Alice lives an ordinary life, until the day she follows the White Rabbit down, down, down a rabbit hole. She suddenly finds herself in an enchanted world, surrounded by zany creatures like the Mad Hatter, the Duchess, and the Cheshire Cat. Alice is delighted to find that nothing in Wonderland is the least bit ordinary.
Produced by Books a Million Contains: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass A Tangled Tale
The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer.
His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense.
Oxford scholar, Church of England Deacon, University Lecturer in Mathematics and Logic, academic author of learned theses, gifted pioneer of portrait photography, colourful writer of imaginative genius and yet a shy and pedantic man, Lewis Carroll stands pre-eminent in the pantheon of inventive literary geniuses.
I loved the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass! They are as whimsical and delightful as I imagined. I was surprised to discover how young Alice was, 7 and a half according to Through the Looking Glass. I had always imagined her in the 10-12 year old range. I was skeptical of a male narrator but Simon Bubb did an excellent job narrating.
The only thing I disliked was A Tangled Tale but I'm not much of a fan of very short stories so they felt random and disjointed.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio-arc!
A fantastic collection of whimsical tales from Alice in Wonderland. This has been one of my favourite books since I was a child and no matter how much I read it I always come away with another piece of the story to mull over. I don't think I will ever tire of reading this book.
The Wonderland Collection consists of three stories - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, A Tangled Tale. All the three stories are the best works of Lewis carroll. The books consists of a girl named Alice who is traveling through her adventures and is very curious. All the three stories are interconnected and its a delightful read for both - children and adult.
I recently an Audiobook narrated by Simon Bubb and he did a brilliant job in narrating these books. The pitch was perfect and we could feel the adventures of Alice alive. I thought a female voice would do the job perfectly, but even a male voice here worked perfectly fine. The Humpty Dumpty rhyme read by the narrator in this book was just perfect and makes me want to listen to it again and again. ______
Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for sending me this audiobook in return of a honest opnion.
Maybe it's because I'm not the target age or the original era but this book was not a pleasant read. Through the Looking Glass was purely nonsensical and Wonderland was not much better. Plus the characters were all jerks. The Tangled Tale was a series of literary math problems, which was, for a mathematically illiterate lump like myself, a nightmare.
The Wonderland Collection by Lewis Carroll and narrated by Simon Bubb is produced by HarperCollins Christian Audio. Carroll was an English writer of children’s fiction. He was noted for his facility at wordplay, logic, and fantasy. The poems “Jabberwocky” and “The Hunting of the Snark” are classified in the genre of literary nonsense. Bubb is an audiobook narrator known for his subtlety, nuanced tone, and facility with accents as an integral component of his narration, according to AudioFile magazine.
The Wonderland Series seems to be a nonsensical children’s tale, but so much has stuck with us into adulthood. We often speak of the “Rabbit Hole.” Jefferson Airplane sang of the pills to make your shorter or taller and of the Hooka Smoking Caterpillar. We continue to say, “Mad as a Hatter.” But there is more to the story that we think. It does not end with Alice being sentenced by the Queen of Hearts — “Off with her head.” The sequel “Through the Looking Glass” takes Alice on an adventure to an alternative world on the other side of a mirror. The last book does not deal with Alice but is a book of “knots” or mathematical problems in story form that were printed as a serial in the Monthly Packet magazine. Concealing the math in the stories allowed Carroll to “hide medicine in jam” creating an early version of edutainment.
A fun journey back to childhood and a time when we took things less seriously. Bubb’s narration is excellent with just enough British accent to remind the reader of the stories’ origin. The changes in character voice are subtle but easily recognizable. An enjoyable journey.
The Wonderland Collection includes a fantastic collection of some of Lewis Carroll’s most beloved stories. It includes Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and A Tangled Tale. All are great stories, perfect for kids and adults alike. This collection is a great place to start if you are new to reading/listening to classics as well.
Simon Bubb did a great job with the narration. I found the majority of voices to be distinct and clear throughout the series. I was hesitant to listen initially because generally, I enjoy listening to the Wonderland series in a female voice, but his voice captivated me. His voice truly is unique and so easy to listen to.
I highly recommend this series and narrator to readers and listeners who are new and old friends of these stories. These would be great to listen to in the car or hanging around the house with the whole family.
I received an audio advanced reader copy from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.
Absolute nonsense and the best kind. Great for adults and kids or reading to kids. I know a lot of people have mentioned this is like being on an acid trip. But to me, this is the logic I had as a child. The misunderstandings and weird conversations sparked by an overly complex English language. Carroll writes the wordplay with so much humor, but also the natural indignation of a young child. The writing is flawless and the characters interesting and ridiculous. A great escape into the dream world of your childhood.
I did not find Through the Looking Glass as interesting as Alice in Wonderland. This one was more a children's book, rather than having the quality of appealing to both children and adults like Alice in Wonderland. There were less level of language usage and wordplay and a simpler story.
This is the audiobook of a collectible edition. The series features various classic stories. This volume combines the two most famous Alice books– Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass– as well as A Tangled Tale. That adds up to 7 hours of audio, so plan accordingly. The narrator is fine--no complaints, but not particularly memorable. I hadn't heard these stories since I was small, so it was nostalgic.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.
Reason read: BAC, Portal Fantasy I read this free download from Audio sync program. It contained 1. Alice in Wonderland 2. In the Looking Glass and what Alice saw there 3. A Tangled Tale: Knot 1 through 10.
I enjoyed this reread of Alice and the Looking Glass as it had been awhile. I was reminded how much things from these two books are found in various places in our lives and in books we read. Tangled Tales were like various short snips of math challenges, etc.
I never imagined that I would so thoroughly enjoy sugh bizarre classics but by page two I was already entranced by wonderland. Some classics leave you with a valuable life lesson, I cannot say that Lewis Carroll's works did that, but I was fondly reminded of my own childhood and do not regret taking the time to read these.
Die ersten beiden Geschichten "Alice hinter den Spiegeln" und "Alice im Wunderland" haben mir gut gefallen und ließen sich sehr flüssig lesen. Die dritte Geschichte ist eine Sammlung von Knobelaufgaben. Diese habe ich nur überflogen.
I actually really love Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read the collection, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend.
Three Lewis Carroll tales - Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and A Tangled Tale - rolled into one audiobook. Simon Bubb did a FANTASTIC job narrating, bringing the characters and humor and general bizarre-ness to life!
Alice in Wonderland: 5 stars. Everyone knows this tale, with Alice falling through the rabbit hole into the weird wonderfulness occupied by the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter and March Hare, and others. So creative and fun, this is Carroll at his best: the story moves along at a good pace, traveling from one place and character to another in a somehow seamless way, taking the reader along on a curious adventure.
Through the Looking Glass: 3 stars. Alice again finds herself in a strange dreamworld, this time revolving around a chessboard. A bit less creative than AIW, this one borrows some figures from outside of Carroll's own canon (Humpty Dumpty) but introduces others that are unique (Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum); the story plods a bit more here, overstuffed with limericks and poetry and an overabundance of Alice's internal monologue. Still a fun jaunt through a fantastical world.
A Tangled Tale: 1 star. Originally published as a serial with each chapter containing a math problem, this was so disjointed and nonsensical that it became nearly impossible to follow. As my husband said while we were listening to this on a long drive, "this is like a stream of consciousness from someone on LSD."
I really enjoyed these books! I have wanted to read them for a long time, and I'm so glad I did. I think the way in which they are written adequately describe the mind of a child (or child at heart). It makes for a really interesting story, and at the same time, leaves you wondering.
Ever since I was a little girl, "Alice in Wonderland" has been one of my all-time favorite books. Even now, at 36 years old, it consistently ranks in my top 3. It's one of the best, most wonderful books I've ever read, so you can only imagine my excitement when I was offered the opportunity to listen to this new "The Wonderland Collection" on audio book.
So how did it turn out?
In a word: Excellent!
I'm always a little nervous about approaching an old favorite in a new way, such as once it's been made into a movie or a new retelling of the old story. I had the perfect mixture of excitement and trepidation concerning this audio book, but it did not disappoint. The narration was excellent. As far as I know, I'm not familiar with the narrator, Thomas Nelson, unless I've heard him narrating something else and just didn't know him by name. (It's highly possible; I listen to a LOT of audio books.)
Despite not knowing him, I was very impressed with his narration style. He really brought the characters to life for me. Anyone who has ever read "Alice in Wonderland" or "Through the Looking Glass" knows how many different characters there are. On top of that, these are all characters with which we are extremely familiar. I'd hazard a guess that there isn't a single person, at least in the UK or USA, who hasn't read/watched/heard/etc. of Alice, the Red Queen, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, etc.
I think a narrator has a much harder job narrating a well-known tell than narrating a story no one's ever heard. With a story no one knows, the narrator can create the characters from scratch and make them come alive. With a story like "The Wonderland Collection," everything the narrator does is going to be compared to someone else we've seen bring these characters to life before. Whether it's Alan Rickman or Ben Kingsley, we all have a version of how we expect the Caterpillar to sound. The same goes for all of the other characters.
This narrator had some big shoes to fill.
And he did a great job.
He brought these characters to life a new way all his own, but he did it in such a way that I was really impressed by his choices. No two characters sounded the same. In a scene full of dialogue, it was always very clear who was speaking. I especially loved the choices he made for the Mad Hatter, the Mock Turtle and the Tweedle brothers. He did well on all the characters, even the female ones, but he did an especially good job on those four.
The pacing was just right too. I tend to listen to my audio books on double speed (2x). With this particular book, I was able to listen at 1.5x speed, and it sounded perfect to me. It wasn't too rushed, and it didn't drag. A few times, my phone (which isn't all that great) glitched out, and the book would stop. On those occasions, I'd have to go back into the Netgalley app and hit play on the book again. When I did, it would reset my reading speed preferences back to default (1x speed). There were several times when I forgot to readjust it to 1.5x, and even in those times, the book flowed well.
Most of the time, an audio book on regular speed is much too slow for me and drives me nuts. This narrator did a great job of narrating at a pace that I didn't mind listening to at regular speed. (Although, because I prefer things to be a little faster, I did go back and speed it up to 1.5x whenever my brain clued into the fact that it was at normal speeds again. Still, my point is that I could have listened to it normally and wouldn't have been too bothered by it.
The only time the book failed to hold my attention was at the end. The mathematician stories at the end of the book couldn't really hold my interest. That was to be expected though, as I never really cared for many of Carroll's short stories. There are a few that I like, but most, I can do without. In other words, it was the story itself that didn't hold my attention, not the fault of the narrator.
I highly recommend this audio book to anyone who loves the Alice stories and wants to dive back into them. I also highly recommend it to anyone who has never read them before. Finally, I think even children would enjoy this audio book. The wide array of voices the narrator uses almost makes it seem like a cartoon, and I think kids would be able to get interested in it without too much trouble or fidgeting.
It was a great audio version of two of my very favorite tales.
**Thank you so much to Netgalley for sending me the audiobook for review.
Alice in Wonderland: 3.5/5 Through the Looking Glass: 4/5 A Tangled Tale: 2/5
"But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!"
The entire Wonderland Collection is extremely odd and due to the sheer oddity of it, I found myself unsure of how much I enjoyed it. Nonetheless, I found, especially with Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, that I was able to glean some beautiful life lessons from it and certain characters truly impacted me, such as the White Queen. It was in the sheer oddity of it where I was able to find these wonderful lessons and I truly appreciated it.
However, with A Tangled Tale, I found myself to be utterly confused. Where, in Through the Looking Glass I found the oddness of the novel to be growing on me, I disliked how strange A Tangled Tale seemed to be. It seemed forgettable to me and the only character which held my attention was the old man.
Nonetheless, despite my like and dislike for some of the stories, the audiobook was done wonderfully. The narration, done by Simon Bubb, was amazing. He was able to depict Wonderland in such a way that I found myself thinking I was there. He crafted the novel wonderfully, bringing it to life with the amazing way he portrayed each of the voices and described the events that were unfolding. Due to this, I found the minutes to fly by while I was reading/listening, getting lost in Wonderland.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I would love to re-read it at some point to delve deeper into certain meanings and to revisit all the unique elements. This story truly has something for everyone. Although the story itself is one that I'm not sure I love, the audiobook is definitely something that people can appreciate, whether it's your first time reading Alice in Wonderland or if it's an old-time favourite.
What better way to try out NetGalley's newly minted mobile phone app than to use it to read an audiobook ARC of my favorites? Alice's wacky, escapist story had resonated with my own urges to escape reality since I was a kid (and grew exponentially as I got older) and experiencing it for the first time on audio after a long time since my last reread was refreshing, something like an emotional reset that I didn't really knew I needed. Things I learned in this recent reread? One is that I'm no longer compelled to ~escape every single time I'm confronted with a tough call. I still do get it sometimes, force of habit, but I think I'm more rooted to where I am now, more accepting and ready to take on the world. (Like, of course, I'm in my actual thirties now, right? LOL). Two, is that Wonderland is no longer as wonderful for me as it was before. Not bec of the book, per se, but more bec I've found my own taste in books in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, AiW is outside of what I now enjoy reading. The story is still complex, the metaphors are still super layered and brilliant and all that, but it's just too much for me to work it all out. (Also I want romance in everything now. haha) And three, the books are so much better consumed in audio. This is my v personal opinion but I liked the puns and rhymes and silly things spoken to my ears than read through my eyeballs. 😂 Simon Bubb does a great job of bringing this classic to life in this edition. :) • This collection includes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass, as well as a series of shorts called A Tangled Tale. I thought it would be one-shot spin-offs (I didn't read the blurb, obvi) but they turned out to be math themed stories and ofc I didn't really get everything. 😅 • *The eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review. It doesn't affect my opinion of the book. Thank you.
“'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don’t much care where—' said Alice. 'Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,' said the Cat. '—so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation. 'Oh, you’re sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'”
“You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!”
“You might just as well say, ” added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!”
“The best way to explain it is to do it.”
“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.
"This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.' 'What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar, sternly. 'Explain yourself!' 'I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,' said Alice, 'because I am not myself, you see.'”
“'If everybody minded their own business,' the Duchess said, in a hoarse growl, 'the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'”
“'Tut, tut, child!' said the Duchess. 'Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it.'”
“I am not crazy; my reality is just different from yours.”
“Every adventure requires a first step.”
“Not all who wander are lost.”
“Never let anyone drive you crazy; it is nearby anyway and the walk is good for you.”
For whatever reason the editor decided to place Through the Looking Glass before Alice in Wonderland in this collection, perhaps to replicate the chaotic energy of Lewis Carroll's writing.
No one does weird and wacky like Lewis Carroll. It's bizarre and illogical and fanciful and still plenty of fun. Both Wonderland novels are creative in ways I'll never understand. Carroll's mind just works differently.
The last "story" in this collection is called A Tangled Tale which is actually a series of math riddles that Carroll published in a magazine and readers wrote in answers. I first I thought 'ok this might be fun I might like some math', then after reading the first puzzle I no longer liked math. Imagine Carroll's confusing fictional stories but hidden in them is a math problem; half the time I couldn't even figure out what the question was. It was more entertaining to read him write about the responses and lightly roast people with poor logic skills. It seems like they had a nice little community going on. People would use various pen names including: A Nihilist, A Socialist, A Mother's Son, Spear Maiden, Sea Breeze, Simple Susan, Money Spinner, Old Cat, Bog-Oak, Bradshaw of the Future, Rags and Tatters, Waiting for the Train, An Appreciative Schoolma'am, Land Lubber, Guy, The Elder Traveler, L'Iconnu, Nil Desperandum, Woolly One, Afternoon Tea, Alphabetical Phantom, Knot I, Three-Fifth Asleep.
It made me realize that as a society, we were always destined for Twitter.
The story of Alice was as cute and weird as I remembered! Though I never actually read Through The Looking Glass, so it was interesting to see where some of the ideas from the movies came from.
Firstly, I'd like to mention a weird thing about the book itself. Alice in Wonderland was the second story. The first one was Through the Looking Glass, which I found to be rather strange? Through the Looking Glass is a follow-up story and it was also published after, so I don't really understand the choice of putting it first in the book.
The stories were cute, though maybe a tad boring. After having Alice's story told over and over in so many mediums, that probably makes a lot of sense. It did make some parts a chore to get through, but it was still an enjoyable read.
The writing style is funny, itfeels more like a story told BY a child, not FOR a child. That can be a positive or a negative depending on your personal preferences. For me, I though it was both good and bad, which is reflected in my rating.
Beautifully designed cover and fantastically narrated audio collection of the Wonderland and Looking Glass books and the collection of short stories called A Tangled Tale. Firs of all this reminded me of the absolute magic of Wonderland and I really enjoyed becoming reacquainted with this magical book. However, and i'm not sure why, but I was not familiar Looking Glass or Tangled Tale and it was great having the opportunity to experience all three in one collection. The narration was great with different voices being used for the different characters and a really soothing feel to it. It was so engaging and I listened to it in two sittings. However, there was one slight issue in that the pauses between chapters were excessively long and it took some getting used to. There were some abrupt ends to a couple of chapters in Looking Glass but that might have been my copy. Overall, I loved listening to this audiobook.
I really enjoyed this audiobook version of The Wonderland Collection, which includes "Alice in Wonderland," "Through the Looking Glass" and "A Tangled Tale," which is the only work from this collection that I haven't read before.
Simon Bubb, the narrator, is really good. I know "Alice" like the back of my hand and it's one of those books that I enjoy re-reading, so it's a treasure to hear it in audio form spoken so well.
"Looking Glass," I'm less familiar with as it's been a while since I've read it and I don't know it as intimately as I know "Alice in Wonderland." So this was neat because I had forgotten some of what happened and that was exciting.
In true math-phobic fashion, I didn't understand the mathematical problems in "A Tangled Tale" worth a fig, and I didn't try to! I did, in true wordsmith fashion, appreciate and laugh out loud at the turns of phrase Carroll used. So no matter if you're a math or english person, you'll enjoy "A Tangled Tale."
I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I read it as a teen and have loved it ever since, and was happy to get to listen to the story. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this title! I loved the narrator, it set a great tone for the story. Each time reading (or listening) to this book is like a new experience, and I take something different from the story every time.
The story is deeply but gently satiric, enlivened with an imaginative plot and brilliant use of nonsense. As Alice explores a bizarre underground world, she encounters a cast of strange characters and fanciful beasts: the White Rabbit, March Hare, and Mad Hatter; the sleepy Dormouse and grinning Cheshire Cat; the Mock Turtle, the dreadful Queen of Hearts, and a host of other extraordinary personalities. The tale plays with logic, making the story popular with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.
This audio book includes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and, the less well-known, A Tangled Tale. This title can be enjoyed by both adults and children, perhaps on a long car trip when looking for something good to occupy one's time. The imaginative stories will appeal to kids while, as I learned in a class a few years ago, there are many social issues to be seen in the book for adults. The narration is soothing, in a good way. This is another in a series of classics that has been released by the publisher. I have also listened to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Persuasion.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.
This book was great! I have read and watched many Alice in Wonderland adaptations, but I've never read the original books! It was wonderful to be able to connect the adaptions to the original, while also experiencing and noticing new elements for the first time. I loved the absolute ridiculousness of seven year-old Alice's dreams and how well they translated into a fun and exotic story. The only thing that made me give it 4 stars was the confusing language (especially during the poetry parts), but as this is an older classic it's understandable.
Overall, I enjoyed a lot and I wish I could have this edition in a physical copy because the cover is STUNNING!!
The Wonderland Stories are, and always have been enchanting. The vivid descriptions keep images in your mind as you read and listen. This collection includes stories beyond the well-known "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass", and they are equally imaginative and delightful. Full of quirky characters on strange adventures.. The narrator in this audio book was ideal. His rich voice keeps you glued to the story. He makes it easy to tell what characters are speaking. I did speed it up a little, but that's just a personal preference. Definitely a must-have classic in your audio library.
I received an advanced readers copy of the audiobook version from Netgalley.
I’m so glad to finally finish the Alice Collection! It is my first time to read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It is not the best children’s book for me (uhm hello Harry Potter) but I get now why it is considered as a classic one. It is such a fun read and the narrator was amazing as well. It made me feel like a kid again. However, the last book in this collection is my least favorite because I just don’t get the point why they included it here. The Looking Glass was already enough.
I received this audiobook from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this version of Alice in Wonderland. The narrators voice really fit the authors words. He would change his voice a tiny bit for different people and it fit well. I do feel like he spoke a little bit slow. I ended up having to speed it up a lot. The pause between the chapters was a bit long too. Other than that, the flow of the audiobook was very good. This audiobook was a great experience. It was a nice way to read a classic book with a modern twist.
I really enjoyed this fun collection of Alice in wonderland. I hadn’t read the other two books Through the Looking glass and A Tangled Tale. The narrator was great and really made the story fun! My only issue was that the pause between each chapter was long on the audiobook and I kept thinking it turned off. Otherwise this audio version was great and I was happy to enjoy Lewis Carroll’s wonderland collection! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free audio version in exchange for my honest review.