Shelly's Book Blog

I had not read L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz since I was about 13, and I was surprised by how different the book is from the movie (which I have seen more times than I can remember). For example, in the book the shoes Dorothy gets from the Wicked Witch of the East are silver, not ruby colored. Dorothy and the gang meet the good witch of the North, who is an old lady, at the beginning of the book, but they also travel near the end of the book to see Glinda the Good, who is the good witch of the South. Also, the winged monkeys only obey the Wicked Witch of the West because she possesses a charmed cap, and she can only call on them to obey her three times before her power over them is at an end. The monkeys actually help both Dorothy and Glinda, as well as the Wicked Witch of the West, before the story ends.

Before I finished reading this book, I read an opinion piece in which the author says that The Wizard of Oz is far inferior to C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia novels. Perhaps I was swayed by this article, but I found myself rather disappointed by The Wizard of Oz. The writing was rather simple and almost sing-song at times, such as when the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Dorothy all recite, in turn, what they are seeking (and might not get) from the wizard (they do this more than once). At the end, Glinda turns to each character in turn, and in order, and asks where they need to go after Dorothy goes home. Perhaps this predictability gives kids a sense of order and security, but I found it tedious.

The dangers the group faces when they are traveling all seem to be resolved so easily that they are not even that interesting, really. All in all, I believe I would have been happier with a darker, scarier land of Oz. Still, I think that more people should read the book (or books, if they decide they like this world). The movie is "wonderful," but the book is a whole different experience. I think it is just meant for children younger than I had thought.