Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Character List

The Amusing and Bizarre Characters of Alice in Wonderland

Was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland also known as Alice in Wonderland your favorite fantasy of your childhood?  For many of us, it certainly was.  Didn’t we follow that rabbit down his hole along with Alice into that marvelous fantasyland, the world of Wonderland?  As our mind’s wandered into this fantastical journey wondering whether Alice will ever get back home, we got to know Alice and became acquainted with all those ridiculous and bizarre Alice in Wonderland characters.

The Alice in Wonderland Character List 

  

·         Alice:  Alice is a highly imaginative seven-year-old English girl who loves to show off her knowledge.  She at times may make remarks that upset the Wonderland creatures, but she is always interested in others and polite.  Lewis Caroll describes Alice as being “Loving, first, loving and gentle” and “gentle as a fawn; then courteous – courteous to all”.

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·         White Rabbit:  A White Rabbit wearing a waistcoat takes out the watch in his pocket and mutters, “Oh dear! Oh Dear! I shall be late!”  Being curious, Alice is led down the rabbit hole as she follows him.  Being very nervous, the White Rabbit is always in a big hurry.  However, he is a confident character who was brave enough to actually contradict the King of Hearts.  Since Alice always follows him, he unintentionally acts as a kind of guide for Alice throughout Wonderland.

·         Caterpillar: Alice meets the Caterpillar for the first time when he is sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah.  He isn’t a very friendly fellow and is quite strict.  As Alice recites a poem, he is quick to correct her.  However, he does show her some kindness by helping her by giving her advice.   He tells her the way to change her size, if she needs to, is to eat the mushroom.  

·         Cheshire Cat: The Cheshire Cat is the Duchess’s cat.  When Alice leaves the home of the Duchess, she meets the cat where she finds it in a tree.  Constantly grinning and disappearing and then reappearing makes it a rather amusing character.  Funnier still, it actually sometimes disappears but leaves behind its grin.  However, it is the only character who actually listens to Alice.  He also gives Alice insight by teaching her how things work down the rabbit hole and the Wonderland rules.  Additionally, when the cat meets Alice in the forest, it warns her of the mental instability of the Mad Hatter.

·         Mad Hatter: The Mad Hatter seems to be insane and presumably is thought to be a hat maker.  His insanity is due to his losing his mind caused by a number of conflicts with the queen of Wonderland.  These conflicts left him unsure of time’s passage and badly shaken.

 He attended a highly disordered tea party where he displayed rude manners and recited riddles in an attempt to challenge and confuse the members.  He is especially rude to Alice and provokes her during the tea party.  Being called upon by the Queen makes him frightened and nervous.

·         Queen of Hearts: When Alice finally enters the beautiful garden, she meets the Queen of Hearts.  The queen rules all of Wonderland and is a tyrant by being authoritative, dominant and violent.  One of her favorite things to do is to play croquet using live flamingoes and hedgehogs as balls and mallets.  She only likes to play when she wins, and she does so by her own rules.  When she doesn’t like something, she will order the beheading of people.  However, no one ever carries out these orders.  It is no wonder she is feared by all the inhabitants of Wonderland.  This is because of her explosive nature and total lack of patience.

Do you know that the literary masterpiece Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published 150 years ago? As one of the most famous nineteenth-century children’s books of fantasy, it created a wonderfully imaginative world for children to just let their minds wander into.  Its fantasy and utter silliness makes it an outstanding reading experience for children and adults as well.  Actually, it is great for people of all ages.  To learn more about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland visit Books on the Wall. at: https://booksonthewall.com/shop/product/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/.

 

Your Child Can Do Magic With Water.

GRAVITY FREE WATER OR MAGIC TRICK

What goes up must come down?  Is that true?  Have your child find out by using a glass filled with water and turned upside down.  All he or she will need is a piece of cardboard and a little air pressure.

What your child will need:

• A glass of water filled to the tippy top

• A piece of cardboard

Instructions:

• Make sure the glass is filled to overflowing.
• Slide the cardboard over the mouth of the glass and make sure no bubbles or air enters the glass as you hold the cardboard over the top of the glass.
• Turn the glass over and upside down.It is best to do this over a sink or outside.
• Take away your hand that is holding the cardboard.
• Guess what?The water did not fall out and the cardboard did not fall.

What happened?

Defying gravity, the water stays in place.  Why?  Since there is no air inside the glass, the outside air pressure is greater than the water pressure inside the glass.  The air pressure actually holds the cardboard in place and the water inside the glass.

A Short Story for a Young Child

Courage the Cowardly Dog

                 

Out of the forest runs Otto the squirrel.  Otto sees Courage, the cowardly dog, slowly walking to school licking a great big red lollipop.    “Oh boy,” says Otto to himself, “that lollipop will make a great treat for me to eat.  All the animals in the forest know Courage is a coward!”

Otto walks over to Courage and says, “I’m very hungry and I want your lollipop!  Give it to me or I will punch you.  All the animals in the forest know you are a coward.”  Courage quickly hands him the lollipop.

Now Courage, the cowardly dog, has a bag of cookies hidden in his fur.  He takes out a big chocolate chip cookie and begins to eat it as he walks to school.

Out of the forest hops Ploppy, a little bunny.   “Oh boy, says Ploppy to himself, “that cookie will make a great treat for me to eat.  All the animals in the forest know Courage is a coward!”

Ploppy walks over to Courage, the cowardly dog, and says, “I’m hungry and I want your cookie.  Give it to me or I will hop on your head so hard you will have a big bump that will hurt.” Courage gives Ploppy the cookie.

Out of the forest runs Squeaky, a cute little mouse, and a great big lion chasing him.  “I’m hungry and I when I catch you, you will be a nice treat,” roars the lion.

“Oh no you won’t you big bully,” shouts Courage.  Quickly, Courage jumps onto the lion’s nose and bites it with all his strength.

“Ow!” cries the lion.  Off jumps Courage and back into the forest runs the lion.

All the animals now know that Courage is not a cowardly dog, but the bravest of all the animals.

Children's Experiment Creating a Volcano

VINEGAR AND BAKING SODA VOLCANO

Vinegar and baking soda are all that is needed to create an awe-inspiring chemical reaction!  Watch it briskly fizz over the container!

What your child will need:

• Baking Soda
• Cloth or Paper Towels
• Plastic Container

Instructions:

• The child should begin by placing some baking soda into the container.
• After that, he or she should pour some vinegar into the baking soda in the container.
• Now, watch the reaction!  

What Happened?

The mixing of the baking soda which is a base with the vinegar which is an acid causes a reaction forming carbonic acid that is very unstable.  It instantaneously separates into water and carbon dioxide.  This creates a huge fizzing reaction as it escapes the solution.  For a more realistic looking volcano, the child can use some craft skills to build a volcano form that will make his or her eruptions more extraordinary!

Your Child Can Build a Lava Lamp

Your Child Can Build a Lava Lamp

Your child can easily build a lava lamp with a fun, science experiment using simple household items such as food coloring, Alka-Seltzer, vegetable oil and a bottle.  Funky balls of color moving around like a real lava lamp are created by chemical reactions.

What your child will need:

• Clear plastic bottle
• Vegetable oil
• Water
• Alka-Seltzer or tablets that fizz

Instructions:

• Fill the plastic bottle about one quarter full with water.
• Pour vegetable oil into the water in the bottle until it is almost full.
• Wait a short time until the water and oil have separated.
• Add about a dozen drops of any color food coloring to the bottle.
• Observe the food coloring falling through the oil and mixing with the water.
• Cut a tablet of Alka-Seltzer into five or six smaller pieces and drop one piece into the bottle. Watch the action start up as it appears to be a real lava lamp!If and when the bubbling stops, add another Alka-Seltzer piece.

What happened?

Guess water and oil do not mix very well!  The oil and water the child added to the bottle separated from one another, and the oil rose to the top because of its lower density than water.  Falling through the oil, the food coloring you added mixes with the water at the bottom.  The piece of Alka-Seltzer your child added releases small carbon dioxide bubbles of gas.  These rise to the top and bring some colored water with them.  When the gas reaches the top, it escapes and the colored water falls down.  The citric acid and sodium bicarbonate in the Alka-Seltzer causes it to fizz.  The reaction of the two with water form sodium nitrate and carbon dioxide gas bubbles that carry the colored water to the top.  Your child has created a lava lamp!

A FUN SCIENCE ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN

WATER MICROSCOPIC CREATURES

A project to amaze a child with simple water.  A child will be astonished with the presence of interesting creatures that are found in water.  The dirtier the water; the more creatures.  Water that is found in ponds or near plants are chunk full of these weird creatures.  Have your child take some samples and then view them under a microscope.  It can also be interesting for the child to compare the water from your tap with the water found in a pond or around plants.

What the child will need:

• A dropper
• A microscope
• A concave slide
• Various, different samples of water: tap water, muddy water, pond water, etc.Great places to take samples are near plants or in mud since they often contain lots of microorganisms.

Instructions:

• Set up your microscope to its highest setting.
• With the dropper, the child should take water from one of his or her samples and place a drop on the concave slide.Then, the child should focus the microscope to search for microorganisms.If none are found in the first sample and the child has checked that the microscope is in focus, the child should try another water sample.The child can then continue to view each of the different water samples.

What will your child see?

• Protozoa
• Algae
• Euglena
• Amoebas
• Brine Shrimp or Worms

The child will be amazed seeing these creatures move!