From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)

L. Frank Baum

Start date: December 1, 2019

Finish date: December 31, 2019

Discussion: Children's Classics Buddy Reads

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Children's Classics Buddy Reads

* Which children's classics are you reading now?
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last updated Jul 27, 2025 11:10AM

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What Members Thought

Feb 26, 2011 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: book-and-movie, children-ya

Dorothy is a young orphaned girl raised by her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in the bleak landscape of a Kansas farm. She has a little black dog Toto, who is her sole source of happiness on the dry, gray prairies. One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy and Toto inside, is caught up in a cyclone and deposited in a field in Munchkin Country, the eastern quadrant of the Land of Oz.

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Mar 20, 2013 Pamela(AllHoney) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-or-paranormal, classics, children-fiction-young-adult, fairy-tales-folklore-legends, books-to-movies

I grew up watching the movie. A movie I've seen countless times and will probably see countless more times. And I loved it.

Now the book. After the theatrical release of Oz The Great and Powerful, I had a desire to read the original classic. Dorothy Gale, a child living in Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, is taken to the land of Oz in a tornado and her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East.

If I was 8 or 9 I would surely have given it 5+ stars. But I'm not. As a child's story it is ...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Douglas Beagley rated it really liked it

Some classics are not really worth their longevity. The 14 Oz books? Absolutely worth it. The first one is not the best, he gets far more thoughtful in the sequels, but you have to start somewhere.

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Mar 12, 2024 walkabout rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2024

It was delightful to dive into this greatly-illustrated classic. The characters are very original throughout the novel and the underlying message of comradeship and sense of justice is brilliantly versed. Although, I have to say there are a few too many speciesist passages in the book. My wish is to see more childrens stories with an intrinsic abolitionist message.

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May 14, 2015 Susannah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-audiobook, dws-literary-birthdays, reading-the-classics

L. Frank Baum's Oz books are just another handful in the long list of classic children's books that I have never read. While I liked the differences between the novel and the classic film version, for me it was just ok. I felt like the story was awfully slight (did Baum want to save up for the other 13 books in the series?), and I don't feel compelled to read other books in the series. (One note: I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Anne Hathaway and for anyone looking for an audioboo ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Karen rated it liked it

I have never read the Wizard of Oz, and thought I might read the whole series. I must admit, I liked this so much better than the movie, which I never liked. The Wicked Witch of the West and the Winged monkeys always frightened me. I like that the Witch was not so powerful, and the Winged monkeys were actually fun, loving creatures. I will continue to read the series.

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