The wonderful wizard of Oz

My daughters both love to be read to and in the past year we have really started to incorporate some good read aloud stories. Of course we read aloud picture books and the like, but I'm taking about real chapter books with and without sparse pictures and illustrations. Enough that we can sit together and read and enjoy listening, but also where they can lie in bed and listen to me read to them from the rocking chair. I have a crazy list of books to read, both some I already have and others I'm trying to find. I have a few Grosset & Dunlap Junior Illustrated Library Classics and books that mimic that classic feel are my favorite for us as opposed to just random paperback copies. I want things that will last. Thus, when unexpected The Wonderful Wizard of Oz illustrated in full color by Michael Sieben appeared for review I was ecstatic! We have spent the last few months filling the moments before bedtime snuggling and reading about Dorothy's adventure with her friends. [bc:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Illustrations by Michael Sieben 15818319 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Illustrations by Michael Sieben L. Frank Baum http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1354001022s/15818319.jpg 1993810]While reading I had several updates and thoughts including the fact that this is really full color, “complete” and unabridged. Crazy THICK paper! Crazy THICK paper! This is the first time I have read this classic and I'm sharing the experience with my preschooler. This particular edition from HarperDesign is very heavy with thick photo type paper but feels good and solid in my hands. I'm unsure what I think about the art, especially the eyes. However the text to art ratio is perfect for us now in attention to longer text storybook reads. I'm really excited.Enjoying the story and the ratio of text to illustration. These are just bizarre illustrations.Heavy book for my 3.5 to carry. Really enjoying the story. Might finish before @DisneyOzMovie comes out. (Well that didn't happen, but we did get to watch the movie and she knew a little bit about Oz from Dorothy's story. I think it will spark an interest in going back to read Oz's story and others...) The Green Lady version of Oz is the first illustration I have actually liked. I'm still with mixed feelings.Now back to current me. I did enjoy the image of the Green Lady and that of the good witch Glinda. But mostly I thought they were a bit bizarre, but then I'm a calm traditional artist viewer. I love the impressionists, but I cannot stand Picasso. So this falls a bit in between. I love that it is extravagant. I love the it is bizarre and creative for my young daughter to see and really experience someone's interpretation. Actually it was a few days before this one arrived that we had ordered the Sterling Illustrated Classic [a:Robert Ingpen 4055248 Robert Ingpen http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66-e07624dc012f2cce49c7d9aa6500c6c0.jpg] illustrated edition. This one is big and wide, like a lap story book. It is neat to compare the more traditional illustrations to the quirky ones of [a:Michael Sieben 3358647 Michael Sieben http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]. [bc:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 10562125 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344702695s/10562125.jpg 1993810]I like this book, this specific book. I'm glad we have. While I might not have picked it up at first I'm glad that we did get through it and stop to look at all the pictures. This is a normal trade size book that will fit well on the shelf with any other classics and chapter books. The illustrations are full color and vibrant on schemes of green, red, yellow and orange. There are more than fifty full color illustrations and they really lend to the imagination. This would make a really good contemporary gift. As I read in the press release, “Folk Art Meets Punk Rock in this Beautiful Edition of a Classic Tale” and that is definitely the truth! Thanks to HC.

Read this series as a youngster and Malco and I have been reading it on and off over the past year. This edition is lovely, and collects a few of the first books of this series, which I enjoy. There's so much more to this story than people think—I particularly love reading it after reading The Dark Tower series, much of which (I feel) takes from this story.

This is a fun, classic adventure. There are some stories that have a clear message that is well delivered. It doesn't need a lot of contemplation to get the point, but the story illustrates the point well. The Wizard of Oz is one of these stories and I think that is a big reason it is a classic that is read and loved by many still. I look forward to sharing this story and talking about what real wisdom, courage, and love look like with my son.

This is a story really and truly written for children. I think adults are used to children's stories also being made with a layer to please them. Nope, the story – while interesting – is not fleshed out or written to operate on a deeper level.

I enjoyed reading it with an eye to the way the story has become part of our cultural heritage, but inherently a compelling read? Not really. :)

But it is a very quick read.

The Wizard of Oz is one of my father's favorite movies, so it's something I've seen a million times since I was a kid. I feel like the first novel in the series, albeit missing all musical numbers (making me miss “if I only had a brain”), still holds that wonder and childlike naivety that has made people love the movie for so long.

I will say that some of it was pretty dark though, especially in the sense of what was acceptable back then for “children's stories.” Like the tin man describing each and every part of his body getting chopped off by his own axe slipping, just making me imagine his bleeding stumps gushing as he pleas for help from the tin maker.

Or how, due to his lack of heart, he finds it necessary to help and save all those who are in need of help. Therefore, he takes it upon himself to lop off the head of a wild cat simply for hunting... which is something the cowardly lion had already offered to do with a deer for Dorothy.

Or how Dorothy had to wake up to 40 shaggy, beheaded wolves?!!

I liked this book a lot though and I'm definitely going to continue on to the others at some point. Everyone gets there happy ending, so now I'm wondering if he goes back and takes it all away!

Short Review: I picked the audiobook up free and listened to it based on the assumption that the book and the movie were probably different. I was surprised that the unabridged audio was just over 3 hours. Anne Hathaway did a good job as narrator. It is worth picking up just to compare the movie and book. Mostly minor differences, but it is a decent young adult book.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/wizard-of-oz/

I re-read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the February prompt of the Buzzwords reading channel (positive words; “wonderful), and decided to read this Usborne illustrated edition that I bought a while back.

Obviously the story itself is 5 stars for me, because I have a life-long Oz fixation, but 5 stars for this particular edition because it's so stunning. The illustrations by Lorena Alvarez Gomez are so bright and expressive, and feature really gorgeous interpretations of the characters. The pages are a thick, glossy paper to really make those colors pop, and it comes with a rich green bookmark ribbon.

It's a really special edition that isn't too big or too expensive that you feel you can't actually read it, but is still a wonderful keepsake that will look lovely on a shelf too.