THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ; THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ; OZMA OF OZ
Oz The Complete Collection, Volume One
by L. Frank Baum
592 pp. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up)
ISBN
9781471117008
Rating: ? Stars
When I got these books I was surprised to find three books instead of one as I had always thought there was only one book about Oz, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. Actually there are fifteen books altogether. My favourite book of the three was “Ozma of Oz” because the plot and characters became more interesting in that book. I think ages nine to fifteen should read this book because it would seem a bit childish for those older than fifteen and a bit hard to understand for those younger than nine. This book definitely deserves five out of five stars.
“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was about a girl called Dorothy who was taken to the Land of Oz by a tornado. At first when she got there the Munchkins that lived in that part of the country hailed her and honoured her because while her house was coming in it squashed the evil witch who had ruled there and made the Munchkins her slaves. Because she freed them she got to keep the witch’s magical silver shoes. Dorothy was not happy though because she wanted to go back to Kansas. The good Witch of the North advised her to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to ask the Wonderful Wizard of Oz to send her back to Kansas. She also gave her a magic kiss that would keep her safe from harm. On the way there she met the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow. The Tin Woodman wanted a heart the Cowardly Lion wanted courage and the Scarecrow wanted a brain. They had many adventures together before they got to the Wizard. When they finally did get there the Wizard of Oz told them that he would only help them if they killed the evil Witch of the West. They were all broken or hurt in some way by the evil Witch of the West. Excepting Dorothy who was only made a slave because of the kiss the good Witch of the North gave her. Even though the evil Witch of the West was not allowed to harm Dorothy she still tried to steal Dorothy's silver shoes. This made Dorothy so cross that she threw water on the witch, which melted her. They then all went back to the 'Wizard of Oz' but the amazing things that happened then and after you will have to find out for yourself.
“The Marvelous Land of Oz” was about an orphan boy called Tip who had to live with an old witch. One day he escaped with some of the old witches life powder (which he had used earlier to make his new companion, a Pumpkinhead, come to life) and started to walk towards the famous Emerald City. On the way there he found a Sawhorse and brought it to life too so that the Pumpkinhead could ride on it. However, when they did get to the Emerald City they found out that it was being invaded by warrior girls so Tip, the Pumkinhead, the Sawhorse and the Scarecrow all had to escape together to the castle of the Tin Woodman (a friend of the Scarecrow). While there they made a flying sort of animal out of furniture which they brought to life with Tip's life powder, and used it to get to Glinda the good Witch of the South and ask her for help. What happened after they found her you will have to find out for yourself.
Now I come to my favourite book. “Ozma of Oz” was about Dorothy coming back to Oz. Dorothy got to Oz the second time because of a storm that erupted while she was on a boat with her uncle. Due to this storm she and a chicken named Billina found themselves washed on the magical place on the other side of the desert. While on the island Dorothy, Billina and the robot (a new friend she made there) went to visit a princess. But the princess locked Dorothy up when she refused to trade her head in return for one of her other old heads. Dorothy was saved from this by Ozma, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and a load of other allies. After that she went on an Adventure with them to the Nome realm where they were going to try and save a whole royal family from his clutches (minus the dad) as he had turned them all into pretty ornaments for his underground palace. What happened there you will have to find out for yourself though. The part set in the Nome King's realm was particularly good, making “Ozma of Oz” my favourite book of the three. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. As all these books were amazing and I expect the series to get even more AMAZING.
also on Guardian Children's Books Site
