I read this to my sons, ages 3.5 & 5.5, who loved it. As always, I had a lot of fun creating voices for different characters.

The plot and characters are completely loopy, but there's some substance there. The smartest people aren't always the ones who think they're smart. Ditto for kindness and bravery. I especially love that Dorothy is a female protagonist, but this isn't a "girl book." She's strong and feisty, while still being a genuinely good person.

Update: Reread to sons, now 10 & 12.
This time around, their attention span are longer and their critical skills much stronger.

Observations include:
There's a lot of random & seemingly unnecessary killing.
Characters are pretty obtuse not to realize that green glasses = everything looking green.
The final chapters seem tacked on and unnecessary, so it's not surprising they were taken out for the movie. ( )

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher (Canterbury Classics) for promotional purposes.

What a delightful read!

Going into this book, I didn’t have any set expectations regarding the storyline. I’ve never seen the movie (although I obviously know of it) and I’m only vaguely acquainted with Wicked (I haven’t seen or heard the musical, but have listened to the movie soundtrack and know of the movie’s storyline). However, as a kid I did read an adapted version of this book, so I remembered some of the plot.

The story is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland (which is one of my all time favorite books). Both stories revolve around a girl who is lost in a fantasy world and meets all kinds of interesting folks along the way. It’s a simple plot line that works so well.

The cast of characters really made this an enjoyable read. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion were all so lovable! They were such good friends to Dorothy (and each other). Also of note were the china people (literally people made of china). They were only in the story briefly, but they were fascinating (they constantly broke and had to be mended).

The book also has cute illustrations throughout. They were whimsical and helped you picture the different people/creatures Dorothy met along the way.

This edition also included six “Little Wizard Stories of Oz.” They were all short and sweet and even included new characters like the Hungry Tiger, Ozma, and Jack Pumpkinhead.

Overall, I am so glad I read this book! It’s a classic for a reason and I know I would have loved it as a kid. ( )

Published in 1900, Baum set out to write an American fairy tale which became the most successful children's book of its time and which remains to us a model of a modern day fairy tale. Of course the movie influences how we see this story now and it surely exists as a product of its time--not ours. It's a wonder tale filled with magic:

"The Witch of the North seemed to think for a time, with her head bowed and her eyes upon the ground. Then she looked up and said, "I do not know where this Kansas is, for I have never heard that country mentioned before. But tell me, is it a civilized country?
"Oh, yes," replied Dorothy.
"Then that accounts for it. In the civilized countries I believe there are no witches left; nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are not cut off from the rest of the world. Therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us."

Baum is so wise as to bring magic back at the same time acknowledging the imperfectness of his character (the Wizard, who is a mere illusionist). This does not destroy the magic in the story -- as the movie did, by having it all be Dorothy's dream--but also the belief in magic does not take away from commonsense values such as learning to think for yourself, as well as standing up for yourself, the virtues of friendship and give and take. The Wizard teaches them that in order for him to answer their requests, they must give something in return. And instead of giving up in the face of this, they face it together. All of the main characters achieve self-actualization in the end. And they are wonderfully humble characters. This teaches much: that the one that is ASKING for a heart, already has it. The one that is SEEKING his intelligence, HAS IT. The one who feels bad about his anxiety, HAS COURAGE. Even Dorothy already had what she was seeking-she had the power to go home all along given to her by the Silver Shoes.

I feel this is the perfect children's book. It uses the fairy tale narrative which is suitable to a child's ability to sustain attention and follow the story. Each character is vibrant-yet gentle. No one is rough around the edges or complicated. It teaches about the world in a pragmatic way. The world is dangerous. Decisions are hard. You must have courage, heart and mind. You must stand up for yourself and think for yourself. And most of all, there truly is No Place Like Home. ( )

A nice little classic book. About 150 pages, and a fast read (lasted my trip to Poland thou).

I already knew most of Dorothy's story, but in this children classics is always nice to read the story as it was written...

I like the way the story is constructed, with quests piling on top of each other, like those nursery rhymes where the mote increases in each turn.

I also like the fact that as each quest unfolds, one of Dorothy's friend gets a kingdom. ( )

Era da parecchio che volevo trovare il tempo di leggere la versione integrale di questo libro che ha segnato l'infanzia mia come quella di un mondo intero di persone.
Vorrei poter recuperare gli altri "episodi" delle avventure di Oz prima o poi!

Is a celebration of friendship, courage, and self-discovery. ( )

No matter how many times I read it, this book doesn't get old!

Maybe we can blame the low rating on an annoyingly chipper audiobook performance, but YIKES-- I will stick to the movie from now on! ( )

I'm sure the version of this book that I own from childhood is abridged because I don't remember the gruesome way the tin woodsman became tin. I still love this story. I'm glad I read it again after many years. ( )

If you think you don't need to read this classic because you've seen the movie, you are very wrong. There is so much that the movie doesn't cover and this book is a classic for a reason. Come for the ruby slippers, stay for the scathing critique of capitalism. ( )

it was cute, but a little bland. The fact that it's so sanitized makes the story a bit boring. ( )

When Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are swept away from Kansas in a wild cyclone, they find themselves in the strange and magical land of Oz. On a quest to find her way back home, Dorothy and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion journey to the Emerald City where the great and powerful Wizard lives.

This wonderful modern fairy tale is difficult to review: what can I say about such a well-loved classic? Only, perhaps, that it deserves all the praise it has earned. The author has removed much of the heavy-handed moralizing that was common in children's literature, and has instead focused on simply telling a good story. He gives a strong heroine who keeps her composure in tough situations and rescues her friends from various misfortunes. Many elements common to fairy tales appear here, but with a distinctly American flavor, making this magical adventure particularly memorable. Fans of the 1939 film will find here many of the elements they liked in the movie, and anyone enjoying this book will understand just how a seemingly simple magic tale has captured the hearts of readers for more than 100 years. ( )

Returned from Oz Again

Ah, what a pleasant read! When I was a little girl, I checked out as many of these wonderful books as my library had, but there were few. I plan to read them all in order! I like Baum's version better than Hollywood's, though the movie was very good. Just as good as my first read so many years ago! ( )

Book 11 - L.Frank Baum - The Wizard of Oz

Many, many moons ago when I was a lad and the world was still in black and white I was one of the main characters in my primary school play of The Wizard of Oz. I played the Scarecrow of course...if I only had a brain. After a slight diversion into the serious world of Mr Grisham I decided it was time to return to Oz.

Now we all know the story...don’t we ? With Silver Shoes, the deadly poppy field, the dainty china country and the country of the quadlings - this was all new to me. And it is gruesome...properly gruesome with wolves getting their heads cut off and the giant spider...eughhh.

It is also remarkably witty...just after Scarecrow gets his brains...

“Why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"That is proof that he is sharp," remarked the Lion.”

Loved this diversion into the classic children’s tale ( )

[Listened to the audiobook narrated by Tituss Burgess.]

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz. It was one of the only films I would watch, along with Shrek, the 1991 Alice In Wonderland, Annie, and the live-action Cat In The Hat... for some reason. Anyways, this has been a long time coming.

Despite its discrepancies with the 1939 film, I loved this. It felt so nostalgic to me, even though I'd never read it before. It was a short, simple, and sweet story that has lived with me for a long time and still will. Definitely worth the many years of dressing up as Dorothy for Halloween. ( )

While I've seen the movie dozens of times growing up, I had never read the book until now. A very nice read and very different from the movie in several ways. I'm happy to have read this. ( )

I re-read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the February prompt of the Buzzwords reading channel (positive words; "wonderful), and decided to read this Usborne illustrated edition that I bought a while back.

Obviously the story itself is 5 stars for me, because I have a life-long Oz fixation, but 5 stars for this particular edition because it's so stunning. The illustrations by Lorena Alvarez Gomez are so bright and expressive, and feature really gorgeous interpretations of the characters. The pages are a thick, glossy paper to really make those colors pop, and it comes with a rich green bookmark ribbon.

It's a really special edition that isn't too big or too expensive that you feel you can't actually read it, but is still a wonderful keepsake that will look lovely on a shelf too. ( )

Come along, Toto, she said. We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.
Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home. With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children's classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes. ( )

I'm so happy to have finally read the original. It prompted a great discussion about the author - how one's biography gets complicated - at book club. ( )

How come i don't hear Joss Wheadon talking all the time about how the buffy series was obviously based on the Wizard of Oz? ( )

I can't believe I never read this before! It was super violent and strange, but I liked it. Sadly, it did not hold the attention of my 7yo who prefers the movie. We listened to the audiobook narrated by Brooke Shields and her narration wasn't my favorite. She gave a lot of characters very goofy voices. ( )

Completely written in Present simple, this book is indeed suitable for children at or right above Starters (pre-A1) level. The description on the cover uses way more tenses than the book itself. The story suffers a bit because of the simplicity, but most kids are already familiar with it anyway.

Beautifully illustrated, simple, with great activities at the end. Looking forward to using it with students at this level. ( )

Low rating on this one, because while it's a kids book, I'm reading it with a critical eye to all the weird plot holes. I get that it is an episodic story with each chapter having some kind of small but surmountable obstacle, but it just makes No Sense as a whole story.

I have an issue with 'it's okay to kill people if they are evil', and that definitely turns up more than once. And 'good people can be trusted with too much power, because they are good'. Although that latter one at least is followed up by the 'good' people doing small things with their too much power, and then handing the power on.

In terms of topics I think would need discussing with kids - one character is emotional about killing a small animal, and then turns around and has no qualms about killing two others. And isn't happy about the lion going off to find something to eat. I didn't notice any explicit bigotry, which is a surprise in a kids book of this era. ( )

Audiobook - the Audible version read by Anne Hathaway. This is the first time I've read this book, although of course I'm very familiar with the movie. I was prepared to be delighted with it, wanted to be delighted with it. I wanted to like it so much that I'm tempted to make excuses for it. I would say that I only feel disappointed with it because it's a beloved movie from my childhood and a book written for children that I read as an adult, so it couldn't have possibly met my expectations. But I'd be lying. When I finally read Roald Dahl's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory book, I fell right into it, laughed along with it, and was thoroughly satisfied with it. So much so, that I was surprised how much I've disliked other Dahl stories. So, this wasn't a bad little story, and had I encountered it for the first time I'd have loved the inventiveness of the flying monkeys, tin woodsman, brainless scarecrow, etc. All I can say is that this is one of those incredibly rare circumstances where the movie was better than the book. As for the narrator... well, I love Anne Hathaway as an actor and strongly feel that she should stick to acting. This audiobook is proof that the skills needed for acting must be a different set of skills needed for making a story come alive through reading it aloud. ( )