[.ca] The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (ISBN 0688166776)

Wonderfully rich story that still appeals to broad audience:
When a cyclone transports Dorothy and her little dog Toto together in their small wooden house from Kansas to the strange Land of Oz, she fears that she will never see Aunt Em and Uncle Henry again. In that weird land Dorothy meets the Munchkins, who are convinced that she must be a great sorceress after watching her drop a house on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Munchkins tell her to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where the Wonderful Wizard of Oz will grant her any wish and return Dorothy back home. On the way, she meets the brainless Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in 1900 and has ever since fascinated millions of young and older readers. The reason for this is clear: this book extremely well written and takes the reader, no matter what age, on a trip through a magical world where fantasy is unlimited. A typical characteristic of the early children_s books is the heavy focus on moral messages. Also in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz this is clearly the case and could be a reason not to read this kind of stories. But I would advice everyone to see beyond the pedagogic messages and task the wonderful richness of the story. Even so, the morality of the story is still relevant to modern times, although it is never again put in such an uncomplicated way.

Where did those ruby slippers come in?:
The Wizard of Oz, a classic 1939 movie but where on this earth did they come up with red shoes? I mean honest to god if you want to change anything it's like the fact that the witch has one eye i mean. there was to many monsters. (...)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:
Lyman Frank Baum has a great way of making a fairy tale with a moral without the bloody wars and battles. Just like it said in the introduction, "it is time for a new generation of fairy tales". There are so many surprises if you've only seen the movie.

On my short list of favorite books:
Most Americans have seen the movie, but a surprising number haven't read the book on which it's based. That's too bad, it really is a fabulous book and Baum is a great storyteller. The characters of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Lion far more developed in the novel and we also travel to the land of the South and encounter my favorite creatures: the china dolls. Although this is a wonderful fairy tale for children, adults will find a lot to enjoy as well. One interesting note is that the book can be read as an allegory for the populist silver movement at the end of the 19th century. Dorothy's silver shoes, the yellow (gold) bricks, the scarecrow (farmer), Kansas, Oz (politicians); they all take on a new meaning when read in this framework. It's a good reading assignment for high school students in this context, and one they usually don't mind reading.

It Was So Different Than The Movie:
I bought a PalmOne and it contained an e-Book of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I was never really interested in reading this book because, let's face it, how many times have we all seen this movie? It was a slow day at work and I fished out my PalmOne from my purse. I remembered that I had this book. I decided to read a few pages but if it was exactly like the movie I would quit reading it. I didn't have to read more than four pages to know that this book was totally different than the movie. I was pleasantly surprised that the book held my interested since it is really a young reader's book. Let me give you a little hint on how it is different than the movie. The Munchkins role is not much in the book. They are mentioned on a few pages but that's all. The Good Witch is not young or pretty. The Wicked Witch never cast one spell on Dorothy. The shoes, forget it, they aren't red at all. The Tin Woodsman was a human male who eventually turned into tin. Also, there is a lot of violence in the book. The Tin Woodsman for example cuts off the heads of 40 wolves, the scarecrow kills 40 crows by snapping their necks. The Witches guard's are actually called Winkies. The Cowardly Lion is saved by thousands of mice. I just wanted to give you a little flavor about the book. I was really getting into the story and my office phone rang. It was my boss, yelling at me because I was late for a meeting! Unfortunately, it was back to work. I promise you when you read this book, you will agree that it is NOT like the movie after all. It's better!