February 25, 2007 @
8:09 am |
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It appears that all this time everything we thought we knew about Wonderland and that girl called Alice is about to be completely flipped onto its head. Curiouser and curiouser indeed! Frank Beddor, best known for producing films whose credits include There’s Something About Mary, has begun a somewhat arduous task – to tell the world the truth about Wonderland. Doesn’t that sound odd?
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Apparently, the character that many have come to know as Alice Liddell, sometime muse of Lewis Carroll, is in fact Alyss Heart, eventual Queen of Wonderland. Yes, that’s correct. She comes from Wonderland even though Carroll’s works would have us believe otherwise – that she was a mortal girl who stumbled upon an entrance to the aforementioned magical world. Most of us will be able to recall countless bits and pieces of Alice’s adventures – through books, films, cartoons, and other such media.
So, we’ve determined that Alyss is not your ordinary girl, even for Wonderland. She is a princess, her parents being the current monarchs. At the beginning of Beddor’s account, a very spoiled queen-to-be is celebrating her seventh birthday, and with the help of her imagination is conjuring all sorts of amusing things. Magic is an essential part of life in Wonderland, as is having an active but well-intentioned and disciplined imagination.
Sadly, this glorious festive occasion is to be thrown into chaos courtesy of Alyss’ evil aunt Redd, sister to her mother, Queen Genevieve. Redd, resentful of her sister’s position, has planned a coup and to protect Alyss (seeing as she is future queen), for her own good she is whisked off and thrown into the Pool of Tears by her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan. This pool takes Alyss to Victorian England, but she is separated from Madigan who ends up elsewhere in the mortal world.
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Poor Alyss! Victorian England is not kind to her, and people seem to be constantly incensed at her claims to be from this other world. Imagination is not tolerated and she is desperate to go home. Hope eventually comes along in the form of Reverend Charles Dodgson (whose pseudonym Lewis Carroll we are more acquainted with).
He is fascinated with her tale and eager to write it down. Alyss is far from pleased with the final result (well, the beastly man does spell her name incorrectly after all! Hmph!) and it is then that she resigns herself to a ‘normal’ existence, turning her back on the realm of imagination.
Wonderland is not faring well either. Redd has usurped the throne and her subjects who previously enjoyed a life of happiness now live in fear and misery. They must deny their true queen, who would be hunted down should she return. Yet, there are those who remain staunchly loyal to their true queen and hope for her return.
To accompany this book, there is also a CD soundtrack to add another level to the narrative experience. Beddor worked with Canadian music supervisor Androo Mitchell to select and collaborate with the artists for the soundtrack. His stipulation was that the album had to work independently of the novel and he issued the following directive to the musical artists: “This is what this character or this chapter means to me, but what I really want is for you to make it personal for you.”
The result only adds to the concept of Beddor’s Wonderland, either by enriching the main narrative, or creating several retellings of Beddor’s idea. A lot of the tracks on the CD echo a sound that came into prominence in the mid to late 1990s but the effect – the emotional journey that Alyss experiences is vividly rendered.
The Looking Glass Wars also makes use of various media for narration, some of which is not entirely traditional to Wonderland. Alyss even has her very own MySpace page, being the resourceful and modern girl that she is.
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There is also the official Looking Glass Wars website which has all sorts of interesting things to look at, like storyboard artwork, selected tracks from the soundtrack to listen to online, information about the Hatter M. comic (about Alyss’ bodyguard), a trailer about the book, and many more delightful treats related to this mythic universe.
Is the world ready for yet another Wonderland tale, you might ask? Absolutely! Though this is specifically aimed at children from the ages of 10 upwards, it should attract a much wider audience. It has themes that both adults and children will find enticing – the journey to find one’s way back home, find one’s true self, and having the courage to be oneself where others would have you conform.
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It will be interesting to see how the rest of the trilogy develops, and to learn more about the ‘truth’ of Wonderland. Beddor is currently working on the second novel in the series entitled Seeing Redd, and also a screenplay for a full-length feature film.
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Written by gem_mahadeo - Visit Website
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G. E. Mahadeo came to Melbourne, Australia in 1987 from London, UK. She haswritten for the online magazine Blogcritics (http://blogcritics.org), has been published in Words-Myth Quarterly Poetry Journal, and in the Istanbul Literature Review. Primarily trained as a classical musician, she is active in the Melbourne early music community.If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! |
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January 11, 2007 @
1:49 am |
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Donning a load of ferocious looking Super Heroes, the Marvel Heroes Mix & Match Storybook offers hundreds of ways and combinations for kids to make a story. The book is simple and entertaining. Propping the book on its side you are able to make use of five cut-up sections. Each section creates a story. You move the storyboard on each section to a place you want it, or you just flip from tile to tile, and a story emerges.
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Kids of various ages will have fun with this book but that is not the only reason that it’s a decent choice for your child’s collection. Not only will it get them looking at books, it will entice your child to be more creative. There are five sections for them to create the basis of a story.
For example, flipping through the book just now, I came up with the following:
The Red Skull targeted his time stopper at the white house, but it was suddenly destroyed by the Hulk’s Giant Green Fists.
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While this tells a child a story it can also be made into a base plot for them to continue the tale. Ask them what happened in between point A and B or even after the day has been saved.
The graphics in the Marvel Heroes Mix & Match Storybook are delightful. Drawn in true comic book style, each line is defined, the colors are vibrant, and the pictures are very specific. Many of them seem to pop right out of the book, which kids will appreciate as they make their stories.
According to the book cover there is a possibility to make thousands of stories from this book. The cover claims 40,000 adventures can be made with this one book. Your children will be able to flip tiles for good guys, bad guys, locations, weapons of destruction, and ways those weapons are destroyed. Younger children may find the book to be harder to read and the themes (mainly the weapons usage) might be too old for them to understand.
However, if I had to put an appropriate age on this book I would start at about 6 and go up to 10. Children over 10 may not find it as exciting and children under 6 may not be advanced enough to handle the topics, even if resolution is offered with the flip of a tile.
Bottom Line: The Marvel Heroes Mix & Match Storybook is an excellent addition to a middle-aged child’s library. It will initiate creativity and spark an interest in the fantastic world of Super heroes, if they do not already have one. Best suited for children age 6-10, this book would be great for a story time event where the parents took an active role in helping their children make a story from this book. Of course, it could very easily be used to entertain a child on their own for hours at a time.
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Written by Dom and Ash - Visit Website
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December 22, 2006 @
1:05 am |
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Perfect for younger and middle aged children as well as people who are curious about some of the most popular Super Heroes in the Marvel Universe, the Marvel Super Hero Fact Book definitely does not disappoint.
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The Marvel Super Hero Fact Book is a strong, board book that is wonderful for kids who are harder on their reading materials than others. They will be able to bang this around and the book will be none the worse for wear. Of course, when they see all the offerings on the inside of the book you might notice them sitting and reading or looking at the full fold-out pages rather than banging it around like they might other books.
Choosing the top five Super Heroes was no easy task. However, there is a good balance represented in this book. There are superheros for both girls and boys. All the role models and the most entertaining characters are represented.
In the Super Hero Fact Book you will be able to learn more about Wolverine (Logan), Spider Man (Peter Parker), The Hulk (Dr. Robert Bruce Banner), Storm (Ororo Munroe), and the Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue Richards, and Johnny Storm).
Each section of the board book is dedicated to one of the aforementioned Heroes. You are able to fold out a large, dynamic poster of the hero you are learning about, which will is excellent for kids who want to see the heroes while learning more about their special skills.
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When the pages are folded up you will be able to view the fact file for the hero you are reading about. The fact file comes in two forms. The opening page is the basic fact file where you learn the importance of the hero you are studying. The opening page offers enough information to interest kids about these heroes without boring them. In most cases, if they are interested in super heroes, this book will lead them to wanting to learn more through other Marvel products, games, books, and shows.
Meanwhile, on the second page you are offered the fact file containing enemy information. You are able to see slightly larger than thumbnail sized pictures of some evil villains as you learn why they are enemies to the hero you are reading about. The fact files offer a high-tech computer feel, showing a scroll-bar beside the paragraphs like you would see on a computer. Once the files have been read you are able to flip to the dynamic comic-style graphics of the hero of your choice while they are in action.
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This book is ideal for children between the ages of 6-11. Based on maturity, children who are a little bit younger or a little bit older may like the book.
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Our son, who is 12 enjoyed the book though the reading material was a
bit below his reading level. However, he does like Super Heroes so he
did not mind that very much.
Both of us are Super Hero fans. We enjoyed it. We thought it was cool for kids and both of us learned more about our favorite Super Heroes. While younger children might find the reading a bit too advanced, older individuals will not mind if the reading is a bit too simplistic for them.
All in all, the Super Hero Fact Book will make an excellent addition to any child’s library. If you notice your child has an interest in comic books, fantasy, or super heroes, you will definitely want to allow them to indulge in their interest with this fine starter book. With this book, your child will begin to learn about the characters as they feed their true fascination with Super Heroes.
Purchase the Marvel Super Hero Fact Book here.
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Written by Dom and Ash - Visit Website
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