The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Books of Wonder)

When I started to read the book, I naturally wanted to know how it compared to the 1939 Judy Garland movie. Both the movie and the book have the same basic characters and broad plot elements, but book is quite different in the details. For example, in the book, the Tin Woodman gives a detailed description of how he (somewhat violently) replaced his flesh and blood body for a tin one. Singing and dancing are, as you might expect, almost completely absent from the book.

I'm a bit too old now to be completely lost in the story, but I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed it. I appreciated the way Baum used the characters and plot to communicate an upbeat, quasi-philosophical view of life ("I shall take the heart," returned the Tin Woodman; "for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.") Baum also wrote in a lot of fun Oz-logic that often made me laugh ("I am never hungry, [the Scarecrow] said, "and it is a lucky thing I am not, for my mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so I could eat, the straw I am stuffed with would come out, and that would spoil the shape of my head.")

Read it to your young children or read it by yourself. Either way you'll find it difficult to dislike Buam's classic.


Wonderful Book   September 17, 2003
Rivkah Maccaby (Bloomington, IN United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

As wonderful as this book is, it is probably the weakest of the fourteen books Frank Baum wrote about the marvelous Land of Oz. Still, if you plan to read the series (and you should), you must read this for background.

There are many things to recommend this book, however: Baum has a captivating writing style, which is intended for children, but does not talk down to them. The style isn't cloying, as it is in many children's books of the time. Adults will enjoy it as well; in fact, if you are an adult who has not read this or the other Oz books, you should do so.

One of the best features of the book is the pluck, and resourcefulness of the main character. Dorothy is a true hero who never lets her predicament get her down. She always keeps her goal in sight. She is a wonderful role model for girls, and a female character to whom boys can easily relate.

If I could give it more than five stars, I would.

(and don't forget the sequels)


ATTENTION! Book Fans!   September 21, 2004
Daniel (Sterling, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

MAGIC, adventure, and fun. Those are the ingedients of an Oz novel. These traits were cleverly weaved together by author L. Frank Baum (Lyman Frank Baum) as he wrote "The Wizard of Oz," "The Land of Oz," and all the other Oz books he wrote. The Oz books are certainly for readers who like adventure, with a little humor and some magic too. Books well suitable for lovers of fantasy, such as "Harry Potter," "The Chronicles of Narnia," "Middle Earth," and so many more.

Did you ever hear how L. Frank Baum got the title for his book? Well, one day he was sitting at his desk, and staring at his file cabinet. One file was labeled "L-N," and the other was labeled "O-Z," which when spelled together would be "Oz." What a perfect name; unique AND original. Although L. Frank Baum never intended to write a series, he ended up writing 14 books for the famous Oz series until his death in 1919. Now in our time, these treasured books are still in print, captivating the minds of imaginative readers. John R. Neill's illustrations add rare beauty and imagination to the Oz books.

In the summer of 2000, exactly 100 years after the publication of "The Wizard of Oz," I was searching through a public library when I came upon a bookshelf with a group of books with a title each containing the word "Oz." I noticed they all had a numbers-from #1 to #14. I chose to sign out #2 (The Land of Oz) since I had seen the classic movie, "The Wizard of Oz," based on the first book. When I turned the cover of the book, I was whisked away from the world in which we live in, and brought to a land where there are no dangerous weapons, no mad killers, (only villains) and no cholesterol! I was thrilled by the magical things that happened, I laughed at the funny jokes, and gasped at the supenseful plot and the unbelievable surprises at each corner. From that day on I have made it a hobby to read the Oz books.

Oz itself differs from the movie. These are the facts: Referring to the movie, you may think Oz is a dream, but it isn't. Oz is a real place. It is a fairy country in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a deadly desert. The country is divided into five main parts. The Gillikin Country is the northern part of Oz, where purple is the favorite color. The Quadling Country, making up the South, where red is the favorite color. (and also it is where the powerful sorceress lives) The western part, the Winkie country, is where yellow is favored. The blue country, which is the Munchkin country, dwells in the east. And of cource, in the very center of Oz is the green country, in which lies the famous Emerald City, the capital of Oz. The inhabitants of Oz are people just like me and you, (The munchkins are not short!) dressed in important outfits. There are also animals in the forests, and countless other creaures too numerous to name.

If you have seen the 1939 movie, you may think you know the whole plot. If you read the book, you would discover many things are different. First, Dorothy meets the good witch of the North in the Munchkin Country, not Glinda. The journey to countless places is longer in the book. Along the way, run from fierocious beasts with heads of tigers and bodies of bears, (called Kalidahs) talk to the Winged Monkeys and find out why they must obey the person wearing the Golden Cap, watch the scarecrow get stuck on a pole in the middle of a river, and watch how field mice transport a heavy lion from a field of deady poppies. Learn how the scarecrow and the tin woodman were created, watch the wicked witch with the telescope eye trick Dorothy, see the Emerald City through lavish eye-glasses, and participate in the journey to Glinda; passing by a town entirely made of china, (white glass) and the lands of the "Hamerheads," with the dangerous shooting heads. (Not to mention Dorothy wears silver shoes, instead of ruby slippers)

I think book #2, "The Land of Oz," is much better than "The Wizard of Oz," but that is only my opinion. Here is the list of all the Oz books. (all in print, of course)
#1 The Wizard of Oz, #2 The Land of Oz, #3 Ozma of Oz, #4 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, #5 The Road to Oz, #6 The Emerald City of Oz, #7 The Patchwork Girl of Oz, #8 Tik-Tok of Oz, #9 The Scarecrow of Oz, #10 Rinkitink in Oz, #11 The Lost Princess of Oz, #12 The Tin Woodman of Oz, #13 The Magic of Oz, #14 Glinda of Oz."

If fancy-schmancy editions are too expensive, I suggest the Del Rey edition, which has a reasonable price.You can even read all these books online. A great thing about these books are that you can read them in any order you want, however I suggest the official order. It's easier that way. I think everyone should read the Oz books. Age is no problem, for Oz is for people with young hearts.

So read the Oz books. The only problem you might have is spending money buying more Oz books.

The next book is "The Land of Oz."



Ohdear714   July 24, 2003
Christina Louise Cavazos (Los Angeles, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz lost much in its adaptation from print to film. One concept that did not make the jump from the book to the movie was the concept of the emerald spectacles. Before entering the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her friends are required to first put on green spectacles and were told that the spectacles were a necessary precaution against the brightness of the city. Upon further scrutiny, Dorothy finds that everyone in the city is wearing green spectacles of some sort. Later in the story, Dorothy and company stumble upon the truth; the Emerald City is not really green. It only looks green because of the spectacles. Furthermore, most residents of the city have been wearing the spectacles for so long, they have forgotten that they are wearing them.

The idea that Baum was trying to convey was that we too, like the citizens of the Emerald City, are wearing colored spectacles. In fact, we have been wearing these spectacles so long; we too are unaware of their existence. It is these spectacles that cause us to interpret our world and establish values the way that we do.

The point of this excerpt? There is much to be gained by reading the book rather than just watching the movie.