Wednesday 22 June 2016

The Wizard of Oz / L. Frank Baum

4 out of 5 stars
***Wanda’s Summer Carnival of Children’s Literature***
Can you believe that I have never before read this book nor have I ever seen the movie? And yet it is such a part of our world that I feel like I already knew the story. I mean, Elton John sings about the yellow brick road, we all claim “there’s no place like home,” anybody small can be referred to as a Munchkin, and the whole concept of “the man behind the curtain” is common (I can remember an original series Star Trek episode that’s completely built upon it).

There were quite a few details of the story which were brand new to me. I loved the Queen of the Field Mice for example and the fact that the tiny mice manage to save the Cowardly Lion. And the flying monkeys come away with a much better reputation in the book that I would have expected. Plus, there was more violence in it than I would have anticipated—the Tin Woodman uses his axe on more than trees!

A very iconic story and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. Who knows, maybe the movie will be next!

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