The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum

ISBN 10: 078618034X ISBN 13: 9780786180349

Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, 2002

Synopsis

[Read by Anna Fields]

This, the complete and unabridged original tale that provided us with the best-loved classic movie, stands on its own as a great modern-day fairy tale.

It is the story of a little girl, Dorothy, and her dog, Toto, whisked away on a cyclone from their drab Kansas home to a land of adventure and achievement inhabited by such creatures as a Cowardly Lion, a Tin Woodman, an animate Scarecrow, a witch, and the Wizard himself. Join them on their enchanting journey along the Yellow Brick Road in search of the wonderful wizard in the enchanted Emerald City.

About this title

Review:

An updated version of the definitive guide, The Annotated Wizard of Oz provides a facsimile color version of the first edition of L. Frank Baum's children's classic along with extensive notes and a thorough history of the immense Oz project. In his excellent introduction, Michael Patrick Hearn describes the author's early life and interests and the development of his collaboration with W.W. Denslow, the original illustrator for his books.

An energetic and excitable fellow, Baum's devotion to make-believe began in his early 20s, when he joined a small touring theatrical troupe on the East Coast. Later attempts to run a general store and a newspaper in South Dakota (then the Wild West) failed miserably. Although few of his business ventures or artistic efforts had met with success, in 1897 Baum's "Father Goose" rhymes (designed and illustrated by Denslow) became a surprise bestseller, and Baum was able to buy his family a summer cottage on Lake Michigan, christened "The Sign of the Goose," for which he made most of the furniture (goose-themed, of course) and stenciled the walls with a frieze of green geese.

The idea for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, "a modern fairy tale," as he considered it, soon followed, and the book appeared in May 1900. The 10,000-copy first printing sold out in two weeks, and about 90,000 sold within the first year. Hearn goes on to describe the many books that followed, as well as the 1902 musical extravaganza The Wizard of Oz and Baum's subsequent, ill-starred attempts to depict the world of Oz on film. (He died long before the 1939 MGM musical made his fairy tale known around the globe.) In 1907, he told a reporter for the Grand Rapids Herald why he preferred young readers:

To write fairy stories for children, to amuse them, to divert restless children, sick children, to keep them out of mischief on rainy days, seems of greater importance than to write grown-up novels. Few of the popular novels last the year out, responding as they do to a certain psychological demand, characteristic of the time; whereas, a child's book is, comparatively speaking, the same always, since children are always the same kind of folks with the same needs to be satisfied.

Hearn has gone to great lengths in his notes to this facsimile of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, often referring to subsequent volumes in the series, slowly building a key to the rules and history of Oz, pointing out inconsistencies as well as hints to Baum's literary sources (such as Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress), and providing, among other delights, a mini-treatise on malevolent vegetation in Oz. This is an essential volume for the Oz aficionado or the student of children's literature, and a wonderful resource for parents of young readers. --Regina Marler

Book Description:

The Wizard of Oz is a beloved American classic.  This edition, with fine illustrations from internationally acclaimed artist Lizbeth Zwerger, has been reformatted as a readaloud edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 078618034X
• ISBN 13: 9780786180349
• Binding: Audio CD