The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Summary

Don't be fooled by your earlier preconceptions of "The Wizard of Oz" the book is much different from the movie. Not to say the movie isn't good, I love the movie so much that even when I bought my own copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz it sat on my shelf years and years. But, how happy I am now that I finally opened it. Of the books chosen for this inquiry project it has been my favorite.

One fateful day Dorothy is at home in Kansas when a twister appears and uproots her home taking her and her dog Toto with it! The two land in Munchkin Land right on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Good Witch of the North appears, gives Dorothy the silver shoes and sends her to find the Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City so that she can go back home. Along the way Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion as they overcome dangerous and tricky situations that test their courage, wits, and love for each other. After meeting the Wizard the group is sent to find and kill the Wicked Witch of the West, after they succeed is the real surprise of the novel. Dorothy inherits a golden cap with grants wishes, Dorothy and her friends travel back to the Emerald City for direction from the Wizard. Each of the three friends of Dorothy find a special place in Oz and are no longer misfits, their new roles show the traits they had all along. As for Dorothy, she realizes the power to go home was with her all along.

Text Features

Using the Scholastic website I learned that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has a Lexile level of 1000, making it accessible to grades levels 6-8. Keeping this in mind I would say that this novel is still an appropriate read for children of this reading level and older. The book is a little lengthy at 213 pages, but this length still has nothing on the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books that children are reading in the middle grades.  The text size is fairly small and there isn't very much white space but there is a good amount of conversation. For me, this book was a quick read, and much easier than Alice's Adventures in Wonderland actually. Notable, though are the really awesome illustrations... 

Each chapter has a cover page with a picture that reflects either the title of the chapter or what will happen. 

Next, the first word of the chapter is illustrated into a mini scene of the chapter.

Finally, there are one or two full page illustrations depicting an important scene of the chapter.

The illustrations were helpful in depicting the fantasy characters that I could not create an image of in my head using the text alone.

But most of all I REALLY wish I had a copy with color illustrations!

Timelessness

As I mentioned earlier, this novel was a quick and easy read. I think most middle school readers would have almost no problems decoding the language of the novel, and furthermore it is very easy to understand for adults. The only concern could be understanding what the fantastic people and creatures of the novel look like. Whether this is a good or bad thing, present day popular culture makes up for this with all the adaptations and references we have that model the characters in the novel.

Personal Reflection

Despite my love for the 1939 film, I really enjoyed this novel. In fact, I think I love it more because it is so different from the film adaptations. Also I love that there is so much potential for where to go next with this novel. With 13 other novels about Oz by Baum alone, a reader interested in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has a wide variety of similar reading selections.