The Wizard of Oz

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View books by L. Frank Baum.

STICK TO THE MOVIE FOR MORE DEPTH OF CHARACTER! - Rated
Never having read this story as a child and only being familiar with the film, how suprised I was to find out that the magic shoes were in fact silver and not red! I understand, of course, why the colour was changed for the movie, as red contrasts much better with the yellow of the brick road. It is, however, rather naughty for the cover of this book ( Puffin version ) to show red shoes as it is an unabridged original tale and not a book of the film. The book is suitable for the under 10 age group as the characters are fairly one dimensional and i'm afraid, despite the book containing more adventures than is depicted in the film, this is one case where the movie brings the story to life more so than the book! Nevertheless, the story is highly imaginative and fun so don't be put off by the fact it is over a hundred years old as the writing style and language is still appealing for today's readers. It is classed as a 'classic', and indeed it contains several points for consideration, but there are many modern books that are more deserving of the title ( and may yet still become classics ).

An unusual and special interpretation - Rated
This was the first, but definitely not the last, book illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger that I had ever purchased. Her watercolor technique is extremely enviable, and I just adored her intepretation of the Scarecrow! Her imagination is very rich indeed.

great illustrations - Rated
I bought it for the illustrations. Anyone who appreciates art will love Zwerger's work. Without a doubt, she's one of the best if not the best illustrator out there.

Beautiful and mysterious illustrations, "wonder full" story - Rated
This well-known fairy tale now has illustrations truly worthy of the mysterious and wonderful happenings in the Land of Oz. The European illustrator, Lisbeth Zwerger, states in the book jacket that she had never seen the Hollywood movie version before doing her drawings and that they were drawn simply from the author's own descriptions in the book. I read the book aloud to my daughters, one 10 and the other 6 years old, and found that the book is quite different from the movie. The pictures are exquisite, colorful, and capture the strangeness of the story. Both children loved it. Afterwards, the 6 year old said, "Mom, maybe we should BUY this book," (I had borrowed it from the library). Since then not only have I bought the book, I have given it to my nephew for his birthday and to another friend for her baby shower. It's superb.