L. Frank Baum

Jack Zipes

Flame Tree Studio

W. W. Denslow

Wonderful Wizard of Oz

After a cyclone transports her to the land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great wizard in order to return to Kansas.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Hana 

"Just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, I ordered them to build this City, and my Palace; and they did it all willingly and well. Then I thought, as the country was so green and beautiful, I would call it the Emerald City; and to make the name fit better I put green spectacles on all the people, so that everything they saw was green."

"Of course I cannot understand it," he said. "If your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in the beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It is fortunate for Kansas that you have brains."

"No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful.

Luca Stromann

“I see we are going to live a little while longer, and I am glad of it, for it must be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive. [...]"

"[...]; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn’t mind so much.”

“It must be inconvenient to be made of flesh,” said the Scarecrow thoughtfully, “for you must sleep, and eat and drink. However, you have brains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to think properly.”

“Certainly; that is why I know it,” returned the Scarecrow. “If it required brains to figure it out, I never should have said it.”

The Scarecrow listened carefully, and said, “I cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas.”

“That is because you have no brains” answered the girl. “No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.”

Travel to the land of Oz with Dorothy and find out what inspired the forthcoming film blockbuster Oz: The Great and Powerful

Monicap

The  wonderful Wizard of Oz

Sarah Sammis

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum was published in 1900 with Baum and the illustrator, William Wallace Denslow, sharing the costs. In 2000 to celebrate the book's centennial, the book was reissued to be a faithful reproduction of the 1900 edition (for better of worse).

Denslow, though, is not the illustrator most people think of when Oz is mentioned. John R. Neill took over the illustrations with the sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz (aka The Land of Oz) in 1904.

Yet, through the 1939 MGM musical more recently Wicked people know the story within this volume best. Dorothy escapes from her gray existence in equally gray Kansas via a tornado to the magical land of Oz. Her house lands on the Wicked Witch of East and Dorothy thus embarks on her quest to get home.

In the past I've always read the story in a copy I got as a child. It has the Denslow illustrations but not in the full cover extravaganza of the first edition and the 2000 reissue. Denslow may have been a good artist and Baum may have been a great storyteller but they were not good book designers. The black text against the emerald green swashes here and there render the story illegible.

For the book design problems, I am pulling my usual five star rating for the text down to three.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was written over the course of the late 1890s and finalized in 1899. It was published on May 17, 1900, right on the cusp of the close of one century and the opening of a new one. Six years ago, I read the century full color reprint with annotations by Michael Patrick Hearn. Let's just say I was unimpressed with the experience.

Since then, I've restarted my road narrative project I have been revisiting the Oz books. I actually started with The Road to Oz in graphic novel format (illustrated and adapted by Eric Shanower). That one features Dorothy and the Raggedy Man walking back to Oz from Kansas.

As my project has grown and I've come to better understand the American road narrative, I've come to realize all the Oz books I've read over the years qualify. So here I am back at the beginning to understand the origins of Oz.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

I loved this book so much and I realised how different it was to the film like in the book she goes more places and stops more than in the film and in the film she had red shoes rather than silver but anyway loved it fast paced.

Wizard of Oz (Aladdin Classics)

Laura Mauler

It was pretty good. The introduction to this edition talked about how the author had originally told this story aloud to the neighborhood kids, and that you can still see how the details and plot line are better suited to an oral tale. I agree completely, and I enjoyed the story best when I took the time to read it to myself with the inflections and phrasing that one would use if reading it aloud.

The Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie as a child, and I still adore it, so it was interesting to see the differences and the different creative directions they went with from this. I personally really liked this story. It was simple and clearly written for children, but I genuinely had an enjoyable time reading. I was a little horrified to read about the Tinman's horrid backstory, and these old children's stories always shock you a little. But, for real, what a shock.

Sarah Campbell

Lara Engle

Believe it or not, I've never read the Oz books before. I started reading this the night before we went to the Oz museum in Wamego, KS, thinking it would be good to have a greater familiarity with the book. The museum is fun, but mostly about movie trivia. Like most American children, I grew up watching the movie every year when they showed it on TV. I even had a year or so when a friend and I loved to watch Return to Oz over and over. We loved how creepy it was. To me, this book feels like a flavorful mixture of those two movies. It's sweet, but it's also adventurous and sometimes quite creepy. I like how it is an unabashed fantasy. It doesn't try to pretend Oz is a fever dream. It's just a faraway place across a desert with its own politics and wonders. Oz is a nice reminder that every place has its own magic, even if some of it is really just show.

Briar's Reviews

I have always wanted to jump back into the "classics", especially ones where other media has been created to celebrate the books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been on my horizon for many years, and I was lucky enough this year to find a copy! This book I binged in a day, and I won't lie... It was super cute! I can see why and how they changed the story for the Judy Garland film, and I'm highly impressed. It wasn't changed too much, and the movie added to this book. It feels like the kind of literature and movie pair you want - they are both fantastic and both have their own spice.

I will definitely be continuing on with this series, if I'm able to find the next books. I was only able to get my hands on the first, but I'll be chasing down the remaining books to see what happens to my friends in Oz. 

I think middle graders will be able to read this book easy, but it does have some topics that show it's age. If you can teach your children to understand why some of the views are more... interesting... than current day views, then this book is a wonderful addition to your book shelf. I'll be cherishing this book. It's such a wonderful, adorable treat. I love it!

Five out of five stars. What a true classic.

Wilde

Such a quaint tale about the wonders of the placebo effect.

C. J. Daley 

The Wizard of Oz is one of my father’s favorite movies, so it’s something I’ve seen a million times since I was a kid. I feel like the first novel in the series, albeit missing all musical numbers (making me miss “if I only had a brain”), still holds that wonder and childlike naivety that has made people love the movie for so long. 

I will say that some of it was pretty dark though, especially in the sense of what was acceptable back then for “children’s stories.” Like the tin man describing each and every part of his body getting chopped off by his own axe slipping, just making me imagine his bleeding stumps gushing as he pleas for help from the tin maker. 

Or how, due to his lack of heart, he finds it necessary to help and save all those who are in need of help. Therefore, he takes it upon himself to lop off the head of a wild cat simply for hunting... which is something the cowardly lion had already offered to do with a deer for Dorothy. 

Or how Dorothy had to wake up to 40 shaggy, beheaded wolves?!!

I liked this book a lot though and I’m definitely going to continue on to the others at some point. Everyone gets there happy ending, so now I’m wondering if he goes back and takes it all away!

Susan 

I didn't really know what to expect going into this book. I've seen the movie and read other books based on Oz but as the the actual book, no clue.

I was a bit hesitant when there was a chapter or two where they just stop to eat or whatever they may be doing. But those chapters give a bigger glimpse into the world.

I have always been a fan of the movie and became an even bigger fan when I read a series based off of Oz that I just had to read the orginal stories. I'm excited to read more in the future!

Reproduction of the original: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Kathy Jedrzejczyk

It was very fun to find out about the other adventure that the characters go on that are not included in the movie.

Sepia

Emily Orlando

Annie

Pop Sugar Challenge:
- a book with nonhuman characters

Tracie McMurray

mevi

3.5 stars

This is completely different from the movie adaptation... and I loved it. It was refreshing, and jam-packed for how short it was.

I love the author’s creativity with the cast, especially the flat head springs (forgot their names lol). It was definitely gruesome at some parts; questionable for children imho.

But, overall I enjoyed the ride!

alali moe

I finally decided my future lays beyond the yellow brick road 💛🙏🏼

Khushi

** spoiler alert **
           I remember reading this book as a child. I received it as my birthday gift which actually built on my interest towards reading more and more in life. I've honestly never watched the film, but I really like Dorothy's journey and her friendship with Tin Woodman. Although I did find the house falling over the Wicked witch of the east a bit unconvincing for the climax, I still loved the book a lot!

Fraser Simons

2 stars for the book, which, while different than the movie was interesting, also had more issues than the movie in other respects. However, Hathaway narrating it was incredible. I’d listen to her read anything. Wide range of voices and breathes life into even the lifeless.

Yulande Lindsay

Excellent. I know it was written for children but adults can enjoy it as well. I'd recommend it to any parent.

Abigail Dougherty

Taryn Megan

3 and a half stars 

A guilty pleasure :)

Helen Borham

This childrens classic proved an enjoyable read. It was a sweet yet peculiar story which was straight into the action

Like most people I have seen the film and I was surprised at a lot of the deviations between this and the book. In places the book is much darker when you look at some of the actions even of the heroes within the story. Another thing that stood out to me was how this book was adverse to advice we give children today and I think this is a sign it was written in a different time. We live in a world where strangers are feared, yet in Oz they could be relied on to offer food and shelter unquestionably to our protagonist

Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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