Alice Prep

Before the Doctor and I toddled off to see Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' we embarked on a couple of weeks research. I wanted him to be prepared that it was going to be a little scary, and I wanted him to have a rough grasp of the storyline.

We researched copies of 'Alice In Wonderland', and given the Doctor's age (4.5) I knew he would lose interest if there were not many images, or if the images were not exciting (hey, I do too).

We bought Helen Oxenbury's beautifully illustrated version and it's held us in good stead with it's beautiful images. Helen's illustrations are so beautiful - inky, lovely line work, a real delight and a springboard for the story. Visually this book appeals to me, and to the Doctor, it's a visual feast, most long sections of copy are broken up with a few illustrations here and there. Each night we've been trying to read a chapter - however we had a spell where we didn't read it at all - and then we've returned to finish it. Every night is special to curl up together - I never read Lewis Carroll's masterpiece as a child, so it's been extra good discovering it together.

We also watched a made for TV version (which sounds so dodgy), which was super fantastico! So good we watched a couple of times. Whoopi Goldberg is hilaire as the Cheshire Cat, Miranda Richardson is hysterical as the Queen of Hearts (you must watch just to hear her say 'awf with their heads!'. It has a spectacular cast (Pete Postlethwaite, Ben Kingsley, Martin Short, Gene Wilder, GENE WILDER!), and is absolutely watchable. Beyond just watchable. It's loveable. It's ownable.

The Doctor and I are mad for everything Alice at the moment, and are always referencing either the film, the book, or the other film. We're crazy like that.