Alice in Winter Wonderland

Book excerpt: In this novel for middle school-age children, a young girl named Alice is having a horrible holiday. Her parents are busy, her neighbors are mean, and her brother is totally annoying. On top of all that, she's has homework - on Christmas Eve! - which involves writing a book report on Alice in Wonderland. While reading Lewis Carroll's book, our contemporary Alice becomes drowsy, sees a White Rabbit, and follows it down a rabbit hole, plummeting her into Wonderland in the middle of winter. While in Wonderland, Alice encounters many of Lewis Carroll's iconic characters, who prove incapable of helping her have fun on their holiday - Winter Wonder Day. As it turns out, Wonder has gone missing, and Alice is called upon to help find her. Alice gets advice from the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat, endures the hijinks of Tweedle Dum and Dumber, and goes on a Wonder snipe hunt with the White Knight, all to no avail. That's when the Queen of Hearts arrives with her entourage and puts Alice on trial, which leads to Alice's realization regarding the importance of Wonder for bringing joy and warmth to holiday season. In the final chapter, Alice is awakened by her family and transforms a dreary Christmas Eve into a celebratory gathering of family, pets, and neighbors - all of whom remind her of characters from Wonderland.