Adventures in Fantasyland

I don’t remember what my parents read to me as a small child because that was over 50 years ago. After the basic beginning readers, books like See Spot Run or Jack and Jill, my parents probably read to me the usual tales of the times. I am sure I was read the standard fare for a kid of the 60’s- Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Raold Dahl (who wrote great books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). But as soon as I could comprehend stories on my own, I became an avid reader of the books of my choice. We moved a lot when I was a child, so the fantastical worlds and the interesting characters in the books became my best friends. Always being the new kid in town, I never had many children to play with, so I kept to myself and my stories. The library was my favorite place wherever we went. I was definitely one of those kids who hid under the blanket with my flashlight to keep reading my latest book past my bedtime. And oh the wonderful places they took me, and what great inspirations to my imagination they were.

Two stories that still stick in my mind to this day, and inspired my personal choice in style and genre of writing, were Alice in Wonderland, and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. In both of these works, a young girl escapes her current troubled situation by traversing to another mystical universe- whether through the back of a coat closet or falling down a rabbit hole. What marvelous kingdoms they discovered and what unbelievable adventures they both had. For now, I am going to concentrate on Alice in Wonderland, and the wildly wacky encounters Alice experienced there. In both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carrol invented the most remarkable and curious novels I had ever laid eyes on, filled with his outlandish creations. I had read short fairy tales with fantastical beasts and bizarre individuals, such as those by the Brothers Grimm. In these fables, I met such fictional beings as fairies, trolls, witches, and wizards. But I had never seen a story of such unusual events and entities as the ones in the Alice books. This was a whole new level of reading escapism- hookah smoking talking insects, food that made you grow and shrink like magic, and chess pieces and playing cards coming to life were things my mind had never dreamt of before. In these imaginative books, I traveled with Alice as I felt her fear of being lost and her bravery at traversing through this strange land. Everywhere she turned another interesting oddity presented itself to her. Things were not as they seemed, beyond what I could have conceived they could be. My brain expanded by leaps and bounds, I wanted to to visit these worlds. And in time, I wanted to create these worlds for my own in pictures and words. I had been introduced to many visions of fantasy, but here was a vast expression of Carrol’s most extravagant conceptions.

Just the new cavalcade of characters I had never envisioned, led me to start thinking and creating in a new way. There had been queens and knights in stories I had read, but not chess pieces that had come to life. And definitely not with anywhere near the unique characteristics and traits as those in Wonderland. What Queen runs around yelling “off with their heads” while scaring all around her into submission during a croquet game with flamingos and hedgehogs? That was such a powerful image to my adolescent mind. And these talking animals were much odder and most definitely more interesting than Peter Rabbit or Clifford the Dog. A great example of this unusual idea was the white rabbit running around in a vest and coat, looking at his pocket watch saying “I’m late for a very important date”. Caterpillars had been in stories before, but none that asked such deep questions as “who are you”? I am still trying to figure that one out. The not so common Cheshire cat would blink in and out, leaving behind only his grin and a deep thought for Alice to ponder.

Even the humans were beyond belief, such as the truly Mad Hatter with his irrational actions and statements at the crazy tea party. Or the Nanny and baby in the house that were the oddest of sorts, portraying the worst and weirdest of the human condition. As a child, I had to admire the quality in Alice to persevere through these insane situations. And even though this poor girl encountered much adversity and bizarre-ness, she was always able to keep her head about her (literally). She had to think on her feet to solve all these unusual problems. I wanted to be more like her and have her life- she was independent, smart, sure of herself, and adventurous. I was a mild, meek, quiet, and a well behaved little girl. Sharing Alice’s experiences helped me to look for more interesting exploits in the real world and branch out from my meager existence. I always knew that in these books I found a better place to be than the one in which I was living. Escapism into books was the best way to find a wonder-filled world with extraordinary situations and unknown undertakings. I became an avid reader of fantasy in order to find the next place I could let my fanciful notions run free. Which eventually led to me using my fertile imagination and creative mind to construct my own peculiar and marvelous universes. At first I painted images of the beings and places I saw in my mind. Then I took up the pen, and created these visions with words, to bring these pictures to life in realms filled with amazing characters and illustrious escapades.

Since reading this story, and many others like it, my mind has been filled with the images and adventures that deeply moved my heart and soul forever. Fantasy is a marvelous element, where anything you could envision may come to life, revealing their wondrous stories. My thoughts would wander through their Fantasylands, where I originated the fabrications conceived from my own unique visions. I would definitely encourage children of all ages to read the Alice Adventures, even big kids like me. What child hasn’t wanted to run away from home at times, and go to some magical place? I could read them over and over, or watch any new incarnation as I enjoy other creators interpretations. If you are looking to lose yourselves to fantastical dimensions, traverse to Wonderland or Narnia. Then go make marvelous new concepts for yourself as I did, and still do now.