Author's Notes

Author's Note & Bibliography for Visit #1:

Visit #1 is based off the story of Alice in Wonderland with a focus on Advice from a Caterpillar by Lewis Carroll.

This chapter just focuses on the conversation and interaction between Alice and the Caterpillar. In the original story the Caterpillar interrupts with the lesson of Old Father William. I like the Disney version better with the lesson of How Doth the Little Crocodile. How Doth the Little Crocodile is a poem also written by Lewis Carroll. However, I rewrote the poem with my own version titled, "How Doth the Little Butterfly." The part in which the Caterpillar talks about how Alice is wrong by trying to recite "How Doth The Busy Bee," is interesting because "How Doth The Busy Bee" used to be a very well known poem. This means that the Caterpillar is actually in the wrong for believing Alice should know how to recite "How Doth The Little Crocodile" instead of the Busy Bee poem.

The use of clove cigarettes in this story is my take/adaption of the fact that the Caterpillar smokes a hookah pipe. Some people have commented that they have some confusion about how Alice can purchase clove cigarettes. Alice is not confined to the mental hospital. She just simply visits with her psychiatrist, Dr. Rose, regularly. She is not at risk for violent or delinquent behavior. I am going to go back to my introduction in order to clear up that confusion.

In this story I wanted to highlight the relationship between Alice and the Caterpillar. In the stories from Lewis Carroll and in the Disney version we can see how there is some tension between both characters. The Caterpillar considers himself an intellectual and looks down on Alice as if she is undereducated. We can see this between their interactions in both the text and the Disney movie. I really like the dynamic between the two characters because it seems like parts of them like each other and the other parts are constantly trying to outsmart or outdo one another.

I really hope you guys are enjoying this storybook so far. I have put a lot time and creativity into it. I strive to make these stories interesting and creative, but I sometimes find it difficult to get my point across clearly. I really appreciate all of your ideas and comments you have left behind on my blog. They are really useful and I find myself revisiting them often in search for ideas on how to make this storybook better. Please let me know if there is anymore information you would like for me to include in these Author Notes so that you may understand these stories better.

Author's Note & Bibliography for Visit #2

Visit #2 is based on a combination of stories from Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. The stories included in this visit consisted of A Mad Tea-Party and Tweedledee and Tweedledum both of these tales by Lewis Carroll.

This chapter focuses on the dialogue between the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. In the original story these characters do not interact but I thought it would be interesting to add to the chaos created in the tea party scene by adding Tweedledee and Tweedledum into the mix. In this adaption you see me change the original poem "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" to "Why is a lemon like a Summer dress?" I did this to add a little more originality to the story. Also when Dr. Rose responds with "because they both contain zest?" I consider that to be the correct answer. I also went on to change the original poem of the "The Walrus and the Carpenter", to my original revision of this poem I called the "The Hot Winter."

I gave the ending of this visit a more somber tone than the last. I wanted it to read as if Alice was an actual patient. I wanted to display that Alice is concerned for her well being and she is not complacent about her situation.

As always I hope you all enjoyed this visit and if you have any comments or ideas on how to make this storybook better, please visit my comment wall.

Author's Note & Bibliography for Visit #3

Visit #3 is based on the character of the Queen of Hearts we see in the story Alice in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll. She is not to be confused with the Red Queen character that shows up in Carroll's Looking-Glass story. Alice in Wonderland is focused on playing cards, whereas, Looking-Class is focused on Chess pieces.

In this visit, I wanted to highlight the angry personality of the Queen of Hearts. I know this story has a sad and somber finish but I don't think Alice ever being able to break free from her mental illness was an option. The Queen of Hearts is obviously the most volatile character from the set of stories and I thought she would be the perfect one to just tip the scale of the story. Please remember this story is obviously completely fictional and I am not an expert on people who suffer from multi-personality disorder. This story is not to imply individuals that are living with this mental illness are a danger to society or themselves. This is just simply a story.

I have had a great amount of fun creating these stories for you all to read and I hope you have enjoyed them as well. I hope you were at least a little pleased with the ending but if not I am sorry it didn't turn out the way you wish. Not every story can have a happy ending. As for the original story by Lewis Carroll, it ends with a happier ending than this one. Alice wakes up and realizes it was all just a dream and the characters of her dream return back to their original states of playing cards or chess pieces.