Too Tall Alice: 02/20/09

Alice in Too Tall Alice by Barbara Worton is "four inches taller than the other eight-year-old girls at the Cherry Tree School." She's the girl who has to stand in the back with the boys during picture day and all she wants it to be like all the other girls.

Alice of course gets her wish and not by eating a cake, drinking a magic potion or eating the right parts of a mushroom as her Wonderland counterpart does. For this Alice, the wish comes true during rainstorm when she wakes up in a land of Amazons. For the first time in her life, she's the short one.

The message of Too Tall Alice is to enjoy yourself, whatever size or shape you are. Alice gets a chance to see her potential to be whatever or whomever she wants to be. It's a nice sentiment but it leaves me wanting more. Too Tall Alice has some cute moments but the message of self acceptance drowns out many of the chances at subtle humor.

I read Too Tall Alice because my mother was the tallest kid in her classes and she shared her stories with me. I didn't end up as tall and have to admit to sometimes being jealous of the five inches she has on me. Then I married into a family where I'm just about average height, although my husband, his brother and their father are the tallest by far.

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