Tag Matthew Land

Alice with a WHY Return to Wonderland

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Alice with a WHY Return to Wonderland
Anna James, illustrated by Matthew Land
Harper Collins Children’s Books

It’s March 1919 and many years have passed since Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, of which this book is a kind of reimagining. The story follows Alyce, her granddaughter who, while sitting beside a pond, is hit in the face by a strange, smudged invitation that she thinks is meant for her. It’s signed ‘Your old friend’ and three sets of initials. She then falls into the garden pond and finds herself in a very strange world inhabited by the original Wonderland tale her grandmother had once explored. There, she has some weird conversations with the Dormouse, Hare and Hatter.

These eccentrics beg Alyce to search for the Time Being, said to be the only one able to halt the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. The latter being accused by the King of stealing an hour from her and the resulting celestial battle means that day and night come according to who is currently winning.

Unsure of where she’ll find the Time Being, off Alyce goes, hopeful and determined. Her journey takes her into illogical, ridiculous situations encountering on her way, other of Carroll’s characters and some new ones too.
What will the outcome be? Will Alyce succeed in her mission?

Superbly written with lots of whimsical touches (you’d expect that from Anna James, author of the Pages & Co series) and themes including courage and determination. Making it even more special are Matthew Land’s iconic, wonderfully detailed black and white illustrations that have echoes of John Tenniel.

A delight: both existing fans of the Lewis Carroll original and new readers, will enjoy this cracking book. It would make a smashing class read too.

A Riddle For A King

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A Riddle For A King
Mark Forsyth, illustrated by Matthew Land
David Fickling Books

Philo lives a very mundane life with his Uncle Harry and Aunt Harriet in a house full of clocks. He is required to follow a strict time schedule- something he can never quite remember – and as a consequence longs for freedom and adventure. Suddenly though, as the three are about to depart for a day at the seaside, something very unexpected happens to Philo who happens to be standing beside the only clock in the house that doesn’t keep perfect time. He hears this clock strike thirteen and sees the door at its front open. From the door steps a strange little creature enquiring if Philo is the king. Then having been told that he isn’t the creature vanishes back inside the clock only to re-emerge and ask about a crown as well as saying that his name is Mr Spronkel before disappearing once more through the clock door.

This time however, Philo decides to follow the creature and thus begins a sequence of weird and wonderful happenings including encounters with giants, flying castles, a witch that turns children into teapots and a strange cook who won’t feed herself, to name just a few.

There’s also a more normal character, a girl named Verity who, after being lost in the woods, knocks on Mrs Cook’s door asking to be fed. Her clever thinking solves Mrs Cook’s non-eating issue and she also offers to help Philo get back home. Verity, who becomes a good friend to the boy has a strong sense of what’s right and adheres to it come what may – until she doesn’t – with catastrophic consequences.

With cleverly conceived conundrums, mind-bending riddles, paradoxes aplenty and puzzles of the most peculiar kind, this splendidly silly, surreal story will leave your brain somewhat bemused quite often. but it’s well worth the befuddlement as it’s enormously enjoyable, made even more so by Matthew Land’s terrific illustrations. I love too the afterword, which may (or may not) enable you to see from where some of the characters originated. By the way, in case you are wondering whether Philo ever finds his way back home, you’ll need to get your own copy of the book to find out.