Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I never read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a child, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as an adult.  It varies greatly from the movie and is actually the better for it. While I like the movie and recognize it as an American classic, I found the book far more enjoyable.

I do recognize that it might be tempting to read this book to small children, but parents beware!  This book is far more violent than the movie, which is scary enough for kids. There are hundreds of creatures killed in this book, some of their deaths being a bit graphic.  Just the story of how the Tin Woodsman became made of Tin is gory enough for nightmares.  That being said, I found this a thoroughly enjoyable for an older audience.

The themes that were carried in the film are present in this book, but they are enforced even more strongly.  One of my favorite things about the movie is that each of Dorothy’s companions already possesses the traits that they desire.  This book frequently describes the Scarecrow as a fool, but this is only to highlight that he is not. Every plan that they use to survive on their journey is devised by the Scarecrow. Throughout the book, he continues to be the wisest of the four. It's one of the things that I love about the book, the fact that in it, the Scarecrow is wiser, the Tin Woodsman is more caring, and the Lion is far more courageous than their movie counterparts.

Example: When the Woodsman weeps and rusts, Baum makes a point of the fact that Dorothy and the Lion are confused, whereas the Scarecrow simply reaches for the oil can and solves the problem. These characteristics of the characters are still present in the book, even more so than the movie, they are just more subtly and sweetly done.

I enjoyed the book so much that I downloaded the first fifteen books of the series.  I highly recommend the book for all young adult and adult readers.  I would use caution for middle grade readers and younger.  The book is in the public domain can be found for free on Amazon at the links above. 

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For comments, questions, and feedback, the author may be contacted at:  unkemptruminations@comcast.net or in the "Questions and Comments" forum at the bottom of the product information page which you can find here.