Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue

Reading Check

1. What is the title of the book Reverend Charles Dodgson gives Alice?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Alice’s reaction to the book she receives? Why does she react the way she does?

Part 1, Chapters 1-9

Reading Check

1. What is the name of Genevieve’s evil sister?

2. What are the two kinds of Imagination in Wonderland?

3. What is the gift Alyss receives from an unknown sender?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the Heart Crystal?

2. Why is Bibwit Harte worried about Alyss’s education?

3. Who is Dodge Anders?

4. What was Redd’s motivation for starting the previous war?

Paired Resource

“6 Types of Heroes in Literature”

• This article explores 6 common hero archetypes across different genres of literature and media. The “6 Types of Heroes in Literature” section at the top of the article provides helpful definitions and examples of each archetype.
• This resource will prompt students to consider heroic characters in the novel, analyze how the author uses archetypes to characterize key protagonists, and make predictions on the development of the characters’ narrative roles.
• It will also prepare students to examine themes of good and evil in the novel and The Importance of Emotional Balance in Using Forces of Creation and Destruction
• Which hero archetypes apply to characters like Alyss, Queen Genevieve, and Dodge?

“8 Villain Archetypes”

• This article explores 8 common villain archetypes as seen in literature and popular media. The “8 Villain Archetypes” section at the top provides helpful definitions and examples of each archetype.
• This resource will prompt students to consider villainous characters in the novel, analyze how the author uses archetypes to characterize key antagonists, and make predictions on the development of the characters’ narrative roles.
• Which villain archetypes do you think apply to characters like Redd, the Cat, and Jack of Diamonds?

Part 1, Chapters 10-18

Reading Check

1. What do Hatter and Alyss use to escape Wonderland?

2. Where do Hatter and Alyss each land in our world?

3. What is the name of the family that adopts Alyss?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Alyss discover about her imaginative powers? How does it change her outlook?

2. Why is Alyss upset when Miss Prickett misspells her name?

Paired Resource

“Finding Alice's Wonderland in Oxford” by Charlie Lovett

• Charlie Lovett, a prominent Carrollian scholar, documents his journey to significant places in Dodgson’s creative process for Alice in Oxford, England. (Subscription may be needed for viewing.)
• Lovett interweaves historical context and scholarly commentary into a cohesive account of the lives of Charles Dodgson and Alice Liddell and their shared history, accompanied by photos of places and figures that informed Dodgson’s imaginings of Wonderland.
• While possibly too long for students to read in its entirety, excerpts will provide students with historical context on the relationship between the real-life Dodgson and Alice Liddell and will give more context and visual references for places and events mentioned in the novel.
• What are some real-life events, places, and people Beddor incorporates in the novel? How does Beddor use historical context and allusion to enhance the setting, advance the plot, and develop characters?

Part 2, Chapters 19-22

Reading Check

1. What do the resistance fighters in Wonderland call themselves?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Wonderland change under Redd’s rule?

2. How do Alyss’s self-perspective and identity change after the incident with Dodgson? What are some of the outer changes she displays?

Part 2, Chapters 23-30

Reading Check

1. What is the name of Alice’s fiancé?

2. From whom does Hatter learn the location of Alice’s engagement party?

3. Who is the stranger that dances with Alice at the masquerade?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Alice not interested in any of the men who pursue her?

2. Why do Generals Doppel and Gӓnger decide to attend Redd’s proposed summit?

3. What is Alice’s reaction to seeing the Cat at her wedding ceremony?

Paired Resource

Photo of Alice Liddell by Charles Dodgson-- June 25th, 1870

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art website displays a digital reproduction of Dodgson's photo of Alice Liddell on her 18th birthday, along with a brief background. A scene where Dodgson takes this very photo of Alice is depicted in the novel; this resource will help students connect primary historical sources and the events referenced in the novel.
• What does Alice Liddell’s body language tell you about how she may have felt when Dodgson took the photograph? How does Beddor use the allusion to the photo to characterize Alice’s relationship with Dodgson in the novel? How does Beddor use the historical context to suggest an answer to why the Liddell family abruptly distanced themselves from Dodgson?

Part 3, Chapters 31-37

Reading Check

1. What must Alyss successfully pass through to unlock her full powers?

2. What is in the case that Jack sneaks into the Alyssian camp?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Alyss realize about her feelings for the Liddells?

2. What is Alyss’s reaction to seeing the ruins of Heart Palace?

Paired Resource

“Impact of War on Children's Mental Health” by the War Childhood Museum

• The War Childhood Museum of Bosnia’s mission is to document the previously under-explored experiences of children who grow up during war. This article explains the impacts of war on the childhood psyche, citing findings from research studies to discuss the complexity of wartime trauma. 
• The text includes mentions of wartime violence, trauma, and mental health conditions; this article may be used as a teacher resource (not student-facing).
• While not overly academic, the article may be challenging for some students; it may be beneficial to use excerpts or paraphrases in more accessible terms.
• This resource will prepare students to make connections to character development, character foils, and themes of the Importance of Emotional Balance in the novel.
• How do Alyss’s and Dodge’s perspectives on Redd and the war in Wonderland differ? What motivates Alyss and Dodge, respectively? How does the comparison between Dodge and Alyss support the theme of the Importance of Emotional Balance in the novel?

Part 3, Chapters 38-45

Reading Check

1. What creature do Alyss and the others encounter in the Volcanic Plains?

2. Where is the Looking Glass Maze located?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Alyss defend the group from the cannonball spider in the Crystal Continuum?

2. What does Alyss realize is the key to successfully using her imagination again?

Part 3, Chapters 46-49

Reading Check

1. Who leads Alyss and the others to the puzzle shop?

2. What form does the key to the Looking Glass Maze take?

3. What object does Alyss retrieve from the Maze after passing the trial?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Alyss respond the first time she sees Redd in the Looking Glass Maze?

2. What must Alyss learn to pass the trials of the Looking Glass Maze?

Paired Resource

Grand Valley State University Library's Guide to the Hero's Journey

• This library guide from Grand Valley State University overviews Joseph Campbell’s popularized “Hero’s Journey” plot framework.
• This resource will enable students to connect a common literary framework to plot structure and character development in the novel.
• Can the Looking Glass Maze trial be considered Alyss’s Supreme Ordeal? How does this event reflect a symbolic rebirth for her? What Reward does she gain from this experience?

Part 3, Chapters 50-56

Reading Check

1. Who appears to Alyss in the mirror in the novel’s final scene?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Dodge leave the group as they enter Mount Isolation?

2. How does Redd escape Alyss?

Recommended Next Reads 

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

• Barry and Pearson re-imagine the story of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Framed as a prequel to Barrie’s works, the novel explores the iconic character of Peter and how he first came to Never Land.
• Shared topics include re-imagined fairy tales, coming of age, growing up, power, good and evil, the value of community, and embracing responsibility.
• Shared themes include Belief as a Tool of Empowerment and Identity and Responsibility Beyond the Individual.
• Peter and the Starcatchers on SuperSummary

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

• Westerfeld re-imagines the precipitating events of World War I in an alternate, steampunk fantasy world. The protagonists, Alek and Deryn, hide secrets as they navigate an ideological war between nature and technology.
• Shared topics include the impact of war, dichotomously opposed forces, coming of age, identity, and re-imagined settings.
• Shared themes include Identity and Responsibility Beyond the Individual.