Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll and Christopher Myers

Jabberwocky
reimagined and illustrated by Christopher Myers
32 pages
©2007
New York: Jump At The Sun
ISBN 9781423103721


Annotation
Lewis Carroll's classic poem is set into a modern environment: a basketball court with a fearsome opponent.


Commentary
The artwork and font used in this book come together to jointly illustrate the vivid language of Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky". The "beamish boy" is a basketball player; his "manxome foe" another, and their battleground is the court. Drawing the reader into the hero's perspective, the artist portrays the Jabberwock as huge, looming, black, and powerful, with "eyes of flame" and bared teeth in the "jaws that bite"; his hands are bigger than the boy's head, and his long arms and legs take up most of the page. The odds are greatly against the young hero, but he darts and dodges and goes "snicker-snack" until he is triumphant.

This book would be a way to present Carroll to a modern urban classroom. The nonsense words lend themselves to being read aloud -- perhaps in chorus or in rounds or in jam -- and the city court and streets depicted will help the readers identify the main points of the poem.


No Author Info
Media: watercolor