Wonderful Wizard of Oz

by L. F. Baum

In this first book, Dorothy and her dog Toto, are transported from Kansas via tornado to the land of Oz (specifically to the land of the Munchkins) where she accidentally kills the Wicked Witch of the East when her house lands on her. The only thing left of her are her silver shoes which are enchanted but no one can remember what they do. The Munchkins are very grateful for the Witch of the West was wicked but Dorothy is horrified she has killed someone and desperately wants to go home. The Good Witch of the North tells her to take the Wicked Witch's silver shoes and to travel to the Emerald City of Oz to speak to the Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz, who may be able to send her home. Along the way she meets a Scarecrow (who wants brains), a Tin Man (who wants a heart) and a Cowardly Lion (who wants courage). Dorothy rescues each of them and they agree to travel with her to ask Oz for their wish.

Unfortunately they get to Oz and find Oz is not willing to grant their wishes unless they do something for him - kill the Wicked Witch of the West. So begins their next journey. They Wicked Witch sees them coming (with her telescopic eye?) and sends her evil wolves, evil crows and evil bees to stop them. When this doesn't work (the Scarecrow and Tin Man defeat them all) she sends her Flying Monkeys to stop them. They spread the Scarecrow out across the land, throw the Tin Man onto some rocks and capture the Cowardly Lion in ropes to take to the Witch. Only Dorothy escapes because of the kiss of protection the Good Witch of the North gave her. The Flying Monkey's do not dare to overcome the power of good apparently, so they take her to the Wicked Witch too.

The Wicked Witch is also scared of the kiss but realises Dorothy doesn't know she has any power - and so manipulates her into being a slave, plotting to steal her silver shoes. When she finally does manage to steal one shoe, Dorothy becomes so angry she takes the bucket of water she was using to clean and throws it on the Witch calling her mean. Unfortunately the Wicked Witch is vulnerable to water and so melts away. The Winkies are all very grateful and help Dorothy and the Lion rescue the Scarecrow and the Tin Man and they all journey back to Oz to get their rewards.

Unfortunately they find Oz is no wizard at all but rather a ventriloquist balloonist from Omaha. He manages to grant the wishes of the Scarecrow (brains - bran mixed with pins and needles), the Tin Man (a heart - a sawdust stuffed silk heart) and the Lion (courage - liquid of some description) but is not sure how to fulfill Dorothy's wish to go home. In the end, he makes a hot air balloon, but at the time of departure, Dorothy is busy chasing after Toto and gets left behind. So it's back to the drawing board. It's suggested that Dorothy should go see Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. So they do and Glinda sends the others home and tells Dorothy she just has to click her heels three times and she'll be able to go anywhere in the world. Dorothy does and goes home to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

This book was alright. It's very simplistic - like a fairytale in that and as such there's little character development. I liked the characters well enough - although Oz was my favourite. He amused me. Especially he's comment about being a humbug.

Oz, left to himself, smiled to think of his success in giving the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion exactly what they thought they wanted. "How can I help being a humbug," he said, "when all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done?

Baum, L. Frank. Oz: The Complete Collection (Illustrated) . Maplewood Books. Kindle Edition.

There were some other funny comments as well. I liked it enough, although for an adult it can be a little boring - but I can see how kids would enjoy the plot and the silliness of the characters. 3 stars, maybe 3.5 for target audience. 2.5 stars from me.