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Review Summaries
"Dorothy goes on a wild adventure and meets some interesting new friends. Her adventure begins when she accidently kills a wicked witch and the mutchkins celebrate her death and praise Dorothy. All Dorothy wants is to go home. Her new friends tell her she must follow the yellow brick road and it will lead her home.
Along the way, she meets a scarecrow,a tin woodsman, and a cowardly lion, and they all join her in her journey. They all encounter various different lands with odd characters like the village of china people who break very easily.
Dorothy soon learns the yellow brick road leads her to the Wizard of Oz who is allegedly all powerful. She and her friends find that he isn't so willing to help their quest. They learn something terrible about Oz and fear grips Dorothy's heart as she learns she may not be able to get home again. "
Tracey Ray, Resident Frank Baum Scholar
"A cyclone lifts young Dorothy and her dog Toto in their Kansas home across a desert to the wondrous land of Oz. The house lands on a wicked witch and kills her. Dorothy must travel on foot to the Emerald City and ask the Wizard of Oz to help her return home to Kansas. On the way, she meets and befriends a Scarecrow (who desires brains), a Tin Woodman (who craves a heart), and a Lion (who wants to possess courage). But the Wizard tells them they must destroy the other wicked witch of Oz, which is a perilous task indeed. The beloved 1939 film was based on this perennial 1899 favorite, though a number of details and a few incidents were changed. It's a quick read, and usually well illustrated."
David Loftus, Resident L. Frank Baum Scholar
"Those who have seen only the excellent Hollywood version of this classic children's story are apt to be surprised to find that there are several minor differences between the two--and some major ones. Dorothy Gale's shoes are not ruby slippers and, instead of the novel's ending after the Wizard is carried away by the hot-air balloon as Dorothy clicks her heels together, repeating the mantra, "There's no place like home," the novel continues, as Dorothy and company go through the land of the elastic-necked, head-butting Hammerheads and through a land that is inhabited by people made of china, to visit Glinda in the country that she rules. It is from there, after bidding farewell to her companions, that Dorothy returns home to her Kansas farm and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. This is one of the rare occasions in which the movie is probably better than the literary work on which it is based, although Baum's novel has many elements that make it well worth reading for any child."
Gary L. Pullman, Resident L. Frank Baum Scholar
"A young girl Dorothy is taken in her house to a wonderful land where animals can talk and wizards live. She has to help three being in order to get home, so the tio goes on a journey to the great wizard of the land. They have many advantures on the way, and finally Dorothy gets home to Kansass."
irina, Resident L. Frank Baum Scholar
"Dorothy lives in Kansas, she is the only bright spot in the lives of her Aunt and Uncle. By a cyclone she is swept away to the land of Oz where she learns that the grey of the Kansas dustbowl is just as much an illusion as the green of Emerald city and that she carries with in the magic of home. Dorothy must learn these lessons through a series of adventures with her friends which include fighting a witch, traveling lands beyond imagination which will call on the abilities of all her friends and finally believing in her self to get home."
pam, Resident L. Frank Baum Scholar
"The Classic upon which the movie was based, the DEFINITIVE Oz for children and adults alike. If you liked the movie you will LOVE the books! Far better than the movie."
Ken Carper, Resident L. Frank Baum Scholar
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Overall Review
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 10% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%
Tone of book
- very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age
Yes
Youngster becomes
- an adult (general)
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- exploring a CUTESY fantasy world
Tech./$$$/Info hunt
Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying
- method of transportation
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a kid
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- magical being
- Female
Age:
- long-lived adults
Profession/status:
- mage/magician
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- fire/thunder/weather cntrl
- can fly
- can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Terrain
- Forests
Earth setting:
- 20th century
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- humans in a primitive/fantasy society
- humans in a contemporary society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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