Children's fantasy book- can't locate

Question

My grandma used to read me a picture book. It was about ten years ago.

I believe it was a rather new book at that time. Kind of the same story line as Alice in Wonderland, but less fantasy than that story. Thinking about it now, it didn't seem very appropriate for children. The toddler is sitting out on the lawn with her mother, and I think the sun makes her sick, or weak.

Then she either falls asleep, and dreams of this fantasy land, or it's even possible she dies, and it's a form of Heaven. It wasn't clear at the end of the book if she was still alive. The only detail I remember of the fantasy land is that she walked through a cave. The illustrations were very realistic, nothing like the flashiness and bright colors of Alice in Wonderland.

Answer 1

As this is a very old question, I'll throw my comment out as an answer, even though I might be wrong.

The OP might be talking about one of many adaptations of the story of Hades and Persephone from greek mythology.

Demeter absolutely loved her child with Zeus, Persephone. She never wanted her daughter to grow up, and always dressed her as a child, even as she was growing up.

As you might know, Hades fell in love with Persephone. He takes her to the underworld, makes her queen and actually treats here as an equal and co-ruler. He creates the Elysium fields for her.

If she ate anything in the underworld, she'd have to stay. She finally gives in and eats 6 pomegranate seeds.

In the meantime, Demeter has plunged the earth into cold and infertility. Demeter swears the earth will remain so until her daughter is returned.

Since Persephone ate in the Underworld, she can't leave entirely. since it was only 6 seeds, Hades lets her leave to be with her mother. The eventual deal is one month with Hades as his Queen for each seed per year, creating winter. The remaining 6, Persephone is with her mother Demeter, creating summer.

This would cover almost everything you bring up. 2 worlds coinciding. A cave, Mother and daughter the sunlight. Kind of a children's story, but not really.

Of course you could spend days narrowing it down to the specific book, but I would bet this is the story.