The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz #1) by L. Frank Baum

Blurb: Dorothy thinks she’s lost forever when a tornado whirls her and her dog, Toto, into a magical world. To get home, she must find the wonderful wizard in the Emerald City of Oz. On the way she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. But the Wicked Witch of the West has her own plans for the new arrival – will Dorothy ever see Kansas again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

This book satisfies Book to the Classics Challenge #10: A classic set in a place you’d like to visit. 

4 stars

My daughter and I read this together and really liked it. I found the sentences to be a bit run on so when I was reading it out loud to my daughter I kept having to pause in the middle to catch my breath! That was a bit annoying.

But the story itself was pretty funny and a bit morbid IMO.  If you have watched the movie but not read the book, lemme tell you; they are similar but by no means are they the same.  The tin man’s reason for being tin was…..bordering on the ridiculous.  My daughter and I kept laughing at each time he lost a limb.

And the Lion didn’t really come off as cowardly so much as bratty.  But I’m sure that’s just our modern interpretation.  I did love the flying monkeys.  They played a much bigger part in the book.  Each chapter was like a mini adventure, always something new that happened and was resolved by the end of it.  It kept us engaged in that aspect.
One thing I will spoil for you….her shoes are NOT red.

And did you know, there’s like 13 books in this series?  I had no idea.  Anyway, it was a fun read.  I definitely recommend it, especially if you had kids.