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    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    Written by L. Frank Baum

    Narrated by Tara Saltzman and Jaime Andrade

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Experience the land of Oz as you never thought possible. BFV’s unabridged production of Frank Baum’s classic tale relates the adventure of the Kansas farm girl, Dorothy, being whisked away by a cyclone to a magical country inhabited by small adults, animated china figurines, talking animals, and magical objects.....so much more than you were ever introduced to in the movie. You’ll be enthralled as the narrator weaves the tale with vivid vocal characterizations, sound effects and musical background making this rendition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the most amazing and memorable you have ever heard!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrook Forest Voices
    Release dateJan 7, 2012
    ISBN9781941105146
    Author

    L. Frank Baum

    L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 and received enormous, immediate success. Baum went on to write seventeen additional novels in the Oz series. Today, he is considered the father of the American fairy tale. His stories inspired the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, one of the most widely viewed movies of all time. MinaLima is an award-winning graphic design studio founded by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, renowned for establishing the visual graphic style of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film series. Specializing in graphic design and illustration, Miraphora and Eduardo have continued their involvement in the Harry Potter franchise through numerous design commissions, from creating all the graphic elements for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort, to designing award-winning publications for the brand. Their best-selling books include Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, Harry Potter Film Wizardry, The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Archive of Magic: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts screenplays. MinaLima studio is renowned internationally for telling stories through design and has created its own MinaLima Classics series, reimagining a growing collection of much-loved tales including Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and Pinocchio.

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    Reviews for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. The Wizard of Oz is an iconic motion picture, from a children’s book written by L. Frank Baum. Everyone should be familiar with the movie, and while the book is obviously very similar, it contains quite a bit of extra material as well as a few major differences. For example, in the book, Dorothy does not wear ruby red slippers, but silver shoes instead.This book is an excellent beginner book for young readers, though there is perhaps more violence than some may consider appropriate for very young children. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Lots of fun! I the book has some differences to the show. Baum is a clever writer
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed reading about the characters that have become so familiar to us.
    • 3/5
      Although I've seen the 1939 film and more recent films, I had no idea what to expect. I remember looking at all of the L. Frank Baum books at the library, but never picked one up.

      I shouldn't be surprised by the darkness in the books, but coming from contemporary children's stories, I seem to have coddled my own understanding of the frankness and abrupt nature that "evil" is dealt with at the turn of the century.

      I enjoyed the book, probably more so because I have so many other versions to compare it to. I have yet to read Wicked, but I prefer this story to the other adaptations.
    • 5/5
      This book is the kind of book you could simply start reading again right after you've finished.
    • 4/5
      I found it difficult to read this without the ghosts of the MGM musical and Gregory Maguire's [book: Wicked] and [book: Son of a Witch] lurking over my shoulder.Definitely liked it more than the musical -- no offense to Judy Garland. Dorothy's comrades are much more interesting in the original, especially little Toto.***August 2008 selection of the GB Book Club.***
    • 4/5
      It was fun to read this in French, though I found the illustrations somewhat off-putting. (I can't even find the proper adjective to describe them -- my wife suggests the word triangular, though we agree it doesn't quite capture the bizarreness.) I also thought asking the reader to wear green-tinted glasses during the City of Oz sections was a little much. Still a good way to practice my French.
    • 3/5
      Rating is closer to 3.5 stars. I have parts about this I loved and parts that bothered me so my thoughts a left a jumbled mess. First off, if you do not know this story, go learn about it. Everyone should know the Wizard of Oz and most of us do. Although I think many of us are more familiar with the movie. The story concept is just great and one I have always loved and all that credit goes to the author.

      Now, I must admit I like the movie more than the book. While the basic story is great and Dorothy being a little girl does put a more child-like quality of the book there is a lot of violence in this story. The Tin Man's story is both sad and horrifying and might be a bit much for a young child to handle. And the neck breaking, limb lopping as they make their way across Oz was harsh. While it is not very graphic in description it is still easy to visualize. So while the story is written in a style for young children, about half the content is on the mature side.

      This is a short story being between 110-140 pages (depending on the pictures of various editions). The chapters are short and the pace is fast. A lot happens in that time. It is still a fantastical adventure and in some ways getting the back story of the characters added to it's enrichment.

      There are quite a few differences from the movie to the book. From the house Dorothy green up in, the Ruby vs silver slippers, the Winged Monkeys, The Emerald City, etc. It was very interesting to see and discover the differences. One thing that really jumped out at me was how each character acted versus what they kept saying they wanted from the Wizard. Amusing aspect to the story, making it all the more endearing.


      Overall enjoyable. I am curious to continue the series yet there is no feeling of needing to rush to the next book. It is a series to read at leisure. I advise caution for young children for this book. If a movie copied the details of the book, it would not be rated G. So just a heads up, I advise you to read it before your child does if allowing them to read this at a young age.
    • 5/5
      This is a fantastic children’s book that follows Dorothy and friends through Oz. Although, I never read it as a child (I wish I had shared this with my daughter), I enjoyed it. It is nothing like the classic motion picture (let alone who knows what the new Disney movie has in store). If one is a fan of the film, they may be disappointed by the differences. Haven’t seen the film in its entirety in years, I was able to enjoy the book for what it was. The illustrations by Michael Sieben were, at first, a little disturbing but adds some pizzazz to the story. I see that Sieben is somewhat popular and his illustrations remind me of the wood block prints we used to do in school.
    • 5/5
      The Wizard of Oz, popular abbreviation for the originally titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum originally published in 1900. The story follows the adventures of a girl named Dorothy in the Land of Oz. Thanks in part to the 1939 movie based on the book, it has become entrenched in American popular culture and led to Baum writing thirteen more Oz books.
    • 4/5
      I really loved this book. It's a classic. Although, at times, I felt the movie was probably a bit better, but still a must-read. I thought the book was much more childlike than the movie and was much more in the perspective of a child.
    • 4/5
      I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, especially in those subtle pieces that the movie didn't/couldn't hold:

      "...for when he [The Scarecrow] found himself alone in his room he stood stupidly in one spot, just within the doorway, to wait till morning. It would not rest him to lie down, and he could not close his eyes; so he remained all night staring at a little spider which was weaving its web in a corner of the room, just as if it were not one of the most wonderful rooms in the world."

      Didn't expect that I would be sucked into reading the series, but I've already downloaded the second book.

      I love the somewhat haphazard feeling of the book; the fact that the wicked witch is not such a central character as in the movie; and the clever prose.

    • 4/5
      This book is such a great version of the classic by L. Frank Baum.The story is condensed but is done so in a way that simply makes it more manageable for children.The shortened version is great with the added pictures as drawn by Charles Santore. This added element of fantastic drawings (interpreted by Charles from the original classic) provides reluctant readers with more incentive to read through this story.I recommend avoiding the expectation that this book will follow the movie version. There are detailed scenes drawn from the original book that were not featured in the movie which may disappoint some readers.Notable examples would be in the scene where the tin woodsman is said to have used his axe to kill 40 wolves and the scarecrow snapped the necks of 40 crows which were all sent by the wicked witch.This book would be suitable for children aged 8-12. It is heavily text-based but is broken up by wonderful illustrations.
    • 5/5
      The most beautiful of this novel so far. Illustrations to die for.
    • 3/5
      Maybe it was because I never read the book when I was young, or maybe I simply don't have an innate appreciation for fantasy literature, but this book--like the movie--is just weird to me. My girls (whom I read the book aloud to) thought that it was pretty good; they have yet to see the movie. All that said, I'm glad to have read it--simply because it makes me feel more culturally literate. : )
    • 4/5
      Poor Frank Baum---so often the casual reader comes upon his book after viewing the best movie adaptation ever. The book is a bit different from the film, most notably in the ending, which is far superior to the movie's slick closing.There is little backstory here; instead we are transported almost immediately to the land of Oz. "Wizard" is not nearly as dated as some books from the same era; the fantasy holds up well, we meet some funny characteres and Baum presents a painless moral lesson quickly seen by adults but not quite so quickly by children. A good read-aloud for second or third graders; a good read-alone for fourth or fifth gradeers.
    • 3/5
      I made the mistake of growing up watching the film and not reading the book until adulthood. They are VERY different. This novel is a lot more graphic and dark. Not at all like the yellow brick road we skipped down with Judy Garland.
    • 4/5
      Dorothy lives in Kansas,USA.But one day a cyclone blows her house to a country called Oz.There were Dorothy and her dog in it.
    • 3/5
      Having gotten caught up in a cyclone, Dorothy's house whirls her away to the Land of Oz. Here she makes friends with a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman, and a Cowardly Lion who are all missing something in their life. The group of newly met friends have many adventures as they travel to the Emerald City to see the wizard who they hope will grant all their wishes.It is fun to read this book as an adult after having seen the movie numerous times. The story is generally the same, but is a bit more violent. Although the story line is very interesting, I found the language rather unexciting. Concept/classroom connection: Read the book and compare/contrast it to the well-loved film.
    • 4/5
      Remarkably, I never read the Oz books as a kid. Weird, I know, but somehow I never went there. (And truly, this is a weird thing. I read *everything*. Maybe The Wiz was too firmly engrained in my psyche as a movie to register that it was a book first? Or was it a shying away from some aspects of it which seemed too childish for me even as a child? Or was it simply that I never had a copy in the house and the library had much shinier and cooler books to draw my attention? No idea.) This was a freebie on Audible, bless their hearts, and it seemed like time.Oh well.Whether aspects of the story might have been too childish for me once upon a time, aspects of the storytelling certainly were listening to this. The silly voices Anne Hathaway provided became a little much at times; there is only so much time I am willing to spend listening to certain types of cartoony voices. And I confess, being used to the relative conciseness of the MGM version, I became impatient with the rather wandering way in which the actual story was spun out. I wonder if I would have liked this as a child. I wouldn't have been trying so hard to apply logic to it then, though I would still have been comparing it to the movie…
    • 4/5
      This is such a charming and magical fairy tale. I'm glad I re-read it. I first read this sometime in elementary school and now, twenty or so years later, I didn't remember it that well. I've seen the movie many times in childhood and later, and I am a fan of Gregory Maguire's Wicked both the book and musical, so when I saw the first three of Baum's classic Oz novels in the used book store I grabbed them up quickly.I remember that, as a child I was actually creeped out by the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman(!) Especially the Woodman because he cut his own arms and legs off. That's a hardcore mental image to process when you're a kid. Now of course I just find it all very charming and sweet. I am also charmed by the way that the Scarecrow wants brains, the Woodman wants a heart and the Lion wants courage, yet they repeatedly prove by their actions that they each have the thing they think they lack. I don't remember if I quite got that as a child, but it made me smile the whole time I was reading it now. Like, aw, what sweethearts they all are!The "Marvelous Land of Oz" itself is magnificently detailed and magical. The map at the front, illustrating the different countries, makes this seem more like an epic fantasy series than a children's series (and indeed, the Del Rey versions that I'm reading are made up to look more like an adult fantasy series, complete with quotes by Ray Bradbury, Terry Brooks, Stephen Donaldson and Gore Vidal) you can see how later children's and adult fantasy series were inspired by Baum's creativity. In the end, The Wizard of Oz is a really fun, magical, charming, quirky book. I don't have children, but it seemed like one that would be a lot of fun to read aloud to a child. It makes for a fast, fun read as an adult. I'm glad I picked up the next two in the series, as I never read beyond the first book as a child, but now I'm pretty curious about them - and I'll be happy to take my time exploring the marvelous land of Oz!
    • 3/5
      recommend to children under the age of 10
    • 5/5
      The wizard of OZ, Exceptional, best book ever, i also found the book more exciting than the movie, there is no better way to pass time with your daughter than reading this book, I have always been a fan of the film, only recently I read the book for the first time. Due to starting work in a library, I have read many books over the Christmas period why so many reviews from me so soon, I find it hard to understand anybody that does not love the Wizard of OZ theme, for me personally it is the greatest story of them all. Five star forever!
    • 5/5
      I loved reading this as a kid! Even now I like to read it.
    • 5/5
      I really loved this little book. It's very simplistically written, but it's very wholesome and funny. There are a fair few differences between the book and the 1939 adaptation, so it was enjoyable reading it as I didn't know everything that happened.

      The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything. “You people with hearts,' he said once, 'have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful.”

      This was an important line to me. It made me consider how we might take our beliefs for granted. If we always believe we are right, we simply trust what we are doing. Whereas, the Tin Woodman without a heart, doesn't trust himself to be good, so he is always purposeful with his actions. And I believe this can pertain to many areas of life.

      “It is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool.”
    • 4/5
      The book showed resemblance to 'Narnia' and 'Alice in Wonderland' but for younger readers. It was quick and very imaginative. A lot of lessons can be learned from the book. I wished there more action :) and the a slower pacing.
    • 5/5
      This book would be good to use when talking about fantasy. I think students will like this because of the adventure the main character goes on.
    • 3/5
      I made the mistake of growing up watching the film and not reading the book until adulthood. They are VERY different. This novel is a lot more graphic and dark. Not at all like the yellow brick road we skipped down with Judy Garland.
    • 4/5
      I began reading this version of The Wizard of Oz to my youngest daughter, who is six years old, thinking that it may frighten her a bit, but in reality, this version was beautifully done and far less frightening than the movie version of this classic. In it, the characters are almost all seen as friendly and not at all intimidating or frightening. The residents of the land that Dorothy travels to on her way to Oz are small, cheerful characters who welcome Dorothy with open arms. When Dorothy finally reaches Oz, she is very well received, treated almost like a princess, and comes face to face with the Great Oz, who quickly shows himself to be just an ordinary man. This version would be wonderful to use as a read aloud or to the young but independent reader as an introduction to this classic tale, and also encourages using one's imagination and the themes of friendship, confidence in one's strengths, pursuing one's dreams, and the triumph of good over evil.
    • 5/5
      One of my favourites! I just recently finished reading this (again), but this time to my 6yob. If you've only seen the movie, be warned, the book is very different. The whole wicked witch story comprises only one chapter of this book.