Book #228 – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

I live! I blame my latest slump on Broadway and trying to learn the music to like 4 different musicals at once because that’s just how I am.

Yes, the iconic “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” is my book for Kansas. Mostly because the other most known Kansas book I read in high school. Thanks, Truman Capote! Technically, I’ve read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I just… didn’t remember. I had these selection of illustrated classics as a kid. (Did anyone else have like a small collection of Great Illustrated Classics? Just me?) Well, I thought that the illustrated classic wasn’t the full Wizard of Oz… turns out, I was wrong. BUT! Considering I read that when I was 8 or 9, it’s been 2 decades, so it felt sort of new.

L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, and it was adapted into a Broadway production 2 years later. It’s also known as one of the first major movies to use technicolor, when the 1939 film transferred from black and white in Kansas into full color in Oz. While the characters were certainly changed for the movie adaptation, there aren’t many people who don’t know about a pair of ruby slippers and singing about “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

This is one of the few children’s books that’s still on the list. I did a purge of picture books and left 2, but this would be among the ones I’d recommend for a younger elementary student. The plot line is simplistic and any new problems are typically resolves in a couple of paragraphs. In fact, the Wicked Witch of the West doesn’t make an appearance at all until Dorothy goes into the Western territory to find her. There doesn’t really appear to be a climactic moment in the entire book, as any problem is completely whisked away before there’s any real rising action. Perhaps the only real struggle in the book is the journey, which allows for a lot of world building, but not much else. So, it’s a cute world filled with interesting locations, but the story just sort of meanders to the end.

Where the book shines is the world building. While I chose the book for Kansas, the bulk of the story takes place in Oz. L. Frank Baum would go on to write about a dozen books on Oz, building the fantasy world into what we know it as today. There are giant forests, a field of deadly poppies, and of course, the Emerald City and Yellow Brick Road that color the pages of the book. Baum would go on to expand the world with another dozen books, giving new races to populate the wilds and beyond. However, in the first book, Baum introduced the rather color coordinated Munchkins, Winkies, and Quadlings, with an unknown race residing in the North with the Good Witch. And numerous smaller societies existing outside of the 4 most heavily influenced by the Witches.

Again, this is definitely a book for children, so there is not a whole lot of character development. The few creatures that are evil in the book remain evil, and the protagonists don’t really change even when the Wizard gives them what they want most. Because there is no climactic event that would cause the characters to need to develop, Dorothy never develops past wanting to get to Kansas, and keeps her childish nature the entire book. Near constant outside influence keeps the remaining group from growing in any real way, so aside from some decent descriptions, there is really nothing to the characters that are introduced. You could probably swap Dorothy out with a Daniel or a set of twins and the story wouldn’t be any different.

Overall, this book held nostalgia because I had actually read it before, and there is definitely a charm to the book. However, it’s fluff and something to maybe read if you have a child to entertain. I’d certainly recommend as an easy chapter book to start a reader’s journey.

Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don’t you think? – L. Frank Baum

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