Rating: 
Summary: Striking Yet Unusual Illustrations
Review: L. Frank Baum's enduring story is wonderfully presented in this elegant edition and the Washington Post called Lisbeth's The Wizard of Oz "the loveliest edition imaginable."However, the assessment of the local kids is the drawings are "weird." Perhaps intended for a more adult audience, the illustrations are beautiful--I enjoyed them--but their idiosyncratic style may not appeal to the younger set. The characters pictured in the illustrations are dramatcially reinterpreted by the artist, however this may disappoint some viewers. The Scarecrow will look nothing like any scarecrow you've imagined. The Witch of the North is difficult to identify. This fresh point of view will be enjoyed by some but is sure to disappoint others. I also felt the illustrations don't tell the story as well as the edition by Michael Hague or the original edition with W. W. Dinslow. (This is more important to the younger, read-to crowd, than the older, I can read it myself crowd.) My daughter asked that we return the book and get a different edition for her. I would urge you to carefully consider the sample pages, except the sample pages don't cover a broad range of the illustrations included with this edition. The sample pages do include an image of the dramatic and striking cover. Unfortunately, in the judgement of several reviewers from 4 to 40, the other illustrations were noticably more "weird" than the cover and I don't think the sample pages represent the overall reading/viewing experience scrupulously.
Rating: 
Summary: A magical tale for readers of all ages.
Review: In this classic, Baum describes the tale of poor Dorothy, who is hurled by a cyclone away from her uncle and aunt in Kansas into a strange and magical world of wizards and witches. Fortunately Dorothy has the help of several companions that she meets in this new world - a stuffed scarecrow who wants brains, a tin woodsman who wants a heart, and a cowardly lion who wants courage. Together with Dorothy - who wants a return trip to Kansas - they travel to the emerald city where Oz is wizard, to ask him to make their wishes come true. Their journey is fraught with adventures, and when they finally meet Oz they discover a terrible truth, that leads them into even more challenges and adventures. The magical fantasy of this tale has pleased readers of all ages for a century, and it's not hard to see why. Baum spins a wonderfully enchanting tale that includes wicked witches, flying monkeys, talking mice, and other fantastic creatures. Is this book more than just a fantasy thrill? Some literary critics have proposed that Baum - a strong believer in individualism and self-confidence - is working with themes about self-esteem and self-reliance. This is quite plausible, especially considering that the brains, heart and courage sought by the scarecrow, woodsman and lion are abilities that they clearly already possess - they just need to recognize them and use them. And Dorothy herself discovers that when the wizard can't help her, she must and can rely on herself. Other literary critics have claimed that "The Wizard of Oz" needs to be read as an elaborate political allegory where the various characters represent various social classes and financial structures - a not impossible suggestion, but one that's somewhat difficult to defend. Ultimately, however, "The Wizard of Oz" is best enjoyed as a wonderful story. That doesn't mean it is any less of a contribution to English literature, because when appreciated as a brilliant story, you're sure to come back to it again and again, as are your children and grandchildren. It's precisely this universal appeal that makes "The Wizard of Oz" a true classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Please stop the senseless violence!!!
Review: This fictional work of fantasy could have been appropriately titled "In Cold Blood". Lead character Dorothy, an apparent megalomaniac, and her 'gangsta' cohorts -- scarecrow, tin man, toto, and not-so-cowardly lion -- set out in a deliberate and premeditated scheme to kill the "wicked" [alleged] witch of the West (after Dorothy has already admittedly dropped her house on West's sister -- the wicked [alleged] witch of the East, killing her off, stealing her silver shoes, and then killing anything or anybody who gets in their way [sic] -- including the great Kaliddalah beasts and wildcats ...). The senseless violence continues as Dorothy and her "thug" sidekicks are ordered by the Emerald City "Chief" Wizard to perform a "hit" on the wicked [alleged] witch of the West [sic] in exchange for favors from the great and powerful Wizard ... Do today's parents actually condone such random and God-forsaken acts of violence? Do we really need so many senseless killings in children's literature? (Is this book actually endorsed by the Catholic Church to be read by children attending Catholic schools?) Isn't it time we remove this endorsement of randomized violence from our children's schools and libraries? Thank goodness there are some sensible alternatives currently offered in today's world of children's literature. Take the books recently penned and published worldwide by Madonna Ritchie ... The English Roses and Mr. Peabodie's Apples (not to mention soon to be published Yakov and the Seven Thieves [October 2004] and Das Lotsa ****load of Cash [whenever, 2004]). On a scale of 1 to 10, I collectively give Madonna's children's books (with the exception of 1992's Sex ...) seventeen stars, six apples, 4 oranges, 3 bananas, two plums, a blackberry, and a half a cherry ... [you do the math ...] Madonna's red-hot right now ... and you don't need a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal (or half a brain) to figure that out ...
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This story all started when a farm girl from Kansas named Dorothy Gale, and her little dog Toto got sucked into a tornado and landed in a fairyland named Oz. In Oz she meets a bunch of strange characters, a scarecrow, tin woodsman, and a cowardly lion. Together they go on a mission to see the wizard of oz by following the yellow brick road. Each one wanting a different wish. On the way to the wizard they come across multiple things. And when they finally got to Emerald city the wizard told them that they must first kill the wicked witch of the west if they want him to make there wishes come true. Eventually they succeed in doing that along with multiple hard things to do. After all that they find out that the wizard is a "humbug" and he grants everyone's wishes. Except for Dorothy's wich is for her to return back home. So now Dorothy and her friends go on another adventure to find the Good Witch of the South. Well they found her and Dorothy got back home along with her dog Toto, and she had what she needed all along in order for her to return home. Personally in my opinion I enjoyed the book better then the movie. I would recommend this book to anyone with a good imagination, because I kept imagining the story as I read it. The book has some drawings in it wich makes imagining things a lot easier, it has drawings of the main characters, villains, and some of the scenes in the book such as there journey on the yellow brick road. I would also recommend this book to anyone if the ages of 10 and up.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classical story about a girl and her dog that get trapped in a twister. She wakes up in a magical land and asks how she can get home. They tell her she has to follow the yellow brick road. She meets people on her way to the Wizard. The Scarecrow needs brains, the Tinman needs a heart, the Lion needs courage and Dorothy needs to go home. They meet strange things on the way to The Good Witch of the South. I like the book because it's interesting and exciting and that's why I think you should read it.
Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: This book is a wonderful childrens' classic, though for adults it might seem a little bit too fanciful. The same characters from the movie are in it (Dorothy, Glinda, the Wizard of Oz) but don't be surprised if you notice a lot of details in the book that aren't in the movie- they're both completely different. The book is complicated , and contains a lot of elements that are magical in nature, not to mention all the different races (there's even one made out of china!). I don't think I'd recommend it to a smaller child, but eight, nine, ten year olds would LOVE it.
Rating:
Summary: The Wondeful Wizard of Oz by Ryan Widner
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: beautiful and new
Review: I have to say Lizbeth Zwerger has made a wonderful new interpretation of Oz. I like her Dorothy with short cropped hair, her catlike cowardly lion, and her valient tin woodman. She has given wind swept pictures with delightful characters. My only quam is her fat and boring scarecrow, who lacks the whismy of Hague, Santore, and Denslow. She could have also made more green for the emerald city but the addition of green glasses made it wonderful and fun. Her pictures are not as bold as Charles Santore, but they are unusual and beautiful and worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: Something of a disappointment.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Dorothy's Adventures In Oz
Review: 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!
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