"Lewis Carroll did a lot to revolutionize the field of children's literature," Jan Susina noted. "In the 19th century, most stories for kids were very moralistic or industructive. Carroll's Alice tales were pure fantasy, fun and entertainment. Children and adults alike loved the stories, and their popularity and commercial success helped to legitimize children's literature as an important and marketable genre."
That quotation is from me in the article "The Importance of Alice" by Eric Jome that was recently published in American Conceirge Magazine. Thanks to Eric for interviewing me and writing the feature about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and how I link the classic book to contemporary trends in children's literature and culture. Of course, we discussed in detail the 2010 Alice film directed by Tim Burton, but I also talked about Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, Beatrix Potter, and Mark Twain. Download the .pdf to see how they all fit together.
The Illinois State University English Department has featured the article in its "In the News" website page. Thanks for that recognition.