ALICE WITH A WHY

In 1919, Alyce, the granddaughter of Alice (of Wonderland fame), finds herself in a very strange world after she falls into a pond.

Alyce receives a smudged invitation to a tea party, mysteriously signed with three sets of initials. She’s always thought her grandmother odd because of the unbelievable stories she told, but now, after she accidentally falls into a pond, Alyce finds herself in a topsy-turvy world inhabited by beings from the original Wonderland story. After some clever and nonsensical conversation, Dormouse, Hare, and Hatter implore Alyce to seek out the Time Being, whom they believe to be the only one who can stop the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. The queen has accused the king of stealing an hour from her, and their ensuing battle leads day or night to come willy-nilly, depending on who’s winning. Alyce sets off, unsure of where to find the Time Being, but as she journeys, she encounters other beloved Lewis Carroll characters, who introduce silliness, wisdom, and perhaps a moral or two (but that’s for readers to decide). Land’s exquisite, detailed black-and-white illustrations feel updated while evoking John Tenniel’s original artwork. With confident writing that manages to be both archly British (“How dreadfully impertinent”) and whimsical (“The Things You Need To Know Before We Begin”), this homage sparkles. Human characters read white.

Delightful in every way.