Alice Vs. The Time Warp Trio

How might young readers respond to and benefit from reading Alice in Wonderland and "Summer Reading is Killing Me"?

I think young readers would enjoy the fun of both stories. Alice involves such turn around talking that it could be confusing, but has a fun flow and I think that young readers, children who know the story from movies could really enjoy Alice's adventures and wandering. As I said elsewhere, I don't think teens would take to Alice very much because I feel that they might feel condescended to when they're told Alice's reasoning for thinking things or even just following Alice herself as the girl tries to sound much wiser than she is at times and that could get annoying. Most people can still relate to Alice though in theory. We've all been in positions where we had no idea what was going on and felt like the rest of the world knew exactly what it was about.

With the Time Warp Trio, I think it's more contemporary and would be easier for anyone to get into. The language is plain and easy to flow with. The three boys are easy to relate to yourself or your friends. Even you you aren't the Joe, we all know a Sam and Fred. Kids can read this and feel connected to the characters, but in this particular one they can also meet characters that could draw them to other books in an easy and safe way. The Girl character that combines so many is brave and where this seems like a set of books that young girls could also be interested in though it's aimed at boys, that character is a perfect set up to draw them to other books series and classics as well.

AS Carrie's reply to this suggests, I wish that everyone, like you (though you're already a fantasy fan) got that this stuff IS fun.
I need to remind myself to change that "young readers" to "independent readers." :-)
On the Alice/Scieszka (language) thing, think it's a matter of the Alice books being Victorian? Seen charcters like Alice anywhere else in the fantasy lit? On the language/appeal of the Alice books, might those independent readers (or younger) benefit from the nonsense stuff?
LOL on the paranoid thing here.
Good on why contemporary readers might relate more easily to the Sciezka, and good (as Carrie notes) on the Girl as hero, but what I ike best and would like to hear more about is how the story might draw readers to other books--and how about the humor in this?

Pretend you're a middle to high school teacher or that (if you don't) you have kids old enough to read these. Which of these two works would you cover in your classroom or your kids? What would be your objectives? Activities?

Young adults in this day and age I don’t think would take well to Alice in Wonderland as it is. Perhaps in another format, but not the original story I feel. The language and attitude toward children reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia with how it addresses the child’s mind. It’s a manner of explaining what the child was thinking or their reasons for acting as they have that I liked as an adult but was always unsure about as a teen because I would think “No, I know this character and I know why they are doing this. Why are you telling me?” But it’s for that sake I lean toward the Time Warp Trio. I’m unsure though whether this is an example of modern children’s thinking or the dumbing down of children’s literature because I just feel that Alice should be introduced to a child when they are younger, maybe elementary school. Also while I feel Alice is classic, I think teens especially tend to like more contemporary novels, just looking at what’s popular today can indicate that.
I also feel that “Summer Reading Is Killing Me” is a great segway into more advanced novels and any reader would get excited when they recognize a character from other readings! They not only involved classic characters, but also the kids from the Wayside School which was a favorite of mine in youth and the concept of “The Girl” blending together for them was sort of hilarious. As a female reader though, I would have liked to see novels that The Girl’s various faces actually came from on that reading list included at the end of the story. As much as I loved to read,m I used to hate summer/assigned reading because I didn’t like being forced to read, but books have become more fun over the years and schools are more open I feel.

On dumbing down: the Alice books appeal to different readers differently at different ages, and a lot of fantasy-loving teems, tweens and younger independent readers were exposed to fantasy through them; fewer since Harry Potter.
Why do you feel "Summer Reading" might lead young readers to read more advanced fiction?
Do you think you might've enjoyed summer reading more had you read this story to prepare for it? Why or why not?