Alice of Wonderfarm Goes to the Races

Christine Linge is a past director of the Toronto & District Parent
Co-operative Preschool Corporation and a freelance writer.

Alice the collie lives at Wonderfarm. She is big-hearted, helpful, and
well-spoken (politely explaining difficult words). When she “goes to
the races,” her friend Painted Dog (a Dalmation) tells Alice that
Gumper the harness horse is destined for the glue factory for
(playfully) nipping his owner. With the help of brainy Murphy the Cat,
they attempt to disguise Gumper as a scarecrow (he eats the corn) and as
a cow (who can’t be milked). They then enlist the vet’s help
(animals speak to humans as equals) to transport Gumper to the race to
prove his worth. The race announcer’s account of Gumper’s winning
the race, ridden by a large cat and driven by two dogs, is some of
Nelles’s funniest writing.

In Alice of Wonderfarm Saves the Drumlin, Alice and company strive to
prevent a drumlin from being bulldozed, because Deer is raising her fawn
there. Following several attempts to stop the Big Machine (Skunk’s and
Bee’s efforts are particularly effective), teamwork and ingenuity
triumph once again; Alice convinces the mayor to grind up tires to pave
the roads, thus saving the hill and eliminating a dump. Even with this
strong environmental message, Nelles’s tone is light and her images
fanciful as the story builds to its funny climax.

Every facing page features Nelles’s charmingly naive watercolors,
which range from serene to hilarious. In harmony with her simple
narrative, developed largely through dialogue, the effect is gentle
rib-tickling tales that will appeal to readers of all ages. Recommended.