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    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    Written by L. Frank Baum

    Narrated by Paul Rudd and Brooke Shields

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    L. Frank Baum's timeless classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first uniquely American fairy tale. A combination of enchanting fantasy and piercing social commentary, this remarkable story has entertained and beguiled readers of all ages since it was first published in 1900. Ray Bradbury writes in his Introduction, "Both [Baum and Shakespeare] lived inside their heads with a mind gone wild with wanting, wishing, hoping, shaping, dreaming," and it is this same hunger that makes all of us continue to seek out the story of Oz-and be nourished by it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 12, 2012
    ISBN9780307941626
    Author

    L. Frank Baum

    Lyman Frank Baum (1856–1919) was an American children’s book author, best known for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote thirteen novel sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and several other works (55 novels in total, plus four "lost" novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, an unknown number of scripts, and many miscellaneous writings).

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    Reviews for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    4/5

    3,718 ratings193 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I just finished reading this book to my son, who is almost six. He really liked it, which sort of surprised me as it was more challenging for him to stay with than all the picture books and easy readers we usually share. I am very glad that my edition had all the old pictures in it so that it still had a little picture book flavor. That made the transition to more advanced reading easier.

      The one thing I will note: As with the Beatrix Potter stories I also read in my childhood, I was a little surprised at the level of violence in this book. I guess it is just a reminder of how times have changed. But if you are at all worried about creatures of various sorts meeting a rather gruesome demise, I would sit this book out. But I truly believe you would be missing out on a really wonderful story.

      Keep in mind as well that there are some MAJOR differences from the MGM movie -- the ruby slippers are silver, and Glinda is not the same Good Witch as the one at the beginning of the novel. (Spoiler: This change is what makes the movie Glinda seem so awful if you really think about it. She knew the whole time about the slippers and she never said anything?? Not cool.)
    • 5/5
      A great book for the young and old alike. If you're familiar with the movie or with Wicked... throw everything you know away and immerse yourself fully in this wondrous piece of art. Dorothy is a determined, plucky girl, the Wicked Witch is very much a child herself, and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman are as humourous and heartfelt as you always thought them to be. I highly recommend this book to every little girl looking for some adventure and humour, and every little boy wanting the same!
    • 4/5
      It's REEEALLLY good. The kind of books I love to read :D It's ''childish'', but not written as though we were children of 5 to understand it. :D
    • 4/5
      A rather wonderful story! There were definitely some differences from the movie, which I found interesting, and I listened to the audiobook, which was a very nice interpretation/performance. I don't feel the political aspects were very pronounced, I'll have to read more analysis of that to understand it better, I suppose.
    • 5/5
      The book is definitely different from the movie. The tale is directed towards youngsters with the use of repeating things and simplified wordings. There is a bit too much violence for a children's book, though. There is a scene where the scarecrow kills crows by snapping their necks.
    • 3/5
      This book—a novella by modern standards—remains a pleasant read over a hundred years after Baum first published it in 1900. The basic characters are the same, and some of the same events take place, but I think the movie is a more solid story over all. That said, I still liked it. There is a deep sense of magic to Dorothy’s adventure (with Toto, too) in Oz.
    • 4/5
      What a surprisingly wonderful book. I've only seen the movies before, and while I did miss the music, I found the plucky girl character Dorothy strong and purposeful and all the other characters varied and interesting. I wish I had a child to read it to now, but I don't think it would work too well on my 18-year-old grandson.
    • 5/5
      REVIEWED: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
      WRITTEN BY: L. Frank Baum
      PUBLISHED: May, 1900

      There really isn’t much more to say than has already been offered a thousand time over. This book is a timeless classic. I just read it to my son and can confirm that the story is touching for all ages. He’s five, I’m thirty-seven, and we enjoyed it together. My parents love it, grandparents love it, etc. There are not a lot of fiction works that are appealing to so wide an audience. If you don’t know the basic story, according to the movie at least, your childhood was a sham. The book includes additional passages and adventures which were left out of the MGM film; it’s also darker and more violent than the movie... and lacks the songs.

      Five out of Five stars
    • 5/5
      I have seen the movie COUNTLESS times and finally read the book. It was wonderful and has a little bit more to explain the movie story.
      LOVED it!
    • 4/5
      I've just read this to my two kids. They loved the story and I had a ball making up voices for the characters (you should hear my Kansas accent...). Given that it's over a century since Baum wrote the book, it holds up remarkably well. Many children's books from the '20s, '30s and '40s sound positively archaic now. 'Oz' is older and yet it didn't feel antiquated at all. I suppose it's because the prose and tale itself are timeless, the hallmarks of a classic.
    • 5/5
      This is a delightful book. If you're familiar with the film, it has a similar plot but feels more picaresque (episodic), and covers a little more ground. The feeling engendered by each is very, very different, though both are masterpieces in their own right.

      This is indeed that rare book that can be enjoyed by old and young alike (the second in the series has quite long passages that really only an adult will be able to follow, but this one holds the interest of all ages). I read it as a child, back in the day, and it was the first chapter book I read to my nephew (when he was 2) because it had illustrations on almost every page, which was a necessity if we wanted to hold his interest--and on the rare pages without one, I'd show him the cover while I quickly got through the text--so if you're looking for early books for your kids, this is a great option.

      If you enjoy the cleverness of the conversations, do keep reading--The Marvelous Land of Oz is not quite as good, but the third Oz book (Ozma of Oz) is my favourite of all, once I got used to Dorothy's makeover (Baum hired a new illustrator, and she goes from frumpy brunette to stylish blonde).

      If you're a reader (and you must be, you're here), and you haven't read this one, you must! You simply must. It will surprise you, and you may end up preferring it to the wonderful film (not that it's a contest--they can both be terrific, and are.)
    • 3/5
      I made the mistake of growing up watching the film and not reading the book until adulthood. They are VERY different. This novel is a lot more graphic and dark. Not at all like the yellow brick road we skipped down with Judy Garland.
    • 3/5
      Better than I expected it to be but it does show its age. Still fun to read. I am a little surprised it took me this long to read it.
    • 4/5
      I've been a huge fan of the Wizard of Oz movie, I can't believe it's taken me this long to read the book. It's a cute, entertaining story with much more detail about the land of Oz. I'm also a fan of Gregory Mcquire's Wicked series, and I was interested to find some of the characters from his books in the original book (Boq). The entire time I was reading I kept thinking that I can't wait to share the book with my kids someday. I now want to read the entire series.
    • 3/5
      Think I read bits of this as a kid, but not the whole thing. Nice. The audio voices are rather odd, but bearable. Won't be re-reading it again all that soon, and not sure I liked it enough to justify reading the rest of the series. Hmmm.
    • 5/5
      One of my very favorite children's books of all time - the timeless characters and theme of finding your true home resonant in today's modern times. Dorothy and her friends - with their teamwork and spirit - show that dreams are attainable and friendship and family are every lasting.

      This title has held up for over one hundred years with good reason, and its legacy continues through cinema and theatrical adaptations.
    • 5/5
      Quick review: Not sure why I took so long to read this. I've seen the movie many times in my life, since I was a child, but now having read the book, I can see the two are equally great works despite the differences. I know there will be more Oz books in my future.
    • 5/5
      I always loved this book since I was younger and even now. It just show's how you always have thing you thought you never had inside but in realty it was always there.This book is great for all ages.
    • 4/5
      By now everybody knows - or should know, the tale about Dorothy and Toto. No matter what you believe, which theory is behind this (hi)story, there's just as many reasons to read or reread a series as Oz. Mine was nothing more than this beautiful clothbound classic! Isn't it pretty?!?!
    • 4/5
      Book way better than movie. As an adult reader I did find it a bit twee and predictable but it is a children's story and should be enjoyed as such
    • 5/5
      The most beautiful of this novel so far. Illustrations to die for.
    • 4/5
      Well finally read it and while it's not really a great piece of ligature it is truly a fun story that all kids should read once they are at an age where they can handle heads being chopped off.
    • 4/5
      This is a classic I never got around to reading as a child. I skipped over children's books to comics and adult classics like "War and Peace." Now, as an adult, I find the tale enjoyable and gratifying to read, with little editorial comments sprinkled throughout. My favorite:

      "'For,' they said 'there is not another city in all the world that is ruled by a stuffed man.' And, so far as they knew, they were quite right."
    • 4/5
      First of all this is the ugliest book cover ever.Wizard of Oz was my all time favorite movie as a child. I once left a movie at the theater to get home in time to see the movie, even though I had seen it at least six times. This was one of the first movies I bought my children. I don't know why I never read the book as a child or why I waited so long to read the book. I really enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      Wonderful tale.
    • 3/5
      Although I've seen the 1939 film and more recent films, I had no idea what to expect. I remember looking at all of the L. Frank Baum books at the library, but never picked one up.

      I shouldn't be surprised by the darkness in the books, but coming from contemporary children's stories, I seem to have coddled my own understanding of the frankness and abrupt nature that "evil" is dealt with at the turn of the century.

      I enjoyed the book, probably more so because I have so many other versions to compare it to. I have yet to read Wicked, but I prefer this story to the other adaptations.
    • 5/5
      Here it is: the book that started it all. I'm so familiar with the beats of the plot that I haven't read the actual text in, probably, a good twenty years, so coming back to it was illuminating. It's a remarkably straightforward, plain-spoken piece of work; the cyclone hits on page 4 of this first edition reproduction, but it would be the second page in any modern edition with a reduced font size and page margins. The final chapter is just three paragraphs. Baum achieves a lot with very little, and if the story comes over as a more strict morality play than the later Oz books, that's okay. There's a lot of imagination and invention in evidence here, and if you think back to the almost non-existent landscape of children's literature at the turn of the 20th century, it's easy to see why this book made such a big splash. There are a few associations with European fairy tale tropes, but mostly, Baum is having a good time modernizing and turning those preconceptions on their head, and tying them to a fantasized version of the frontier America he knew (something that, for whatever reason, most adaptations seem to miss). Abandoning the landscape and hierarchy of European nations gives Oz its own fantasy-land identity, which Baum continued to refine - but never really bettered - in future volumes. And if his prose is formal and his characterization fairly basic, he makes up for it with sheer visual iconography. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a book that provides the framework for a child's imagination, and the figures it provides are unique and vivid enough that we have, unsurprisingly, absorbed them into our American mythology over the past one hundred years.
    • 4/5
      wonderful, wonderful, wonderful...!!!
    • 5/5
      A must read if you're into the Wicked series by Gregory Maguire. And, the paperback I got from amazon.com has all the original illustrations, which are wonderful
    • 4/5
      I love this book. It's a very easy to read children's book. It's full of imagination and interesting characters. I love the imagery that this book puts out. It's a really fun read.