Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed The Wizard of Oz (Illustrated Junior Library) on + 1176 more book reviews
It's the Wizard of Oz! What can I say? I have meant to read this book for years. The movie with Judy Garland is of course a favorite that I have seen umpteen times ever since it was broadcast on TV every year starting back in the 1960s. Then I just recently read Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts, a very enjoyable fictionalized account of Maud Baum and her marriage to Frank Baum, the author of Oz. I liked it so much that I decided I had to read The Wizard of Oz ASAP! And I'm glad I finally did.
The novel differs in many ways from the movie but the gist of the story remains the same. Dorothy is whisked from Kansas to Oz after she and her house are sucked up into a cyclone. The munchkins are there and direct her to seek out the wizard by following the yellow brick road to the Emerald City where she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion along the way. A few differences are that the wicked witch's shoes are silver, not ruby; the emerald city is not green but appears so because of green spectacles, the wizard changes appearances for each visitor, and Dorothy has some further adventures after the wizard sails off in his balloon. She travels south to seek out Glinda and encounters the city of china where the occupants are small china figures that are able to move but are readily broken. Glinda rules over the Quadlings in the south and the flying monkeys end up being life saving to the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. But Dorothy is still able to return home by clicking the heels of her silver shoes together three times.
I really enjoyed this for what it is, a fable from the imagination of Baum written for children. He went on to write many more Oz books which I probably will never read but this one should really be read and enjoyed by all.
The novel differs in many ways from the movie but the gist of the story remains the same. Dorothy is whisked from Kansas to Oz after she and her house are sucked up into a cyclone. The munchkins are there and direct her to seek out the wizard by following the yellow brick road to the Emerald City where she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion along the way. A few differences are that the wicked witch's shoes are silver, not ruby; the emerald city is not green but appears so because of green spectacles, the wizard changes appearances for each visitor, and Dorothy has some further adventures after the wizard sails off in his balloon. She travels south to seek out Glinda and encounters the city of china where the occupants are small china figures that are able to move but are readily broken. Glinda rules over the Quadlings in the south and the flying monkeys end up being life saving to the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. But Dorothy is still able to return home by clicking the heels of her silver shoes together three times.
I really enjoyed this for what it is, a fable from the imagination of Baum written for children. He went on to write many more Oz books which I probably will never read but this one should really be read and enjoyed by all.
