How stories can transport a reader to a world of pure imagination

Fred Thompson meets Millie & Selena. Illustration ©Jeffrey Lindberg from “Coney - a Trip to Luna Park.”

I love fantasy stories. Tales like the “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” or “Through the Looking-Glass”, which would transport me to a place of pure imagination. Yes, that is a quote from another famous fantasy story, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, although the “pure imagination” words are from the original movie song. I don’t remember if those exact words are in the book by Roald Dahl, but the intent is the same. Most of these stories start out in an every day setting, a farmhouse in Kansas, an English garden or a normal city filled with average people.

Willie Wonka (Gene Wilder) in the tunnel that his took his visitors deeper into the candy factory.

But how do we travel to another world? Whether it’s the moon, deep under the sea or a place that only exists over the rainbow, there has to be a conveyance. A way to get there. Alice simply follows a white rabbit and falls down a rabbit hole! Or she walks right through the mirror and encounters an inverted world. Dorothy gets swept up by a hurricane, house and all, and crash lands in Oz. Charlie needed to find the golden ticket, a special invitation for the select few lucky children! Then Willie Wonka provided the magic, which was a world of his own inventions.

Left: Illustration for “Through the Looking-Glass” Lewis Carroll Illustration by John Tenniel
Right: For “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” L. Frank Baum. Illustration by W.W. Denslow

I have worked for many years as an illustrator creating images for book covers. But I always wanted to write an original story, to illustrate a book that was my own creation.

I created this illustration a while ago, partly to develop new rendering techniques, but also to depict a concept that I had in my head for a fantasy story. Although I didn’t realize it then, this image began my journey that led to my creating “Coney - A Trip to Luna Park.”
Illustration © Jeffrey Lindberg Acrylic, airbrush and oils on masonite board

So how can we transport to another place? Since cyclones, rabbit holes and golden tickets have already been used I needed another “vehicle.” I then remembered my fascination with fairground architecture. The design aesthetic that makes up the visual fantasy of fairgrounds and amusement parks had always fascinated me. I thought of roller coasters. Dark rides taking us through twisting corridors. I started researching amusement parks and I realized the place where it all began… Coney Island!

Fred Thompson, creator and designer of Luna Park, Coney Island ca. 1903. I love to see him surrounded by what look to be concept sketches and artwork.

I learned that the architect and creator for Luna Park in Coney Island in 1904 was Fred Thompson. He had a vision for a new park that would appeal to the child in both adults and children. Fred Thompson used the expression the “little cellar door” of childhood, which is a metaphor for a dark place where someone would be thrilled and excited. He designed his rides like the “Trip to the Moon” to generate that thrill of flying into outer space.

The Trip to the Moon Luna Park, Coney Island ca. 1903

Double page illustration for “Coney - A Trip to Luna Park” depicting the trip to the moon ride in 1904. ©Jeffrey Lindberg

Luna Park was essentially the first “theme park” in history. Fred Thompson’s concepts of building a place that would appeal to the “child in all of us”, creating architecture that was unlike anything seen before, the rides that would allow people to escape for just a few hours, taking a break from the city. This was the fantasy place that I began to write about, where rabbits ran free and the people from the big city were just beginning to come to the shore.

Disney dark ride on the left, unknown “spooky” ride on the right

My fantasy story became about a place that was real, back in the early 20th century. A rabbit became the main character in the story. I was very much aware of the metaphor of the rabbit hole as a place of transformation. Lewis Carroll used it in Alice in Wonderland, and Fred Thompson referred to the “secret door of childhood”, which essentially is the same thing. This must have been in my mind when I imagined a special way for Selena in Coney to enter Luna Park. I created a special door is to be her own private entrance into Luna Park, anytime she wants. And it says, “The Magic Starts Here.”

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