As a former English teacher and librarian, book talks were a staple in our founder’s classroom and library. She posted those book talks and reviews on her personal page, educatorbarnes.com. Those reviews are now on this website, and our founder will continue adding new book reviews. They are categorized on the Book Talks and Reviews page.
November 2024, Wicked Part I premiered in theaters. Before I saw the Wicked musical film twice, I saw the musical Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz years ago. The musical is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. This novel is based on the characters in L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz.
Of course, I have also seen 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz, a soulful musical with a Black cast.
With Wicked, and by extension The Wizard of Oz, being thrust into the spotlight capturing newer audiences, I decided to read The first 15 Land of Oz books.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900. It would be the first of 14 Land of Oz books L. Frank Baum wrote before his death. Other authors continued the series. When book 15 was originally released it listed L. Frank Baum as the author, and there were claims that his notes were used to write the book. It was later revealed that Ruth Plumly Thompson wrote it. She was one of the many authors who carried on the Oz series.
I purchased a series collection of the Land of Oz books which includes book 15 written by Thompson. However, there are way more than 15 books!
As I read the series, I will provide my honest reviews. Let’s get into book one!
As a kid, I saw the Wizard of Oz musical film with Judy Garland as the protagonist Dorthy Gale. After reading the book, I can understand why a lot of content was left out to make the movie musical.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz follows Dorthy Gale’s journey in the Land of Oz. A tornado brings her to Oz, and she wishes to get back home to her aunt and uncle. Along the way, she faces many adventures and becomes friends with a Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion.
Readers who have watched on screen adaptation will notice many changes. Glinda is the Witch of the South and not the North. There is a Witch of the North. In movie adaptations, South and North witches are combined into one character. Also, the magical shoes are NOT red. They are sliver. More about those shoes later.
The chapters are short and there is a hurdle the characters must work through in each chapter. However, it is easy to forget all the different characters in the book, and those additional characters lack depth. Additionally, the are so many different places in Oz the characters travel through on their journey. As I continue reading the series, I wonder how much historical knowledge the reader will need to retain. As an adult, I felt I needed to take some notes to keep track.
I do have a bone to pick with the illustrator of this series decision to have red shoes on the wicked witch. The shoes were sliver in the book! I much prefer this book cover. Yes, I did purchase two copies of the same book, and that’s my business!
Overall, it was a quick and easy read. I wish there was more character development hence my rating below. Despite my rating, I still believe young kids will enjoy the book.
Rating 3.5/5
| Lexile | 1030L |
| Accelerated Reader Level | 7.0 |
Blazing Brilliance 