To add the finishing touches, he researched natural history for the animals presented in the book, and then had the book examined by other children—particularly the children of George MacDonald. He added his own illustrations but approached John Tenniel to illustrate the book for publication, telling him that the story had been well liked by children.[8]

On 26 November 1864, he gave Alice the handwritten manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, with illustrations by Dodgson himself, dedicating it as "A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer's Day".[9] Some, including Martin Gardner, speculate that there was an earlier version that was destroyed later by Dodgson when he wrote a more elaborate copy by hand.[10]

But before Alice received her copy, Dodgson was already preparing it for publication and expanding the 15,500-word original to 27,500 words,[11] most notably adding the episodes about the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Tea-Party.