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'Somehow it fills my head with ideas-only I don't know exactly what they are.'
Lewis Carroll: Through The Looking Glass and what Alice found there. 1872
Publisher's Synopsis:-
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogroves, And the mome raths outgrabe.So begins one of the most celebrated and best-loved nonsense poems in the English language, "Jabberwocky", which first appeared in 1872 in Lewis Carroll's classic Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. For well over a century, the poem's mysterious and intensely musical lines have delighted the ears of both young and old, but there have been few attempts to render the poem in picture book form. Using mixed media techniques, Joel Stewart reveals a natural affinity with Carroll's vision, capturing with great wit and imagination the extraordinary world of the poem and its memorable creatures, such as the Jubjub bird, the frumious Bandersnatch and the manxome Jabberwock. "Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
Reviews:-
Kirkus Reviews
It would be hard not to end up with an outstanding result when starting with such brilliant material as Carroll's "Jabberwocky," but Stewart's mixed-media illustrations suit the wry humor of this nonsense poem so perfectly it's hard to imagine it being interpreted as well by anyone else since Tenniel himself. The wide, thin-lipped visage of the Jabberwock is particularly reminiscent of Tenniel's drawings and provides a tribute to the definitive illustrator of Carroll's work. But there are many original touches, such as the clockwork inner workings of the beast and the imagining of what exactly things like "slithy toves," "borogoves," and "mome raths" are (here, various imaginary forest denizens, some of them birdlike, who relax in hammocks and play accordions). The dusky palette of tan, olive, dusty purple, pale blue, and brick red outlined in thin brown lends an antique feel, as does the pseudo-medieval costume worn by the boy as he hunts the "manxome foe." Far from being frightening, the Jabberwock is positively dapper in his top hat and high, stiff collar, and the fact that his insides are mechanical keeps his dismemberment from being gory. It's helpful that the poem is printed in its entirety at the beginning, so readers and listeners can get their own imaginations started before digging in. This brilliantly original, yet respectful new rendering of an old favorite reminds those who've read it before of the infinite possibilities and pure fun in its interpretation, and will bring its delightful nonsense to a whole new audience. (Picture book. 4 to 8)
Booklist *Starred Review*
Illustrating the works of Lewis Carroll has to be one of the most exacting and dangerous tasks in all of bookdom, but Joel Stewart's version succeeds very well, indeed; his imagery suggests the time period in which "Jabberwocky" was written and his illustrations have the manic fluidity of Carroll's own accomplished art. What distinguishes this version is the fact that Stewart has allowed himself to create his own bizarrely funny world. This "Jabberwocky" takes place in a distinct, idiosyncratic place that reveals the mind of the illustrator while it carefully visualizes the text. The illustrations appeal for several reasons. First, they are imaginative, making use of ink stamps (and actual postage-stamp imagery) to add a dreamlike texture to the fleshy foliage. Stewart's "slithy toves" and "tulgey woods" are odd and amusing without being too scary for a picture-book audience, as John Tenniel's illustrations for Alice in Wonderland can be. What's more, the pictures depict a funny, childlike world that little ones can easily enter. Then there's Stewart's hero, an appealing Everyperson, who, upon slaying the Jabberwock--a sort of Edwardian gentleman gone awry, with a green face, a long striped tail, and a leafy green body-- reveals that the villain is nothing but a clockwork automaton. Thus, when the boy returns with the Jabberwock's head, Beowulfian grisliness is humorously avoided. Consider this a noteworthy addition to a notoriously difficult subgenre. Tim Arnold Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Publisher's Weekly
Stewart's (The Adventures of a Nose) mixed media art is as winsome, witty and wacky as Carroll's tongue-tripping poem, which first appeared in the pages of Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There in 1872. The opening spread features the entire poem on one page, opposite a sepia-toned, Edward Gorey-esque portrait of a boy dancing on the arm of the chair in which his proper father sits holding a large open book on his lap. A flip of the page catapults readers into the land of the Jabberwock (" 'Twas brillig...), in living color. The verse continues, line by line: vest-wearing, long-tailed "slithy toves" frolic among the trees and blue-beak-nosed "borogoves" swing peacefully in hammocks while fairy-like "mome raths outgrabe" (or play musical instruments, according to Stewart's interpretation). Signs posted on trees ("Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!") as well as a background image of the w ide-mouthed villain, with red-and-white striped tail and lips, hint at the trouble to come. Alas, the cherubic child from the opening portrait, here bedecked in striped pantaloons and helmet, uses his sword masterfully to slay the creature (who turns out to be robotic, not flesh and blood). The young hero then goes "galumphing back" to celebrate with the slithy toves before nodding off with the borogoves, as narrative and visuals return to their idyllic starting point. A fittingly fanciful interpretation of this classic nonsense verse. (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.