“There's a cyclone coming, Em."
L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is a fairy tale in which one young girl changes a
magical realm forever. Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on
their faded little farm in Kansas, but life with the Gales isn’t as exciting as
she’d like. The sky is gray, the fields are gray, and the only happy thing
around is her pet dog, Toto. When a cyclone sweeps Dorothy and Toto to a world
full of color and magic, it seems at first that things have taken a turn for
the better. That is, until she realizes that she’ll have to abandon all hope of
seeing her family again if she wishes to stay. Determined to find a way home,
Dorothy sets course for the City of Emeralds at the center of Oz, where a great
wizard lives. But the Wizard of Oz doesn’t do things for free, so even if she
makes it to the City alive, she’ll have to do something in return. It will take
trust, friendship, and a great deal of kindness to send Dorothy back to Kansas,
which means she’ll need friends to do it…friends who must sacrifice who they
once were if ever they are to succeed.
Some old-fashioned fairy tales feature
cruel villains, terrifying beasts, and unsavory endings for those on the side
of evil. Not so with The Wizard of Oz.
In this charming adventure, what stands out most is a sense of wonder. Oz is a
breathtaking place with an unimaginably diverse landscape, which a multitude of
equally diverse peoples and cultures call home. From the china-people with their
fragile bodies to short men whose heads spring forward to repel invaders, no
one is too strange or incredible to settle in this world. The villains,
meanwhile, are wicked yet one-dimensional, and can do no harm to Dorothy, who
early on is given a good witch’s kiss for protection. Since all of her travelling
companions are either intimidating or feel no pain, little permanent damage is
done to them, either.
However, do not think this means nothing
bad can happen to our young heroine and her friends. The Scarecrow wants
brains, the Tin Woodman a heart, the Lion some courage, and Dorothy to return
home—and with every passing adventure, it becomes less and less certain that
they can find what they desire in the Emerald City. Indeed, they might not even
make it there. For while malicious villains may hesitate to harm Dorothy,
nature is not so particular. Fields of poppies, great ravines, and hungry
animals all do their best to keep the foursome from their destination. So while
there’s nothing graphic within these pages, there is always the fear that they
may be wrong. They may not make it to the City, after all. And even if they do,
who is to say the Wizard of Oz can grant them their wishes—or that he’ll want
to?
There is no foul language, romance, or
violence. Even the defeat of the Wicked Witch of the East is an accident, and mentioned
in passing rather than described. The primary antagonist, however, takes a bit
more effort to defeat, and the epic battle between heroine and enemy is shorter
and clean. More important to the essence of this book is the sense of wonder
that such a place as Oz exists, and the worry that Dorothy may never get home.
I would recommend this book to children
and tweens looking for a fun adventure in a world full of marvelous people,
places, and achievements. Teenagers and adults might like it as well, but the
tale is most definitely directed toward children. Dorothy is a lighthearted
character who possesses a great deal of kindness and curiosity, while her
friends each exhibit unique traits and quirks which alternate between causing
conflict, saving the day, and making the reader feel as though they were
walking right alongside the four heroes. Though it’s a little simple, many fairy
tales are, and L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard
of Oz makes up for it with interesting characters and a world made to
dazzle. It deserves four stars.
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