How many pages is the wonderful wizard of oz

The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty. If you want to teach children the power of empathy, cooperation, courage and learning by doing, this is the best book ever. And if you just want to have a good time with them, giggling over the hilarious adventures of Dorothy, Toto, the Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, it is a pure literary delight.

I loved it even more as a grown-up than as a child - and the message still makes sense to me. Underneath the shining surface of things, what matters is how you deal with the situation you find yourself in. Be courageous, think for yourself, and have a heart, and be true to your friends, and the world will be your home!

View all 31 comments. I thought it interesting that in the foreword Baum says he didn't want this to be violent like the fairytales of the past They also kill various creatures on their path of destruction. Perhaps we could savor all the violence but have a much more abridged version with the following: I thought it interesting that in the foreword Baum says he didn't want this to be violent like the fairytales of the past Perhaps we could savor all the violence but have a much more abridged version with the following View all 11 comments.

Sep 02, Jason Koivu rated it liked it Shelves: fiction , fantasy. A wonderful tale for its time, this book has transcended its own intentions and exploded into an iconic creation that continues to instill its fans with cherished, lifelong memories.

Although I usually prefer the original books over their movie adaptions, I have to hand it to the film this time. The Wizard of Oz took the best from the source material and embellished what was missing, adding what they needed to in order to create a truly magical experience that has endured to this day. The book an A wonderful tale for its time, this book has transcended its own intentions and exploded into an iconic creation that continues to instill its fans with cherished, lifelong memories.

The book and the movie are not the same. Yes, you'll find some icon elements from the movie in the book, but whereas the movie is about as tightly scripted as it gets, the book meanders and includes some completely unnecessary encounters.

Unnecessary and violent too! Killer bees, crows pecking out eyes and the tin woodman slaying dozens of wolves! Oh my! I read somewhere that Baum had intended this book to be an alternative to children's tales of the past, which often included some rather violent material. Either I've been misled or Baum's aim was off. The tin woodman's wasn't, I'll tell ya that much! If the writing were a bit better these asides - that don't further the plot, but only enhance the adventure not a terrible thing in and of itself - could've been overlooked.

Granted he was writing for kids, but Baum was also trying something new here and his tentative steps show it. The writing improves in future volumes, I'm happy to say! Apparently more Oz stories had not been planned, but after a few years of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz being published, the letters being received from young female fans had become so numerous that Baum was compelled to turn this one-off book into a long series.

We're lucky he did! Who are you, and why do you seek me? I still own the book I used to read when I was a child, so I decided to read it again as an adult. My original plan was to read the whole series, and I may go through with it in the future. Anyway, I was so surprised when I opened the book and I realized that I still remembered the first chapter almost by heart!

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as an adult. I just couldn't help but notice that this book has some issues, at least to the eye of a modern reader. I think the main problem with this book is its lack of cohesiveness: it felt more like reading a series of isolated events than a whole story. Also, the whole plot is basically a big deus ex machina , with solutions popping up every time the characters are faced with a certain problem.

Its fairy tale writing style, full of repetitions, classical symbolism and oddities, also emphasized the episodic character of it all, and made the main plot difficult to follow. This kind of style can result in a masterpiece in my opinion, Gulliver's travels is an excellent example , but in this case it just felt a little difficult to follow, and some of those episodes felt a little undeveloped and gratuitous like the trip in the china dolls' town.

On the other hand, as an adult, I was able to appreciate some nuances I didn't get when I was a child, and that made me realize how positive the message behind this book is. You are learning something every day. A baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get.

It has a great historical value, and it's arguably one of the most well-known and well-loved children classic, but I don't think modern readers both children and adults would enjoy it as much as Baum's contemporaries certainly did. I admit I don't know much about the history of this book and of its composition, and it's much likely that my ignorance is responsible for some lack of understating of the author's style.

Nonetheless, I'll keep this story in my heart forever and I treasure the evenings I spent with this book, the original movie adaptation, and the gorgeous musical The Wiz! This book is a classic. If you think you know the story because you have seen the movie, you'd be wrong. The first of the 14 books written by Baum about Oz. Dorothy journeys to Oz in her home carried by twister over the great dessert surrounding the Land of Oz.

The house was plopped down on top of the Wicked Witch of the East in the land of the Munchkins. There Dorothy is greated by the good witch of the North, not Glenda, she is featured at the end of the book and is the good witch of the South This book is a classic.

There Dorothy is greated by the good witch of the North, not Glenda, she is featured at the end of the book and is the good witch of the South. Dorothy heads off to see the Wizard to find her way home wearing the silver slippers of the Wicked Witch of the East and is accompanied by the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and The Cowardly Lion.

If you can acquire a version with the original illustrations it will add to the enjoyment of this classic work. An excellent book! My primary school library had a copy of The Wizard of Oz with full-colour illustrations, which I absolutely adored.

It was lovely to revisit such a lovely story. In fact, 4. Indeed, I knew the story, but I don't remember reading this book as a child. Now that I've done the reading, I found the story quite interesting, fun, exciting, and action-packed.

I just didn't like the last 2 chapters very much as I found the ending a bit abrupt. Jul 23, Carmen rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Kids; Parents. Shelves: fantasy , fiction , children , he-says , published , classics , traditionally-published , american-author.

If you are an adult, and have only seen the film, you are in for a treat IMO. This is really a fairy tale. A 'modern fairy tale' as Lyman Frank Baum would describe it. Only he called it "a wonder tale. Still has this sense of whimsy and humor that I think makes it a good choice to read to children, even though it was published i "I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Still has this sense of whimsy and humor that I think makes it a good choice to read to children, even though it was published in Let's look right at the beginning of the book, where Baum describes Kansas: When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side.

Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.

Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else. When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too.

They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled, now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to see her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke. It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long, silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.

I always thought the part where Dorothy traveled from her world of black-and-white and stepped into a world of Technicolor was a film-gimmick. Little did I know it was an accurate interpretation of what Baum wrote in !

You probably think you know the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and it's true that the movie keeps a lot of the elements. But there's a whole bunch more here that isn't mentioned in the movie: different lands and creatures Dorothy and her friends come across. Baum is also funny! I was surprised. He definitely puts in some great passages in here that will make any adult reader laugh out loud along with the children! But whenever there is danger my heart begins to beat fast. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannot have heart disease.

Everywhere she goes, people are fascinated by Toto. He's a - a - a meat dog," said the girl. Unlike the movie, the journey takes several weeks. And in the book, the land of Oz is real, not a dream as is purported by the film. You have to wonder how long Dorothy is missing from Kansas. Her aunt and uncle must have been out of their minds with worry. Baum creates some fantastical creatures in this book that will thrill and delight children.

We have Kalidahs - monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers and with claws so long and sharp that they could tear me in two There are also delightful creatures like helpful storks and helpful mice and the winged monkeys, of course, who really aren't so bad.

The joke of the book is that even though the Scarecrow believes he has no brains, he is the smartest of the group and always coming up with clever ideas. The Tin Woodman believes he has no heart, but he is very tender, During the rest of that day there was not other adventure to mar the peace of their journey.

Once, indeed, the Tin Woodman stepped upon a beetle that was crawling along the road, and killed the poor little thing. This made the Tin Woodman very unhappy, for he was always careful not to hurt any living creature; and as he walked along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret. These tears ran slowly down his face and over the hinges of his jaw, and there they rusted. When Dorothy presently asked him a question the Tin Woodman could not open his mouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted together.

He became greatly frightened at this and made many motions to Dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand. The Lion was also puzzled to know what was wrong. But the Scarecrow seized the oil-can form Dorothy's basket and oiled the Woodman's jaws, so that after a few moments he could talk as well as before.

For if I should kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry again, and crying rusts my jaw so that I cannot speak. The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything. I guess in there were 'bad animals' and 'good animals,' based solely on, I don't know, whether they were predators or not? O Which makes it even more horrible IMO. The cowardly Lion, is, of course, not really cowardly. The whole point of the book is that these three had the qualities they seek inside them all along.

Only Dorothy has a real problem - being unable to return to Kansas. Slavery is also a pretty big theme in the book. It seems like the difference between "good witches" and "bad witches" focuses mainly on whether they desire to enslave populations or not. Dorothy wanders through Oz freeing whole populations from bondage.

In this way she and her friends have quite a warm reception everywhere she goes and everyone is willing to help them and do them favors. I was impressed by how practical Dorothy was.

She is a very practical little girl. She's got a great head on her shoulders, and never lets Oz overwhelm her despite its craziness. TL;DR Actually a charming little book. I would advise shopping around in your bookstore or library to get the book with the most pleasing illustrations. Some editions have much better illustrations than others, and some are very beautiful.

Of course the illustrations really add when you are reading books to children! And it's funny. You will be sure to get at least a few laughs out of it, perhaps not as many as the children, but I see Baum's sense of humor in here.

It's not written in a style that is incomprehensible to children. It flows very quickly and the chapters are short and you can easily read a chapter a night before bedtime.

If the children like it, there's plenty more Oz books by Baum to enjoy when you are done! The book aims at a young audience. Maybe although of course the older children can listen in if it pleases them. I have been wicked in my day, but I never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds. Look out - here I go! May 28, Mohsin Maqbool rated it really liked it Shelves: favorites. An innovative cover of Frank L. Baum's book. MOST of us have read L.

Many of us have also seen the film "The Wizard of Oz" which has been adapted from the book. I will just recount to you an incident from my schoolboy days which has great relevan An innovative cover of Frank L. I will just recount to you an incident from my schoolboy days which has great relevance with the book. Pop-up books will always remain popular among children. It was probably the spring of when I was walking home after school on a bright and sunny day in Karachi. Sometimes I used to walk on the edge of the street taking the long-way home and sometimes I used to cut across a huge grass-less playground.

On this day, I decided to use the shortcut. As I was walking over the playground, my eyes caught hold of a book lying across my path. I picked it up. It was a cover-less book. Anyway, I took it home with me. I was hardly interested in a guy called L. Frank Baum at the time. I finished the entire book in one sitting, as it was that interesting. So in a true sense, "Oz" became my first schoolboy storybook. A few months later I moved back to Calcutta leaving all my books and comic-books behind.

Somehow their misfortune turned out to be my treasure trove and an everlasting memory. An extract from the book. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while watching the film too. I have also seen a couple of other versions of "Oz" on film.

A film poster of "The Wizard of Oz". A cyclone carries off their farmhouse with Dorothy and her beloved dog, Toto, trapped inside. The house lands in the colorful and whimsical land of Oz, right on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. The people whom that Witch terrorized hail Dorothy as a hero, even though the killing was an accident and the kid has no idea where she is. Her only way back to her family and We all know this story: Dorothy Gale is an orphan girl, living in a desolate part of Kansas with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em.

Her only way back to her family and Kansas is to seek the aid of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, who lives in a marvelous Emerald City. On the way, she joins forces with a sentient Scarecrow, a Woodman made of tin, and a Lion, all of whom have their own requests for the Wizard.

Meanwhile, the Wicked Witch of the West plans trouble in her dark castle Content Advisory Violence and Nightmare Fuel: Parents reading this aloud to little kids should know that the skirmishes in the book are a lot more violent than they are in the classic movie. The Witch of the West sends wolves after the travelers, and the Tin Woodman decapitates them with his axe. She then sends crows, who get their necks wrung by the Scarecrow.

At one point our heroes are menaced by huge tiger-bear hybrids called Kalidahs. There's also a giant spider prowling the woods guess we finally know where Ungoliant wound up after fleeing Middle-earth.

Surprisingly, the Witch of the West is slightly less scary in the book, and the Flying Monkeys are neutral creatures with no malice of their own, but bound to a magical item and its current bearer, rather like djinn. The evil trees are the same amount of scary that they are in the film.

The Tin Man became what he is because his axe was cursed to kill him — chopping off each of his limbs, then his head, and finally burying itself in his heart. He had a tinker replace every missing appendage with a tin one until he was all tin. Conclusions Even if you think you have this story memorized thanks to the classic movie and pop-culture osmosis, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is well worth reading.

On its own merit, it's a charming and well-written novel that would be a great read-aloud for little kids. It's also a great choice for school-aged children to read on their own. Baum's narration paints evocative word-pictures and incorporates graceful turns of phrase, without getting verbose or throwing obscure vocabulary words at young readers. Some of the descriptions and dialogue get repetitive, but this actually enhances the bedtime-story feel of the prose.

Most of the original American Girl characters had that personality too. Strangely and sadly, we don't meet many new examples of this archetype in books these days. While Dorothy feels the stress of her adventure keenly and often cries, she never gives up on her goal.

Compassionate and flexible, she'll also drop everything to help anyone in need, and takes great care of her three friends, always making sure that the Scarecrow isn't leaking straw and the Tin Woodman's joints are adequately oiled. Her age is never stated, but she's implied to be much younger than Judy Garland's portrayal in the movie, maybe nine or ten.

The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman are very close to their film counterparts. Baum subtly shows the Scarecrow's intelligence and the Woodman's big heart throughout the story. They have some clever comedy moments too, like the Woodman needing his joints oiled whenever he frequently cries, or the Scarecrow being fearless in battle because his straw body can't feel pain.

The Lion is less comical than he is in the film; he's actually somewhat fierce and intimidating from the beginning here. He's still a lovable character who doesn't realize how brave he is. The Wicked Witch of the West has a surprisingly small role, considering what a huge presence she is in the film.

She stays in her gloomy castle for most of the book, only sending her minions after the travelers once they show up in her territory on the Great Oz's orders. Their intervention is justified, given how tyrannical she is to the Winkies, but her lack of page time makes her feel like a weak villain compared to her film equivalent. The movie actually utilized her better than the book did, making her the stuff of children's nightmares for generations.

He succeeded at this, although the book feels much more like the stories that came after it than the fairy-tales that came before. He even invented a few new archetypes in the process — he was one of the first authors to feature good witches as well as bad ones, and the Tin Woodman is essentially a robot before robots became stock characters.

Unfortunately, sometimes Baum's commitment to escapism and novelty sometimes made the world he envisioned a little too bright and happy, lacking the spookiness of the Alice books or the melancholy of Peter Pan its two closest competitors.

This might have do as much with cultural differences of the time as it does with the authors themselves. Barrie and L. Frank Baum lived found the British in a bleak mood, realizing the consequences of the Industrial Revolution at home and imperialism abroad.

Meanwhile Americans were ambitious and optimistic, inventing marvels like the telephone, airplane, and automobile. Thus Wonderland and the Looking-Glass are pretty much stuck in medieval times with the card deck and the chessboard, and Neverland is a wilderness populated with Cavalier pirates, Fenimore Cooper Native Americans, and Midsummer Night's Dream fairies — while Oz has bejeweled skyscrapers and hot-air balloons. Most of us are familiar with the hugely influential movie.

The film is largely faithful to the book's simple storyline; most of the changes are aesthetic and some are arguably improvements. For instance, the movie combines Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, with the unnamed Good Witch of the North, which helps introduce Glinda as a powerful person early on in the story, while changing nothing of the plot itself.

The screenplay also eliminates the lengthy journey back to the Emerald City and then on to Glinda's castle, which contains some interesting episodes in the book but nothing that effects the main storyline.

It is probably best that these chapters were omitted, as there's no way they had the special effects to pull off creatures like the giant spider back then. The screenwriters also saw the potential of the Wicked Witch of the West, who's scary enough in the book, to be genuinely terrifying. Thus they incorporated her throughout the film, where her constant hounding of the travelers loans the story a sense of urgency that the book didn't have. The movie also decided to make the Flying Monkeys simply menacing and dispenses with their complicated backstory, which would have been hard to convey without lots of exposition.

It's still plausible enough, given what a simple sort of character she is and how little human interaction she gets. Given the limitations of special effects then, they couldn't have the Scarecrow doing all the crazy stunts he pulls in the book. Likewise the Cowardly Lion automatically becomes a bit sillier as a human in a lion suit.

In the book he walks on all fours and looks as scary as any other lion the famous bow in his mane seems to have been a cutesy touch from an illustrator; I don't remember it being mentioned in the text. That said, those characters are livelier and more lovable in the movie. I also liked that the film Scarecrow and Tin Man are clearly the size of adult humans — the book never clarifies whether they're scaled like humans or Munchkins, which makes some scenes difficult to visualize.

Twenty-four inserted color plates including title. Original light green cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in red and a darker green Pictorial pastedown endpapers issued without free endpapers. Spine extremities and outer hinges with a bit of rubbing and chipping. Boards with some light soiling and a few minor light red stains to front board. Inner hinges with a bit of expert restoration. Previous owner's old ink inscription on the first blank. Overall, an exceptional copy of a extremely popular children's book which therefore is usually found in quite poor condition.

Housed in a full navy blue morocco slipcase. Blanck, Peter Parley to Penrod, pp. Greene and Hanff, pp. HBS Used - Hardcover Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. The binding is tight with NO leaning or cocking. The boards are crisp with some professional restoration. Includes a custom acetate dustjacket to protect the book. The book is bound in the publisher's cloth with some repair to the spine. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp with minor wear to the edges.

The pages are clean with NO marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy. Used Condition: Very Good. Condition: Very Good. First Edition, First State except for second state plate facing page 92 with no red shading on the horizon. Light green cloth stamped in red and green, in binding variant B with publisher's imprint in red with sans-serif letters.

Rear pastedown has a colophon of 11 lines surrounded by a printed decorative border and the advertisement facing title page is enclosed in a box. Includes the "low wail on," "peices," and "While Tin Woodman," text misprints. Lacks dust jacket. Housed in a custom-made slipcase. Boards edgeworn with minor fraying to spine ends and very brief exposure to corners.

Soiled, with some spotting to rear. Front board gives a little, but overall binding is sound. Interior colors remain bright. After the success of their collaboration, "Father Goose: His Book," Baum and Denslow agreed to take on an ambitious new project together, complete with elaborate book design and sumptuous color illustrations. One reviewer remarked, "for strange vagaries of illustration and wild riots of color there is nothing to surpass the pictures of W.

The Wizard of Oz is a revel of the imagination; the pictures the commingled visions of multifold opium dreams. A sharp copy. The book is in great shape with light wear to the spine and panels. The boards are solid and the colors are vivid. We buy Frank L. Baum First Editions. Hill Co, First edition, second state.

With the following points: on p. The verso of the title-page has a press-printed copyright notice, with the "R" s having tails that are on a line with the rest of the printing. Second state of plate facing p. Original light green cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in red and a darker green variant C with publisher s imprint at foot of spine in red in serifed type, with the "C" of "Co. Pictorial pastedown endpapers issued without free endpapers. Cloth is lightly soiled and spine is a bit darkened, but without any restoration.

Text with a small amount of soiling and finger smudging to outer margins. Some pages lightly toned. Plate facing page 44 with three tiny spots where the paper stuck to the facing page.

Plate facing page 80 with a small closed marginal tear, not affecting illustration. Previous owner's old ink signature on preliminary leaf. Closed tear to front hinge which has been professionally restored. Overall, a very good copy of a book usually found in poor condition.

Housed in a custom full green morocco clamshell. Used Condition: very good. Condition: very good. First edition. The text, plates and binding are not in the first sate but the title page is a first state, having the verso blank and no copyright notice. Typos are also corrected.

Fraying to the spine ends, inscription on the blank back of the final leaf, a few short tears to blank margins, one plate has the tiny edge tears strengthened, inner paper hinges also strengthened but all expertly done.

Housed in a fold-out inner case, in a slipcase. Used - Hardcover Condition: Very good. Condition: Very good. A very good first edition, second state. Seller: John W. Doull, Bookseller A. Used - Hardcover Condition: Poor. From Canada to U. Condition: Poor. BAUM, L. With Pictures by W.

First State of the First Edition. Text Illustrations. First state points : page 14 line 1 begins "low wail on"; on plate opposite page 34the moon has two dots; page 81 fourth line from bottom has "peices"; page line 1 begins "While Tin Woodman"; colophon on rear pastedown in 11 lines with the initial letter in red and enclosed in a box; in B binding with publisher printed in red and with the O outside the C at foot of spine; however, lacking plate opp.

The 15 of 24 plates present and condition are : opp. Lacking 9 ofthe 24 colour plates, text block detached from casing, hinges broken, spinecloth torn and spine ends chipped, heavy wear and smudging to cloth, lacking first leaf and bottom 2. The foundation for a restoration. As is. Net price. Seller: Bromer Booksellers, Inc. McCurdy, Michael illustrator.

One of eight copies. A suite of twenty-five laser prints of drawings by Michael McCurdy, each hand-colored, signed, and numbered by the artist. The drawings were originally done by McCurdy at the request of the University Press of Kansas, which commissioned the artist to illustrate its Kansas Centennial Edition of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in McCurdy's drawings are bold and strong, yet still dream-like, providing a new interpretation of Baum's classic children's tale.

The prints are carefully hand-colored with subtle tints and tone. The prints are housed in an emerald green clamshell box, together with a copy of the book, which is signed by the artist with an original drawing of the Scarecrow. Extremely fine. Published by University Press of Kansas, Used - Hardcover Condition: As New.

Condition: As New. Special Edition. This copy, one of 8 especially numbered copies, signed by McCurdy with an original drawing by the artist. Each of the 25 drawings, numbered and signed by McCurdy, and the specially numbered copy of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" are laid-into an original green silk folding box, designed by James Currier of Newport, Rhode Island, in ; McCurdy has also included an additional suite of 4 duplicate hand-colored drawings. A stunning production.

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