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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found the book to be more interesting than the movie. The story has a lot more to it, and Glinda doesn't show up until the end, eliminating the ridiculous point in the movie where she doesn't tell Dorothy right at the beginning that she can go home.
The novel had a lot of interesting and imaginitive elements that really made Oz seem like a magical place. I was left wanting to know more about the world and its residents. Luckily there are many more Oz books to flesh out the ideas started in this one.
The novel had a lot of interesting and imaginitive elements that really made Oz seem like a magical place. I was left wanting to know more about the world and its residents. Luckily there are many more Oz books to flesh out the ideas started in this one.
I wanted to give this more stars just because of the nostalgia and fondness I have for the story in popular culture. Really though, the story was kind of all over the place and kind of violent. As a student, I heard the theories of Baum’s Wizard of Oz as a political allegory based on the economic events of the 1890s and had always intended to read the original story to see if I could see the connection. In the end, I think the theory was more interesting than the story. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great either.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I realized recently that I had never actually read the Wizard of Oz books. One down now, fourteen to go! It was everything I expected: fun, quaint, and delightfully dated. The movie was made in 1939, but the book was written in 1900: before the Great War, before the Depression, before the Dust Bowl, and before the rise of Nazism and the spectre of another global war. It wasn't easy to put all that context aside.
Get this book for the wonderful reproduction of the first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, complete with the original illustrations in their original colors. Revel in the excellent 100-page introduction covering the life and work of L Frank Baum, and the equally good appendix on the later career of the illustrator W W Denslow. Then ignore the rest of the speculative and sophomoric notes.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I recently read this with my 7-year-old son, who had never seen the Wizard of Oz movie. We both loved the book, which surprised me because I'm not a great fan of the movie. It's imaginative and full of friendship and hopefulness. We'll read more in the series this summer.
3.75 stars - I highly recommend the audible narration version by Anne Hathaway