzzles, letters, and more between the pages that all serve to enhance key moments of Alice's story and bring them to life for readers.
Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Written by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by Yayoi Kusama
Artist Yayoi Kusama has a condition that makes her see spots, essentially leaving her with a never-ending hallucinogenic view of the world. Alice, therefore, is the perfect story for her to explore and use as an entry point into how she sees the world around her. The illustrations are interspersed throughout the text, and the heavy dotting, bright background colors, and quick changes in color tone make each spread feel uniquely surreal. The book is clothbound, giving it a gifty feel.
Step Into Alice in Wonderland
Written by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by Cynthia Alonso
This 12-page board book by Argentinian illustrator Cynthia Alonso beautifully captures key moments in Alice's story through die-cut, layered pages. Each spread has its own shape, and many pages have holes for curious fingers to flip pages and sneak a glimpse at what's to come. This is one of many in the Layer-by-Layer series, including The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, and The Jungle Book, which you can see more of here.
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