We’ve got a Literary Salon scheduled for this coming Monday and I’m featuring Lewis Carroll’s arguably most famous poem, “Jabberwocky.” I plan to try to do all of the following, but haven’t yet decided on the order.
Give the kids copies of the original poem as illustrated by John Tenniel for us to read aloud together.

And then perhaps read them Humpty-Dumpty’s explanation (both the poem and the explanation are in Alice Through the Looking-Glass).

I will show them some other illustrated versions including most likely:
Nick Bantock’s pop-up:

One by Graeme Base:

Another (this one with dioramas) by Base:

This one by Joel Stewart:

And perhaps (because I think it is probably too old for them) this one done by Stephane Jorisch:

I will read them a few of the parodies in Jabberland: A Whiffle Through the Tulgey Wood of Jabberwocky Imitations compiled by Hilda Bohem and edited by Dayna McCausland.

And then we will have some guest readers, a colleague and several of her students are coming to read aloud to us their Jabberwocky parodies!
I’ll then invite my students to illustrate and/or write their own parodies for a follow-up.
Whew. No way will I be able to do it all! I’ll let you know what I do get to and how the kids react in Part 2.
If you want more, more, more, check out Glorious Nonsense-Jabberwocky, The Last Mimzy, “Mimsy were the Brogoves”, Jabberwocky (the movie), Jabberwacky, and Jabberwocky Variations as a start (or an end).
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