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Children's reading lists

14 classic audiobooks you need to listen to

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Features

The best literary quotes about new beginnings

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8 literary mazes to explore

Which Alice in Wonderland character are you?

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Which character from Alice in Wonderland are you?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

A book of wonder and nonsense laced with lethal wit

Without these two books in my childhood I doubt whether my imagination would have developed at all

A marvellous confidence in the primacy of the imagination

Two nightmare destinations. Wonderland and Looking Glass. The more I read these books, the darker they shine.. Carroll operates on language like a cruel, crazy surgeon

The clue to the enduring fascination and greatness of the Alice books lies in language. . .. It is play, and word-play, and its endless intriguing puzzles continue to reveal themselves long after we have ceased to be children

Only Lewis Carroll has shown us the world upside down the way a child sees it, and has made us laugh as children laugh

Lewis Carroll's real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was born on 27th January 1832 at Daresbury in Cheshire. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford University and later became a mathematics lecturer there. He wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872) for the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church. He was very fond of puzzles and some readers have found mathematical jokes and codes hidden in his Alice books. His other works include Phantasmagoria and Other Poems (1869), The Hunting of the Snark (1876), Rhyme? And Reason? (1882), The Game of Logic (1887) and Sylvie and Bruno (1889, 1893). Dodgson was also an influential photographer. He died on 14th January 1898.

A beautiful deluxe gift edition of Carroll's magical classic, the fantastical adventures of one curious little girl, complete with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon. 
 
JOIN THE OBSESSION 
'These might be the most beautiful books I've ever seen? Get them in an art gallery' 
'The marbled paper, I could cry' 
'Love love love this collection ' 
'I must have all of them' 
'Our beloved classics with sprayed edges too! They are absolutely STUNNING!' 
 
Bored on a hot afternoon, Alice, a bright and inquisitive child, follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole, and finds herself in Wonderland, a very odd place indeed. This unique story mixes satire and puzzles, comedy and anxiety, Mock Turtles and Gryphos to provide an astute description of the experience of childhood. 
 
This hardback is part of VINTAGE COLLECTOR’S CLASSICS, a series of luxurious books especially crafted for collectors and fans of beautiful special editions. Sumptuous design meets the highest quality production. Discover timeless classics beautifully bound for every bookshelf.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-98), grew up in Cheshire in the village of Daresbury, the son of a parish priest. He was a brilliant mathematician, a skilled photographer and a meticulous letter and diary writer. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, inspired by Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church in Oxford, was published in 1865, followed by Through the Looking-Glass in 1871. He wrote numerous stories and poems for children including the nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark and fairy stories Sylvie and Bruno.

Puffin Clothbound Classics are stunning collectable hardback editions of some of the best-loved classics in the world - including this charming edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 
 
Follow Alice down. . . 
 
down. . . 
 
down. . . 
 
The rabbit hole and into Wonderland, a world that grows curiouser and curiouser 
by the minute. . . but don&rsquo;t be late! 
 
&lsquo;We&rsquo;re all mad here.&rsquo; 
 
Lost in a strange world with even stranger characters, Alice meets a Cheshire Cat with a great big grin, a tea sipping and riddle-speaking Hatter, and a very clever Caterpillar. But things take a turn when she meets a short-tempered Queen . . . 
 
Will Alice ever make it home in time?

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child 
Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. 
 
When Alice steps through the looking-glass, she enters a very strange world of chess pieces and nursery rhyme characters such as Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and the angry Red Queen. Nothing is what it seems and, in fact, through the looking-glass, everything is distorted.

Lewis Carroll (Author) 
Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-98), grew up in Cheshire in the village of Daresbury, the son of a parish priest. He was a brilliant mathematician, a skilled photographer and a meticulous letter and diary writer. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, inspired by Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church in Oxford, was published in 1865, followed by Through the Looking-Glass in 1871. He wrote numerous stories and poems for children including the nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark and fairy stories Sylvie and Bruno. 
 
Chris Riddell (Introducer) 
Chris Riddell, the 2015-2017 Uk Children's Laureate, is an acclaimed artist of children's books and a political cartoonist for the Observer. Amongst other titles, Chris illustrates the Ottoline young fiction series and the Goth Girl series, as well as working closely with Paul Stewart on the Edge Chronicles and Wyrmeweald. He has won many awards for his work, including the Nestlé Gold Award, the Costa Children's Book Award 2013, the UNESCO Award for Something Else and the rare honour of two Kate Greenaway Medals.

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. 
 
When Alice steps through the looking-glass, she enters a very strange world of chess pieces and nursery rhyme characters such as Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and the angry Red Queen. Nothing is what it seems and, in fact, through the looking-glass, everything is distorted.

Abridged Edition

Penguin Readers Level 3: Alice Through the Looking Glass

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Alice Through the Looking Glass, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Alice is playing with her kitten when she begins to feel tired. Suddenly the looking-glass moves and changes color. Alice steps through the glass into a magic world. It is even stranger than Wonderland... what might she find there? 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Alice Through the Looking Glass, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Alice is playing with her kitten when she begins to feel tired. Suddenly the looking-glass moves and changes color. Alice steps through the glass into a magic world. It is even stranger than Wonderland... what might she find there?

Penguin Readers Level 2: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Alice in Wonderland, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Alice goes after a white rabbit into Wonderland. There she meets the Mad Hatter, the Duchess and many other famous people and animals in Lewis Carroll's famous story. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Alice in Wonderland, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Alice goes after a white rabbit into Wonderland. There she meets the Mad Hatter, the Duchess and many other famous people and animals in Lewis Carroll's famous story.

A timeless collection of 21 tales for all ages

BBC Classics Children’s Library

An irresistible anthology of folklore, fables and perennial favourites, including four novels and 17 short stories 
 
This superlative collection of children's stories brings together a feast of fantastic fiction, read in full by a host of top narrators and with a comprehensive track listing for ease of listening. Comprising everything from fairytales for little ones to thrilling adventures for pre-teens, these unabridged readings are ideal for families to keep, treasure and dip into as their children grow. 
 
Listed by suggested age range and with track numbers provided, the stories are as follows: 
 
Ages 4+ 
1-12 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (read by Carolyn Pickles) 
13 Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (read by Jonny Holden) 
14 The Elves and the Shoemaker by the Brothers Grimm (read by Sam Dale) 
15 Too Clever By Half by E Nesbit (read by Helen Capp) 
16 Tom Thumb by the Brothers Grimm (read by Shaun Mason) 
 
Ages 7+ 
17-25 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (read by Michael Bertenshaw) 
26 How the Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling (read by Kenny Blyth) 
27 The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen (read by Shaun Mason) 
28 The Raspberry Worm by Zacharias Topelius (read by Debbie Korley) 
29 The Tongue Cut Sparrow by Yei Theodora Ozaki (read by Sean Baker) 
30 The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tony Turner) 
31 The Magic Bed by Hartwell James (read by Chris Pavlo) 
32 How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tony Turner) 
33 The Tortoise and the Rain by MI Ogumefu (read by Kenny Blyth) 
34 The Baba Yaga by Katharine Pyle (read by Susan Jameson) 
 
Ages 9+ 
35-41 The Call of the Wild by Jack London (read by Joseph Ayre) 
42 Finn and the Scottish Giant by Harold F Hughes (read by Paul Hickey) 
43 The Children's Joke by Louisa May Alcott (read by Catherine Cusack) 
44 The Ants and the Treasure by MI Ogumefu (read by Kenny Blyth) 
45 The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde (read by Tony Turner) 
46-59 The Railway Children by E Nesbit (read by Sarah Ovens) 
 
Production credits 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 21 December 2018-1 November 2019 
 
Produced by Simon Richardson (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Tortoise and the Rain, The Elephant's Child, The Ants and the Treasure, How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Camel Got His Hump, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Happy Prince), Karen Holden (The Wind in the Willows), Martha Littlehailes (The Call of the Wild), Anne Bunting (The Railway Children), Anne Isger (Too Clever By Half, The Tongue Cut Sparrow, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Children's Joke, Finn and the Scottish Giant) and Mabel Wright (Tom Thumb, The Raspberry Worm, The Magic Bed, The Baba Yaga, Peter Rabbit) 
The Raspberry Worm edited by Andrew Lang 
 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Complete Alice: V&A Collector's Edition

With a a stunning cover design inspired by the iconic fashion featured in the book, this beautiful hardback edition is a special Puffin Classic created in partnership with the world-famous V &amp; A Museum. 
 
Featuring an exclusive foreword by Elisabeth Murray, an Assistant Curator in the Fashion, Textiles and Furniture Department at the V&amp;A. 
 
You never know where you'll find yourself in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll! 
 
On an ordinary summer's afternoon, Alice tumbles down a hole and an extraordinary adventure begins. In a strange world with even stranger characters, she meets a grinning cat and a rabbit with a pocket watch, joins a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and plays croquet with the Queen! Lost in this fantasy land, Alice finds herself growing more and more curious by the minute . . .

V&A Collector's Edition

This beautiful hardback edition is one of five special Puffin Classics created in partnership with the world-famous V&amp;A Museum, and has a stunning cover design adapted from their William Morris collection. 
 
You never know where you'll find yourself in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll! 
 
On an ordinary summer's afternoon, Alice tumbles down a hole and an extraordinary adventure begins. In a strange world with even stranger characters, she meets a grinning cat and a rabbit with a pocket watch, joins a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and plays croquet with the Queen! Lost in this fantasy land, Alice finds herself growing more and more curious by the minute . . .

This beautiful hardback edition is one of five special Puffin Classics created in partnership with the world-famous V &amp; A Museum, and has a stunning cover design adapted from their William Morris collection. 
 
You never know where you'll find yourself in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll! 
 
On an ordinary summer's afternoon, Alice tumbles down a hole and an extraordinary adventure begins. In a strange world with even stranger characters, she meets a grinning cat and a rabbit with a pocket watch, joins a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and plays croquet with the Queen! Lost in this fantasy land, Alice finds herself growing more and more curious by the minute . . .

The Wind in the Willows; Alice in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass; Winnie-the-Pooh; The House at Pooh Corner

Alan Bennett Reads Childhood Classics

Alan Bennett reads five much-loved stories by Kenneth Grahame, Lewis Carroll and AA Milne.

Alan Bennett was born and brought up in Leeds. He read history at Oxford and collaborated with Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore in the revue Beyond the Fringe in the West End and on Broadway. Bennett’s first stage play, Forty Years On, played for more than a year in the West End. Subsequent plays included Getting On (1971) and the farce Habeas Corpus (1973). His television plays include An Englishman Abroad (1983) starring Alan Bates and Carol Browne and A Question of Attribution (1988) which examined the treachery of art historian Sir Anthony Blunt. Alan Bennett’s other best known works include his adaptation of The Wind in the Willows (1990) for the National Theatre, The Madness of George III (1991, also for the National and subsequently an Oscar-winning film) and, for BBC TV, two series of the monologues Talking Heads. His collection of diary entries, essays and reviews, Writing Home, was Book of the Year in 1994. Alan Bennett has made many recordings for the BBC, including The Lady in the Van about the eccentric Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in his garden, and which he adapted for the stage in 1999 and for the cinema in 2014. 2005 saw the publication of his first major collection of writing since Writing Home. Untold Stories brought together the very best of his writing, as well as his much-celebrated diaries from 1996-2004. In 2006, following a sell-out tour, Bennett’s play The History Boys returned to the National Theatre for an extended run. Set in a boys’ grammar school in Sheffield, it garnered many awards and went on to tour New Zealand and Australia and open in New York in 2006. It received six Tony Awards, and was adapted for the cinema that same year. Among Alan Bennett’s more recent work are the stage plays The Habit of Art (2009), People (2012) and Cocktail Sticks (2012) and the novella Smut (2011).

Alan Bennett reads five much-loved stories by Kenneth Grahame, Lewis Carroll and AA Milne. 
 
Alan Bennett’s distinctive readings of these cherished children’s stories have become classics in their own right. Portraying each character in his own inimitable fashion, his delightfully expressive voice perfectly conveys the sparkling humour, charm and magic of these timeless tales. 
 
The Wind in the Willows tells the classic story of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad (of Toad Hall) and their waterside adventures. 
 
Alice in Wonderland sees Alice following a white rabbit down a hole and embarking on a series of adventures with some of the most weird and wonderful characters ever encountered. 
 
Through the Looking Glass continues Alice’s adventures, as she sees another world in the looking glass and wishes she could go there. 
 
In a selection of stories from Winnie-the-Pooh, Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place, Eeyore loses a tail, Piglet meets a Heffalump, Eeyore has a birthday, and an ‘expotition’ to the North Pole is mounted. 
 
The House at Pooh Corner finds Pooh and Piglet building a house for Eeyore, whilst Tigger comes to the forest and has breakfast. Piglet nearly meets the Heffalump again, Pooh invents a new game, and Owl moves house. 
 
Duration: 7 hours 50 mins approx.

O Frabjous Day!

'I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!" 
And thumped him on the head.' 
 
Conjuring wily walruses, dancing lobsters, a Jabberwock and a Bandersnatch, Carroll's fantastical verse gave new words to the English language.

'I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!" 
And thumped him on the head.' 
 
Conjuring wily walruses, dancing lobsters, a Jabberwock and a Bandersnatch, Carroll's fantastical verse gave new words to the English language.

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Anna Bond is co-owner and Creative Director of the highly successful stationery company Rifle Paper Co. Anna lives in Florida, USA.

The complete and unabridged text of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland accompanied by Anna Bond's signature, whimsical style illustrations in full colour throughout.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

A deluxe edition of Lewis Carroll's timeless tale of wondrously charming nonsense, in time for its 150th anniversary 
 
When Alice follows the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole, little does she know that she is traveling to a world of magic where common-sense is turned upside-down. The dream worlds of nonsensical Wonderland and the backwards Looking-Glass kingdom are full of the unexpected: a baby turns into a pig, time is missing at a tea-party, and a wild chess game makes the seven-year-old Alice a queen. Displaying Lewis Carroll's gift for sparkling wordplay, puzzles, and riddles, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass offer magical adventure, pointed satire of Victorian England, and playful explorations of sophisticated logic. Yet amid Carroll's antic humor and joyful creation, poignant moments of nostalgia for fleeting childhood give the stories extraordinary emotional depth. And wherever Carroll takes Alice, John Tenniel's iconic illustrations follow with whimsical depictions of her tizzying journeys. Original, experimental, and unparalleled for pure delight, the adventures of Alice in Wonderland are tales to be read and shared across generations.

A work of glorious intelligence and literary devices...Nonsense becomes a form of higher sense"

Alice in Wonderland is one of the top 25 books of all time. I always loved the book and I always loved the various characters, the psychedelic nature of it and kind-of odd allegorical stories inside stories. I always thought it was beautiful

Wonderland and the world through the Looking Glass were, I always knew, different from other imagined worlds. Nothing could be changed, although things in the story were always changing...Carroll moves his readers as he moves chess pieces and playing cards

It would not have occurred to me even to suspect that the "children's tale" was in brilliant ways coded to be read by adults and was in fact an English classic, a universally acclaimed intellectual tour de force and what might be described as a psychological/anthropological dissection of Victorian England. It seems not to have occurred to me that the child- Alice of drawing rooms, servants, tea and crumpets and chess, was of a distinctly different background than my own. I must have been the ideal reader: credulous, unjudging, eager, thrilled. I knew only that I believed in Alice, absolutely."

The Alices are the greatest nonsense ever written, and far greater, in my view, than most sense

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, best-known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was a man of diverse interests- mathematics, logic, photography, art, theater, religion, medicine, and science. He was happiest in the company of children for whom he created puzzles, clever games, and charming letters. His book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), became an immediate success and has since been translated into more than eighty languages. The equally popular sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, was published in 1872. His books are among the most quoted works in the English language, and his influence (with that of his illustrator, Sir John Tenniel) can be seen everywhere, from the world of advertising to that of atomic physics. 
 
Charlie Lovett is a former antiquarian bookseller and an avid book collector, especially relating to Lewis Carroll. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller The Bookman's Tale and First Impressions.

When Alice follows the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole, little does she know that she is traveling to a world of magic where common-sense is turned upside-down. The dream worlds of nonsensical Wonderland and the backwards Looking-Glass kingdom are full of the unexpected: a baby turns into a pig, time is missing at a tea-party, and a wild chess game makes the seven-year-old Alice a queen. Displaying Lewis Carroll's gift for sparkling wordplay, puzzles, and riddles, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass offer magical adventure, pointed satire of Victorian England, and playful explorations of sophisticated logic. Yet amid Carroll's antic humor and joyful creation, poignant moments of nostalgia for fleeting childhood give the stories extraordinary emotional depth. And wherever Carroll takes Alice, John Tenniel's iconic illustrations follow with whimsical depictions of her tizzying journeys. Original, experimental, and unparalleled for pure delight, the adventures of Alice in Wonderland are tales to be read and shared across generations.

When Alice follows the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole, she finds herself in an enchanted world, filled with creatures like the Mad Hatter, the disappearing Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts. Alice quickly finds out that nothing is as it seems in the wild world of Wonderland...

Collected Poems

Jabberwocky and Other Nonsense

Opening at random Gillian Beer's new edition of Lewis Carroll's poems, Jabberwocky and Other Nonsense, guarantees a pleasurable experience - not all of it nonsensical

This is an elegant volume, likely to delight enthusiasts, while introducing Lewis Carroll's poetry to a younger readership. The poems are set out chronologically following a generous, thoughtful introduction from the esteemed Cambridge critic Gillian Beer... Beer has done an admirable job, and this edition will appeal to readers of all ages

Lewis Carroll was the pen-name of the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Born in 1832, he was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was appointed lecturer in mathematics in 1855, and where he spent the rest of his life. In 1861 he took deacon's orders, but shyness and a stammer prevented him from seeking the priesthood. His most famous works, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872), were originally written for Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean of his college. He died of bronchitis in 1898. 
 
Gillian Beer is King Edward VII Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Cambridge and past President of Clare Hall College. Among her works are Darwin's Plots (1983; third edition, 2009), George Eliot (1986), Arguing with the Past: Essays in Narrative from Woolf to Sidney (1989), Open Fields: Science in Cultural Encounter (1996) and Virginia Woolf: The Common Ground (1996).

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves /  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe...' wrote Lewis Carroll in his wonderfully playful poem of nonsense verse, 'Jabberwocky'. This new edition collects together the marvellous range of Carroll's poetry, including nonsense verse, parodies, burlesques, and more. Alongside the title piece are such enduringly wonderful pieces as 'The Walrus and the Carpenter', 'The Mock Turtle's Song', 'Father William' and many more.

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-penguin-english-library/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Linked_text&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_English_Library_Series_26_06">Choose 5 classics for £25 over on the Penguin Shop</a>

The Penguin English Library Edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 
 
'"Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice (she was so surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English). "Now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Goodbye, feet!"' 
 
'I had sent my heroine straight down a rabbit-hole ... without the least idea what was to happen afterwards,' wrote Lewis Carroll, describing how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. His dream worlds of nonsensical Wonderland and the back-to-front Looking Glass kingdom depict order turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig, time is abandoned at a disorderly tea-party and a chaotic game of chess makes a seven-year-old girl a Queen. But amongst the anarchic humour and sparkling word play, puzzles and riddles, are poignant moments of nostalgia for lost childhood. 
 
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was born in 1832. Already reading The Pilgrim's Progress at the age of seven, his exceptional intelligence was apparent from the outset - his Mathematics master at Rugby wrote of him, 'I have not had a more promising boy at his age' - and he went on to be awarded a double first class honours in Maths at Christ Church, Oxford. Despite going on to hold a lectureship at Christ Church for twenty-six years, however, Dodgson found it difficult to apply himself to academic work, and it is for his extraordinary literary works that he is known. His two Alice books were originally composed for the daughter of the dean of his college, Alice Liddell, and are the most famous and enduring of his works along with The Hunting of the Snark, a book of nonsense verse. He also wrote works on logic and satirical pamphlets on Oxford politics, and became a pioneering amateur portrait photographer, specializing in Victorian celebrities and children. He died in 1898, at the age of sixty-five.

It has been 150 years since Alice was first invented by Lewis Carroll but she is still one of our greatest children's characters - follow her down the rabbit hole and discover Wonderland!

"What is the use of a book" thought Alice "without pictures or conversation?" If you feel the same way, then you'll love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is full of good conversations. Alice talks to a pipe-smoking caterpillar and a mad hatter

So what makes these different to any other set of classics? In a moment of inspiration Random House had the bright idea of actually asking Key stage 2 children what extra ingredients they could add to make children want to read. And does it work? Well, put it this way...my 13-year-old daughter announced that she had to read a book over the summer holiday and, without any prompting, spotted The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...and proceeded to read it! Now, if you knew my 13-year-old daughter, you would realise that this is quite remarkable. She reads texts, blogs and tags by the thousand - but this is the first book she has read since going to high school, so all hail Vintage Classics!

National Association for the Teaching of English

'Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!' 
 
Would you be surprised to see a white rabbit take a watch out of his waistcoat pocket? It certainly seems a remarkable sight to Alice and, full of curiosity, she follows him down a rabbit-hole into a very strange world. She meets a disappearing cat, plays croquet with a bad-tempered Queen, joins a mad Hatter's tea party and becomes entangled in the case of some missing tarts. In Wonderland nothing but out-of-the-way things happen... 
 
Includes Through the Looking Glass. 
 
Includes exclusive material: In ‘The Backstory’ you can learn about the author and what inspired him to create Wonderland, and try writing some nonsense verse! 
 
Vintage Children’s Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from Peter Pan and Black Beauty to modern classics such asThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Lewis Carroll's real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was born on 27th January 1832 at Daresbury in Cheshire. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford University and later became a mathematics lecturer there. He wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872) for the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church. He was very fond of puzzles and some readers have found mathematical jokes and codes hidden in his Alice books. His other works include Phantasmagoria and Other Poems (1869), The Hunting of the Snark (1876), Rhyme? And Reason? (1882), The Game of Logic (1887) and Sylvie and Bruno (1889, 1893). Dodgson was also an influential photographer. He died on 14th January 1898.

CELEBRATE 150 YEARS OF ALICE 
 
Oh my ears and whiskers, how late its getting! 
 
Would you be surprised to see a white rabbit take a watch out of his waistcoat pocket? It certainly seems a remarkable sight to Alice and, full of curiosity, she follows him down a rabbit-hole into a very strange world. She meets a disappearing cat, plays croquet with a bad-tempered Queen, joins a mad Hatter's tea party and becomes entangled in the case of some missing tarts. In Wonderland nothing but out-of-the-way things happen... 
 
Includes Through the Looking Glass. 
 
BACKSTORY: Learn about the author and what inspired him to create Wonderland, and try writing some nonsense verse!

Ladybird Classics: Alice in Wonderland

This beautiful hardback Ladybird Classic edition of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a perfect first illustrated introduction to the classic story for younger readers. 
It has been sensitively abridged and retold to make it suitable for sharing with young children from 5+, whilst retaining all the best-loved parts of the Alice in Wonderland story, such as the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. Beautiful full-colour illustrations throughout also help to bring all of these classic characters to life. 
 
Other exciting titles in the Ladybird Classics series include Treasure Island, Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Oliver Twist and Gulliver's Travels.

Lewis Carroll (Author) Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-98), grew up in Cheshire in the village of Daresbury, the son of a parish priest. He was a brilliant mathematician, a skilled photographer and a meticulous letter and diary writer. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, inspired by Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church in Oxford, was published in 1865, followed by Through the Looking-Glass in 1871. He wrote numerous stories and poems for children including the nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark and fairy stories Sylvie and Bruno.

This Ladybird Classic is an abridged retelling of the classic story of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, making it perfect for introducing the story to younger children, or for newly confident readers to tackle alone. 
 
Beautiful new illustrations throughout and a gorgeous larger format with ribbon marker bring the magic of this classic story to a new generation of children.

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: With Artwork by Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto City, Japan in 1929. Her work is in the collections of leading museums throughout the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; LACMA, Los Angeles; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Tate Modern, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Major exhibitions of her work have appeared in many of the world's most celebrated museums. Kusama lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.

Since childhood, Kusama has been afflicted with a condition that makes her see spots, which means she sees the world in a surreal, almost hallucinogenic way that sits very well with the Wonderland of Alice. She is fascinated by childhood and the way adults have the ability, at their most creative, to see things the way children do, a central concern of the Alice books. 
 
The classic book is colour illustrated with a clothbound jacket, and produced to very high specification. Kusama's images are interspersed throughout the text. 
 
Produced in collaboration with the Kusama Studio, Tokyo and Gagosian Gallery.

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Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. 
 
'I had sent my heroine straight down a rabbit-hole without the least idea what was to happen afterwards,' wrote Dodgson, describing how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. In the magical world of Wonderland and the back-to-front Looking-Glass kingdom, order is turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig; time is abandoned at a tea-party; and a chaotic game of chess makes a 7-year-old a Queen.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Ken Campbell, Windsor Davies, John Bird and John Fortune star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, which includes the poem "Jabberwocky", and the poem The Hunting of the Snark, all examples of the genre of literary nonsense. He is noted for his facility at word play, logic and fantasy. There are societies in many parts of the world dedicated to the enjoyment and promotion of his works and the investigation of his life. [Wikipedia]

Ken Campbell, Windsor Davies, John Bird and John Fortune star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. 
 
When Alice leans too close to the Looking Glass, she suddenly finds herself in a land of caustic characters and twisted logic – a back-to-front world where flowers can talk, Queens can run and a crown could depend on a game of chess... In her bid to become Queen of the Chess Board, Alice must escape the fearful Jabberwock and get to the eighth square. En route, she takes advice – and sometimes downright criticism – from such peculiar folk as Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Lion and the Unicorn, and very helpful gnat. 
 
Even when she has passed this test, the ordeal awaits of dinner with the Red and White Queens – and Alice learns an important lesson about not eating food you've been introduced to. 
 
This witty adaptation of Lewis Carroll's enduring children's classic boasts the much-loved Jabberwocky poem amongst its sparkling collection of gems.

Lewis Carroll

Joe Todd-Stanton

Illustrated Edition

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this stunning colour illustrated edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated throughout by Joe Todd Stanton, creator of the Brownstone Chronicles. 
 
Follow Alice down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland, a world that grows curiouser and curiouser by the minute. . . but don’t be late! 
 
‘We’re all mad here.’ 
 
Lost in a strange world with even stranger characters, Alice meets a Cheshire Cat with a great big grin, a tea-sipping and riddle-speaking Hatter, and a very clever Caterpillar. But things take a turn when she meets a short-tempered Queen . . . 
 
Will Alice make it home in time?

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BBC Children's Classics

BBC Classics

Everyman's Children's Classics has more than 50 titles in print. It offers the finest editions currently available of the world's greatest children's books in handsome, full cloth hardcover bindings. 
 
The library brings back into print major illustrators such as Ivan Bilibin, Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Nicolas Bentley, Walter Crane, Aubrey Beardsley, Edward Ardizzone, W.Heath Robinson and Mervyn Peake.

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14 classic audiobooks you need to listen to

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Which character from Alice in Wonderland are you?

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