The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

Fantasy has long been associated with children’s literature. Though the genre enjoys broad appeal and relative acceptance today, when it emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was seen as unserious and thus suitable primarily for children, who supposedly did not yet have the intellectual capacity to grapple with realist literature. Even today, it is precisely fantasy’s fantastical elements that some argue make the genre particularly appropriate to young readers—the difference being that those elements are now more likely to be praised for demonstrating The Value of Developing and Maintaining Imagination than disparaged as frivolous (Flanagan, Victoria. “Children’s Fantasy Literature: Why Escaping Reality Is Good for Kids.” The Conversation, 2 Mar. 2014). 

Whangdoodles has much in common with other canonical fantasy novels for children, including some that helped popularize the genre, such as Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Similar to the Potter children, Alice, who is around Lindy’s age, goes on a fantastical adventure. Unlike the siblings, Alice doesn’t have an adult to guide her, and she makes a series of mistakes, such as drinking a potion that shrinks her and eating a cake that makes her extremely tall. Moreover, unlike the Whiffle Bird in Whangdoodles, none of the creatures Alice encounters are helpful. They’re chaotic and confusing, and as with the Oinck, interactions with them are often nonsensical. Both journeys end with the characters meeting royalty: Savant and the children meet the Whangdoodle, and Alice sees the Queen of Hearts. However, while the Whangdoodle is friendly, the Queen is vicious, threatening to behead Alice. Perhaps the most notable difference involves the novel’s conclusions: Alice’s journey turns out to have been a dream, whereas the Potter children truly experienced Whangdoodleland due to their developed imaginations.

Another fantasy novel for children that has much in common with Whangdoodles is Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964). Willy Wonka and Samuel Savant both play on the eccentric genius archetype. Wonka separates himself from people to focus on running and maintaining his extraordinary chocolate factory, while Savant secludes himself to focus on his studies and imagination, telling the Potter children, “I do hate to be bothered. I need a lot of peace and quiet when I’m working” (29). Moreover, both narratives begin when the secluded characters seek company: Wonka opens his factory to five children, and Savant starts training the Potter children so they can accompany him to Whangdoodleland. In addition, the tones of both novels are didactic. Savant explicitly teaches the Potters, and Wonka instructs the children by jettisoning the children who showcase negative traits. Dahl and Andrews use the fantasy genre to provide their young readers with practical lessons.