The Wizard of Oz (Tor Classics) by L. Frank Baum Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Wizard of Oz (Tor Classics)
Book Review: You Must Earn To Claim What You Want
Summary: 4 Stars
The Wizard of Oz is a well-made children's literature and very American fairy tale.
Oz's answer to Dorothy and her companion is quite a right one.
To win "hearts", "brains" and "courage" and "returning to home" they should make efforts and do something worthwhile. Unlike European fairy tales use of magic power is quite restrained or limited. Even Dorothy wearing her magic boots and hat, the writer made her unaware of the effect. Power, strength or ability you need to make a living is not something automatically confered upon from the witch nor wizard. Through a number of adventures they eventually earn rights to claim what they desire.
The storyline and the moral of the story quite fit the founding principles of America and presented to the child in such a charming manner. The movie in 1939 based on this story is also impressive and can be recommendable.
Book Review: The Wondeful Wizard of Oz by Ryan Widner
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful book by the famous author, L. Frank Baum. Dorothy gets whisked away into a strange land where most of it is pleasant, but the other half of this strange land is dark and creepy. Dorothy must follow the Yellow Brick Road to get to the City of Emeralds to ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her get back to Kansas. On the way she meets three new friends who come with her to Oz in need of something. The Scarecrow wants some brains, the Tin Woodman wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants some courage. They travel a long way and meet many dangers including the Kalidahs, the Deadly Poppy Field, the Wicked Witch of the West's Castle, and the Hammerheads. But they find ways to get across these obstacles. Their wishes get granted; in a funny way that is. Dorothy doesn't get her wish granted by the Wizard, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, grants her wish with Dorothy's silver shoes. Read this book and it is sure to make you laugh, make you cry, and even at some parts fill you with mystery and horror!Book Review: The Wondeful Wizard of Oz by Ryan Widner
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful book by the famous author, L. Frank Baum. Dorothy gets whisked away into a strange land where most of it is pleasant, but the other half of this strange land is dark and creepy. Dorothy must follow the Yellow Brick Road to get to the City of Emeralds to ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her get back to Kansas. On the way she meets three new friends who come with her to Oz in need of something. The Scarecrow wants some brains, the Tin Woodman wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants some courage. They travel a long way and meet many dangers including the Kalidahs, the Deadly Poppy Field, the Wicked Witch of the West's Castle, and the Hammerheads. But they find ways to get across these obstacles. Their wishes get granted; in a funny way that is. Dorothy doesn't get her wish granted by the Wizard, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, grants her wish with Dorothy's silver shoes. Read this book and it is sure to make you laugh, make you cry, and even at some parts fill you with mystery and horror!Book Review: Something of a disappointment.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is certainly a tolerable children's book, better than many. But for someone familiar with and fond of the movie (and aren't we all?) this is quite a disappointment. Generally, I find the book version to be superior to the movie, so, given how much I love the movie version of this story, it was with great anticipation that I finally got around to reading it. Unfortunately, this is one of those rare occasions in which the movie is vastly superior to the book. The book is written in a style not too different from the fairie tales of Hans Christian Anderson (definitely more his than the Brothers Grimm); that is to say, it's very striaghtforward, with little or nothing in the way of style to embellish the basic story. The dialogue is bland, the plot without nuance or embellishment, the characters only a little better than wooden and one-dimensional. Which is okay for a book that is intended purely as a children's story, but given the humor, nuance, and characterization found in the movie which was based on this story, I'd expected more; I'd expected it to be one of those "children's stories" that was still entertaining to an adult. It wasn't.Book Review: Dorothy's Adventures In Oz
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is so good. I couldn't put it down! In my version I had an encounter with the good witch of the south named Glinda, little porcelain people, monstrous beasts with heads of tigers and bodies of bears, the queen of the field mice and her people, a deadly poppy field, the little Quadlings, and of course the tin woodman, the cowardly lion, the scarecrow, the Good Witch of the North, the munchkins, the winkies, the winged monkeys, the emeralites, and the great and powerful humbug Wizard of Oz! read it time after time after time. Great to read to or with kids. Excellent reading for all ages!