The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

By Lyman Frank Baum

Go Over the Rainbow with the original story of Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man and more

“There is no place like home.” ― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Read the classic story that inspired the film, The Wizard of Oz. Featuring Dorothy, the ruby slippers and the Wicked Witch of the West, L. Frank Baum's classic novel makes a fantastic read for both children and adults.
This Xist Classics edition has been professionally formatted for e-readers with a linked table of contents. This eBook also contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xist Publishing
• Release date: Apr 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781623959982

Lyman Frank Baum

Lyman Frank Baum was born in 1856 in Chittenango in the state of New York. Educated mostly at home due to ill health, he was encouraged by his wealthy father to pursue his early interests in journalism and playwriting. He started his first magazine aged fifteen, had his own theatre at twenty-four and worked for many newspapers and periodicals before turning to children's fiction with stories he had made up for his own four sons. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, was his third bestselling book in as many years, and launched the series of Oz titles. Baum had moved with his family to Hollywood following the huge success of the books and stage adaptations. His own Oz Film Manufacturing Company failed to capitalize on the stories, and the hugely popular movie The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland, was not made until twenty years after Baum's death in 1939.

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Questions

Introduction

Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations.

Yet the old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as historical in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer wonder tales in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.

Having this thought in mind, the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.

L. Frank Baum

Chicago, April, 1900.

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

1. The Cyclone

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all, and no cellar--except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.

When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.

When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.

Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.

From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also.

Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up.

There's a cyclone coming, Em, he called to his wife. I'll go look after the stock. Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. One glance told her of the danger close at hand.

Quick, Dorothy! she screamed. Run for the cellar!

Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. Aunt Em, badly frightened, threw open the trap door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt. When she was halfway across the room there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

Then a strange thing happened.

The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

The north and south winds met where the house stood, and made it the exact center of the cyclone. In the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher, until it was at the very top of the cyclone; and there it remained and was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry a feather.

It was very dark, and the wind howled horribly around her, but Dorothy found she was riding quite easily. After the first few whirls around, and one other time when the house tipped badly, she felt as if she were being rocked gently, like a baby in a cradle.

Toto did not like it. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barking loudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen.

Once Toto got too near the open trap door, and fell in; and at first the little girl thought she had lost him. But soon she saw one of his ears sticking up through the hole, for the strong pressure of the air was keeping him up so that he could not fall. She crept to the hole, caught Toto by the ear, and dragged him into the room again, afterward closing the trap door so that no more accidents could happen.

Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf. At first she had wondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again; but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened, she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring. At last she crawled over the swaying floor to her bed, and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her.

In spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

2. The Council with the Munchkins

She was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, the jar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened; and Toto put his cold little nose into her face and whined dismally. Dorothy sat up and noticed that the house was not moving; nor was it dark, for the bright sunshine came in at the window, flooding the little room. She sprang from her bed and with Toto at her heels ran and opened the door.

The little girl gave a cry of amazement and looked about her, her eyes growing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.

The cyclone had set the house down very gently--for a cyclone--in the midst of a country of marvelous beauty. There were lovely patches of greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.

Three were men and one a woman, and all were oddly dressed. They wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with little bells around the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The hats of the men were blue; the little woman's hat was white, and she wore a white gown that hung in pleats from her shoulders. Over it were sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds. The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops. The men, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two of them had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly.

When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to come farther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice:

You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage.

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East? Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.

But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, with hesitation, You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything.

Your house did, anyway, replied the little old woman, with a laugh, and that is the same thing. See! she continued, pointing to the corner of the house. There are her two feet, still sticking out from under a block of wood.

Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. There, indeed, just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.

Oh, dear! Oh, dear! cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together in dismay. The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?

There is nothing to be done, said the little woman calmly.

But who was she? asked Dorothy.

She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said, answered the little woman. She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor.

Who are the Munchkins? inquired Dorothy.

They are the people who live in this land of the East where the Wicked Witch ruled.

Are you a Munchkin? asked Dorothy.

No, but I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North. When they saw the Witch of the East was dead the Munchkins sent a swift messenger to me, and I came at once. I am the Witch of the North.

Oh, gracious! cried Dorothy. Are you a real witch?

Yes, indeed, answered the little woman. "But I am a good witch, and the people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was who ruled

Reviews for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

[ladypembroke · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just finished reading this book to my son, who is almost six. He really liked it, which sort of surprised me as it was more challenging for him to stay with than all the picture books and easy readers we usually share. I am very glad that my edition had all the old pictures in it so that it still had a little picture book flavor. That made the transition to more advanced reading easier.

The one thing I will note: As with the Beatrix Potter stories I also read in my childhood, I was a little surprised at the level of violence in this book. I guess it is just a reminder of how times have changed. But if you are at all worried about creatures of various sorts meeting a rather gruesome demise, I would sit this book out. But I truly believe you would be missing out on a really wonderful story.

Keep in mind as well that there are some MAJOR differences from the MGM movie -- the ruby slippers are silver, and Glinda is not the same Good Witch as the one at the beginning of the novel. (Spoiler: This change is what makes the movie Glinda seem so awful if you really think about it. She knew the whole time about the slippers and she never said anything?? Not cool.)

[ainjel-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great book for the young and old alike. If you're familiar with the movie or with Wicked... throw everything you know away and immerse yourself fully in this wondrous piece of art. Dorothy is a determined, plucky girl, the Wicked Witch is very much a child herself, and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman are as humourous and heartfelt as you always thought them to be. I highly recommend this book to every little girl looking for some adventure and humour, and every little boy wanting the same!

[catherine_gv · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's REEEALLLY good. The kind of books I love to read :D It's ''childish'', but not written as though we were children of 5 to understand it. :D

[pepperwings · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A rather wonderful story! There were definitely some differences from the movie, which I found interesting, and I listened to the audiobook, which was a very nice interpretation/performance. I don't feel the political aspects were very pronounced, I'll have to read more analysis of that to understand it better, I suppose.

[niquetteb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book is definitely different from the movie. The tale is directed towards youngsters with the use of repeating things and simplified wordings. There is a bit too much violence for a children's book, though. There is a scene where the scarecrow kills crows by snapping their necks.

[citizenjoyce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a surprisingly wonderful book. I've only seen the movies before, and while I did miss the music, I found the plucky girl character Dorothy strong and purposeful and all the other characters varied and interesting. I wish I had a child to read it to now, but I don't think it would work too well on my 18-year-old grandson.

[eric_j._guignard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

REVIEWED: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
WRITTEN BY: L. Frank Baum
PUBLISHED: May, 1900

There really isn’t much more to say than has already been offered a thousand time over. This book is a timeless classic. I just read it to my son and can confirm that the story is touching for all ages. He’s five, I’m thirty-seven, and we enjoyed it together. My parents love it, grandparents love it, etc. There are not a lot of fiction works that are appealing to so wide an audience. If you don’t know the basic story, according to the movie at least, your childhood was a sham. The book includes additional passages and adventures which were left out of the MGM film; it’s also darker and more violent than the movie... and lacks the songs.

Five out of Five stars

[pzr-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've just read this to my two kids. They loved the story and I had a ball making up voices for the characters (you should hear my Kansas accent...). Given that it's over a century since Baum wrote the book, it holds up remarkably well. Many children's books from the '20s, '30s and '40s sound positively archaic now. 'Oz' is older and yet it didn't feel antiquated at all. I suppose it's because the prose and tale itself are timeless, the hallmarks of a classic.

[ladycato · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book—a novella by modern standards—remains a pleasant read over a hundred years after Baum first published it in 1900. The basic characters are the same, and some of the same events take place, but I think the movie is a more solid story over all. That said, I still liked it. There is a deep sense of magic to Dorothy’s adventure (with Toto, too) in Oz.

[cubsfan3410 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have seen the movie COUNTLESS times and finally read the book. It was wonderful and has a little bit more to explain the movie story.
LOVED it!

[ashleytylerjohn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a delightful book. If you're familiar with the film, it has a similar plot but feels more picaresque (episodic), and covers a little more ground. The feeling engendered by each is very, very different, though both are masterpieces in their own right.

This is indeed that rare book that can be enjoyed by old and young alike (the second in the series has quite long passages that really only an adult will be able to follow, but this one holds the interest of all ages). I read it as a child, back in the day, and it was the first chapter book I read to my nephew (when he was 2) because it had illustrations on almost every page, which was a necessity if we wanted to hold his interest--and on the rare pages without one, I'd show him the cover while I quickly got through the text--so if you're looking for early books for your kids, this is a great option.

If you enjoy the cleverness of the conversations, do keep reading--The Marvelous Land of Oz is not quite as good, but the third Oz book (Ozma of Oz) is my favourite of all, once I got used to Dorothy's makeover (Baum hired a new illustrator, and she goes from frumpy brunette to stylish blonde).

If you're a reader (and you must be, you're here), and you haven't read this one, you must! You simply must. It will surprise you, and you may end up preferring it to the wonderful film (not that it's a contest--they can both be terrific, and are.)

[dbmoonshine · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent book. In matter of fact, I plan on writing my theses on it.

[lizzybeans11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought I should get around to actually reading the original stories as I have been a life-long fan of the 1939 movie and quite enjoy the book and subsequent musical Wicked. L. Frank Baum's inaugural story was fantastic. It is a classic fairy-tale but instead of being set in a nondescript European atmosphere, it derives it's wonder from a middle-American setting. There are instances of the juvenile in his writing, but then again, Baum did have a very young audience in mind. It's so easy to forget that our beloved films and spin-offs come from a beautiful and solid base, such as Baum's original series. Highly recommended.

[saraellen_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this book. It's a very easy to read children's book. It's full of imagination and interesting characters. I love the imagery that this book puts out. It's a really fun read.

[thereadingmermaid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I made the mistake of growing up watching the film and not reading the book until adulthood. They are VERY different. This novel is a lot more graphic and dark. Not at all like the yellow brick road we skipped down with Judy Garland.

[lydiasbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Think I read bits of this as a kid, but not the whole thing. Nice. The audio voices are rather odd, but bearable. Won't be re-reading it again all that soon, and not sure I liked it enough to justify reading the rest of the series. Hmmm.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

No matter how old this tale gets, it will never lose its ability to charm and delight - and scare - its readers. Though a children’s book, adults will find it well worth reading, whether they read it as a child or are reading it for the first time. L. Frank Baum paints a picture of Oz that will mesmerize you. His way with words and his obvious delight with puns are as entertaining as his plots. How wonderful that he continued the series!

[jclheatherm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my very favorite children's books of all time - the timeless characters and theme of finding your true home resonant in today's modern times. Dorothy and her friends - with their teamwork and spirit - show that dreams are attainable and friendship and family are every lasting.

This title has held up for over one hundred years with good reason, and its legacy continues through cinema and theatrical adaptations.

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Better than I expected it to be but it does show its age. Still fun to read. I am a little surprised it took me this long to read it.

[bribre01 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been a huge fan of the Wizard of Oz movie, I can't believe it's taken me this long to read the book. It's a cute, entertaining story with much more detail about the land of Oz. I'm also a fan of Gregory Mcquire's Wicked series, and I was interested to find some of the characters from his books in the original book (Boq). The entire time I was reading I kept thinking that I can't wait to share the book with my kids someday. I now want to read the entire series.

[mainrun · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I read this book because the movie was referenced in Stephen King's, "Wizard and Glass (4th Dark Tower Book)." I couldn't wait for it to be over. Surprising how bluntly violent parts of it was. "So the Woodman raised his axe, and as the wildcat ran by he gave a quick blow that cut the beast's head clean off from its body, and it rolled over at his feet in two pieces." They don't write children books like that anymore. The Gunslinger books referenced the movie more than this book, I think.

[gaskella_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Wizard of Oz is one of our favourite family films at Gaskell Towers, and my daughter and I are really looking forward to going to see the new production at the Palladium during the Easter hols. It struck me though that I’d never actually read the original book, and the OUP very kindly sent me a copy of the Oxford World Classics edition – which has a lot of extra material for grown-ups about the history of Baum and his Oz stories, plus some of the original illustrations. I was amazed to find out that the story was originally published in 1900, and it had had stage, film and musical versions just a few years later. Of course, it was the advent of Technicolor that made possible the different film musical we all know and love much later in 1939. In the notes, I also found that Baum got the name for the world of Oz from his filing cabinet O-Z.For the rest of this post, I am assuming you’ve seen the film and know the basic story, so for no spoilers stop reading now.The story itself is both the same and very different to the film – notably, Dorothy’s slippers are silver not ruby (changed to take advantage of Techicolor, red shoes being such objects of desire!). The obvious initial difference though is that there is no character-building extended introduction with Dorothy running away from Miss Gulch, finding Professor Marvel; no time to wistfully sit and hope for better times around the corner. We are introduced to the gray prairies of Kansas …"When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.When Aunt Em had come to live there she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled, now."… very depressing indeed. Then it’s straight into the cyclone, and off to Oz. Baum’s original Oz is a darker place – still full of colour, but much more menacing. The party seeking the Emerald city have to fight off many marauders and have much cause to be thankful for the Tin Woodsman’s sharp axe and the Lion’s claws. After the balloon goes up, they go on another supplementary quest to find Glinda, the Witch of the South so Dorothy can get home, and we meet the denizens of the Dainty China Country, the Hammer-heads and the Quadlings before Dorothy learns she had the means of her return on her feet all the time. Interestingly she says ‘Take me home to Aunt Em‘ rather than ‘There’s no place like home‘ while clicking her heels together, and Aunt Em is the first person she sees in the short final chapter.Theories about the book being an economic and political allegory abound. I don’t know anything about turn of the century American politics, so can’t comment on that. However it’s clear that Baum appreciated the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, wanting to write a less horrific modern fairy-tale that combined the fantastic with home comforts. Apparently Dorothy is influenced by Carroll’s Alice, but whereas I love Alice’s questionning nature, I do find Dorothy rather too ready to accept her role as a future wife and housekeeper – the home comforts loving side of her nature is too submissive for me. I mean, she would never have managed to kill the Wicked Witch of the West if she’d not had a bucket of water ready for washing the floor!This was an interesting book to read. It would be nice if today’s children would continue to read it.

[catalogthis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found it difficult to read this without the ghosts of the MGM musical and Gregory Maguire's [book: Wicked] and [book: Son of a Witch] lurking over my shoulder.Definitely liked it more than the musical -- no offense to Judy Garland. Dorothy's comrades are much more interesting in the original, especially little Toto.***August 2008 selection of the GB Book Club.***

[laurakurtz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a classic tale of the orphan Dorothy and Toto, transported from Kansas to the land of Oz, where she tries to get home and help her friends along the way. they gain love, courage, and brains from her, and she goes home safely in the end after several hardships.

[primayu_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this story a cyclone hits Dorothy's house in Kansas and, the cyclone caries Dorothy and her little dog Toto to a faraway land called "The land of Oz".There, she meets four new friends...The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman and The Cowardly Lion.You've seen the movie, but do you know the REAL story?This is one of the my all time favorites. The picture above is the actual book given to me as a child. Since then I have read it many times to my children and then my grandchildren

[gatha_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read "the wizard of oz" when I was a child,but i did not remember the story too much, so i trid to read it. I thought it very interesting. I like the characters in the story because they has originarity. Especially, I like rion which is coward .In addition to, I like the wizard of oz because I like his magic. It is not real magic, but it can help many people and things. I think he is a coward and dishonest, but kind person.this story very unique. i have never read such a unique story since i have ever read.

[she_climber · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! I've seen the movie several times but I can't believe how much I enjoyed the story. The little things that were different, the big things that are different. No wonder this is such a timeless classic.

[snakeshands · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Having not come across this one in a very long time, my thoughts: So much stranger than the film, for sure. Also so much funnier, and far more cynical, despite the amusing little bit at the beginning from Baum about how fairy tales where bad things happen are obsolete. Less recognized as such, but this is nearly as loony as Alice in Wonderland--especially in that very same hyper-episodic feeling, where he just throws idea after idea after idea at you, with barely time to hold onto the characters or figure out what just happened before he skips along giddily to the next. I'm very, very glad I reread this one, and onwards to the Marvelous Land (got myself this Borders collection of the first seven Oz books for a very reasonable price, and I'm just having at them.).

[daniel5estes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Spanish language version of The Wizard of Oz contains the original W. W. Denslow art work, which is a beautiful story in itself. I am a Spanish language learner and still very much a beginner. I know the story of the Wizard of Oz, which helped with my comprehension, but I most certainly did not fully understand each and every page.Full comprehension didn't matter to me. I had fun pronouncing all the words as best I could, including Dorothy's good friends: El Espantapájaros (The Scarecrow), El Leñador de Hojalata (The Tin Woodsman), and El Léon Cobarde (The Cowardly Lion).

[lyssacle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although I've seen the 1939 film and more recent films, I had no idea what to expect. I remember looking at all of the L. Frank Baum books at the library, but never picked one up.

I shouldn't be surprised by the darkness in the books, but coming from contemporary children's stories, I seem to have coddled my own understanding of the frankness and abrupt nature that "evil" is dealt with at the turn of the century.

I enjoyed the book, probably more so because I have so many other versions to compare it to. I have yet to read Wicked, but I prefer this story to the other adaptations.