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Summary: This book was a wonderful book!
Review: This book is really good! Talking animals, tin man, and scarecrows, and Dorothy team up in an adventure with a witch on their tails. And the end is very happy.
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Summary: Amazing what Hollywood can do.
Review: The 1939 classic musical film based on this flimsy novel is a suprising masterpiece, considering what it was based upon. Too often, movies never are able to live up to the quality of the book. However, in this simpleton little novel, the writing is mediocre and the story does not have the same relevance of that of the movie.I don't really wish to compare the book to the movie, but in this instance it is practically inevitable. The book, itself, is written for ages 7-12 and giving credit where credit is due, is quite imaginative. It portrays the relationships a little girl might have with pseudo-adults. What I found more interesting than the actual book is the biography in the forward of the author L.Frank Baum. He was quite the entrepeneur in his day and in fact wrote the musical of the "Wizard of Oz" one year after he published the book. Having written other unreadable books, the author had to content himself with writing sequels to the stories of Oz, since he really was not all that talented as evidenced in this little novel. It is fun to see the differences between the book and the 1939 film, but on its own, the book stands a mediocre pillar in a land of great writers. For a beautifully imaginative and incredibly creative story for children and adults, "Alice in Wonderland" & "Through the Looking Glass" are, I'm sure, what L.Frank Baum aspired to write. However, they haven't been able to make an acceptably brilliant film out of these two books yet. Come 1999, I understand there is to be a new movie. We shall see what it brings. -jgl
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Summary: The American FairyTale
Review: "The Wizard of Oz", in my opinion, is the American Fairytale, and is far more better than any Brother Grimms or Aesop Fables! As stated, the book is better than the movie, and, the Oz Book series has reached over 200 sequels, by dozens of authors! The Wizard of Oz has a wonderful moral in it that is true for all of us. It is, and always will be, my favorite story.
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Summary: Comment on the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Review: Format - Read Aloud, Listening Level - Pre School and up, Reading Level - Intermediate through Adult (those of a young heart) Join Dorothy and Toto in her first adventure in Oz. Follow her adventures as she travels with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion to see the Wizard of Oz then to see Glinda, the good witch. All the time trying to find the way back to Kansas. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the 1st of 14 Oz books written by L. Frank Baum, the creator of Oz. llustrated by W.W. Denslow. Originally Published 1900 Read Aloud by Kathryn England An Electronic Paperback (R) is a new type of book. Instead of the traditional paper book in a hardback or paperback cover, an Electronic Paperback is on a CD where it can be read by a common software program and displayed on a computer. Each CD has Electronic Paperback readers for OS/2, Windows 3.x, Windows/95, and Windows/98. With MacIntosh available in September. Readers are under development fo! r the QVision Mentor(R) system and PC-DOS An Electronic Paperback can have up to three elements - text, artwork, and sound. Any Electronic Paperback may or may not have artwork. A Read Aloud type has both text and audio. A Silent Reading type has text. An Electronic Paperback has several advantages over a traditional paper book. The first is the ability to integrate the text and voice. For children's books, this gives the parent a supplement to the parent's reading aloud to the child. Various studies have indicated that children who are read aloud to develop better reading and vocabulary skills. Reading ability is the best indicator of adult success. Next, the Electronic Paperback format allows QVision as a publisher to concentrate on the content side of a book. Custom code does not have to be designed for each and every book. This in turn allows QVision to price an Electronic Paperback at a cost that is competitive with high end Paperbacks and low end hardback ! books. Also a collection of books with just text can be p! ublished at a low cost. One example is The Wizard of Oz Collection which contains all 14 Oz books written by L. Frank Baum on a single CDROM. On every Read Aloud Electronic Paperback, there are two classifications: Listening Level and Reading Level. A Silent Reading Electronic Paperback has just the Reading Level. A Listening Vocabulary is broader than the Reading Vocabulary for an individual, so the two are different. Both classes not only take in to account Vocabulary but also content. The level in the classifications are: Pre School - Children who have not yet begun to read. Three years old to kindergarten. Early Reader - Grade Levels 1 to 4 Intermediate - Grade Levels 3 to 6 Junior High - Grade Levels 6 to 9 Senior High - Grade Levels 9 to 12 Adult - Base on content, vocabulary usually at Senior High Level Electronic Paperback is a registered trademark of Advanced Idea Machines. Mentor is a registered trademark of QVision Publishing.
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Summary: Great for Reading Aloud
Review: The book is very funny and different enough from the movie to be full of suprises. Wry humor and fantasy keeps adults interested so it is a great read-aloud. My children ages 4 to 7 loved this as a read-aloud.
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Summary: A very imaginative book and a delight to read
Review: This story of Dorthoy and her dog Toto is great for everyone of any age. The story follows her adventures down the yellow brick road where she meets up with the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow. I recommend reading the book instead of seeing the movie for they are quite different. I read fast and you can't put it down. I read it while my sister watched the movie, I finished it before it was even over! The characters are unforgettable and to me the book is just as classic as the movie!
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Summary: Buy this book, sit down with the kids, and ENJOY
Review: I just finished reading this book to my five year old daughter, who thought it would be just like the movie. I, also, was new to the book, not having read it when I was a child. We were both in for a delightful surprise. This book is so much better than the movie, and not nearly as scary. My daughter was particularly enchanted with the beautiful pictures, both the sketches that appear throughout the book and the full color plates. Books of Wonder has done a tremendous job of restoring this series, we intend to read them all.
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Summary: This book will change your image of Oz -- unforgettably!!
Review: Imagine an Oz where the characters are more exciting than in Hollywood or on Broadway, where the Emerald City isn't green, and the Ruby Slippers are silver, not red. And it isn't a remake, it's the original! This book made me want to read all the others in the series, and the pictures make you feel part of the book. Children of all ages, don't miss this one
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Summary: This book was better than the movie!!
Review: When I read this book I was expecting it to be like the movie. The book gave a better description of the characters and their journey. I'm 12 years old and I thought this book would be simple and that I could read it in a day. This book is for a harder reading level but I enjoyed it never the less
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Summary: A Classic ...
Review: For those of us who've seen the movie umpteen times, this retelling of the classic tale is actually fresh and worth the read.
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