Alice with a Why by Anna James

June 2025

Anna James is a favourite author in our house. The first book in her Pages & Co series, Tilly and the Book Wanderers, will always be considered one of those very special books that made my younger daughter a reader. Since she also adores Alice in Wonderland (with a special request for me to make a Cheshire Cat cake for her 7th birthday), she’s sure to enjoy Alice with a Why as well. At 15, I know she’ll love the nostalgia of this story as much as I did.

(She has a twin brother so of course the other half of the cake is Pokemon.)

It’s 1919. Alyce (with a y) is living with her grandmother – also Alice. Her father, a wonderful inventor and naval engineer, died in the Great War leaving a huge gap in his place. Alyce’s mother has gone to look after her own mother and taken baby Archimedes with her. Their home, once a bustling war hospital, is now quiet without all the soldiers to chat with. Her grandmother used to tell them all so many imaginative stories of things that happened to her when she was young but now a sadness has settled in and there are no more stories.

One day, Alyce is chatting with her grandmother’s cat, Dinah, and making paper boats to help her remember her father, when she comes across a strange invitation to tea from “MH, MM and D”. It looks like it’s addressed to ‘Alice’ – which Alyce knows must be her grandmother. A mishap on the pond causes Alyce to sink into a magical world.

In this new world, nothing makes sense. A series of unusual characters talking in rhymes and riddles set Alyce on a quest to find the “Time Being” and stop the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. At each stage of her journey, she hears stories of a previous Alice who did so many amazing things and discovers just how amazing she is as well.

Alice with a Why is a wonderfully modern twist on a well-loved classic story. There is a joy in understanding the literary references and being ‘in the know’ as old favourites like the Mad Hatter, the mock turtle and the caterpillar perched on his mushroom greet Alyce and set her next challenge. Through each short, engaging chapter, Anna James beautifully captures Lewis Carroll’s fast-paced, haphazard style. Poems, songs, questions and clues push through Alyce’s sadness to reveal the joy of words, unique friendship and the secrets of her grandmother’s past. Readers will find themselves immersed in this delightful exploration of language as they attempt to puzzle out the answers and help Alyce find her way home.

Thank you to Harper Collins Children’s Books and NetGalley for an early read of this fantastic book!

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