I was reminded of one of my favorite movies/plays recently with the 70th Anniversary of MGM's film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. I loved the movie, and have always wanted to see a Broadway show production of it. I had never read the original story. I thought it might be a fun story to introduce to my daughter. I was hoping i would get lucky in finding a suitable book for her age range. With it being the 70th Anniversary, Oz out in theaters and a Broadway show playing in our city, i was hoping i would find what i was looking for at the bookstore.
I DID.
When we got the the kids section, i asked one of the employees if she could help me out. She giddily told me she had exactly what i was looking for and led me away from the kids section. They had a shelf devoted to The Wizard of Oz. She pointed out one of the books and said it would be perfect for my daughter...and for me. The front cover was beautiful, and it instantly captured the attention of my daughter. Inside it was filled with pictures just as beautiful as the cover. The illustrations are amazing!
Charles Santore is a brilliant artist and even the most discerning Wizard of Oz critics have nothing negative to say about his illustrations. Santore says "I approached the work very seriously, as though i were on the journey as a naturalist, recording these events for the first time."
My daughter took the book and asked if we could sit in the teacup chair (all Chapters have a nice big chair that resembles a teacup) to read it. Without really knowing much else about the book we had chosen (not knowing how the story would be adapted for younger readers) we got to reading. We got to the part where the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East and all that was left were the silver shoes....wait a minute here....SILVER. How could they change it to silver shoes?
I went and asked that giddy employee what the deal was with this book. She played off my stupidity and engaged in an enlightening conversation about this book. Since i had never read the original, i had no idea that the slippers were silver in Baum's book. Only in the movie adaptations and subsequent plays and books thereafter did it get changed to ruby slippers. Ruby was chosen to highlight the slippers in the movies because it would provide a great contrast to the Yellow Brick Road. Silver would have blended in too much.
Furthermore, what i learned was so great about this book is that it is not a mere retelling or adaptation of the original, but a condensed version. Almost every word in the book is Baum's own. That is what makes this book perfect. Original words, but condensed so that you can read it to young children. Don't be fooled, the book is still long but coupled with the powerful language and imagery you will keep the young readers interested. We don't read this from cover to cover- you read a few pages and come back to it. I was actually surprised that we finished it in three reading sessions. After reading one part to my daughter before bed, she wanted to read another part when she woke up .
Perhaps this is the reason they included a beautiful little ribbon in the same gingham pattern as Dorothy's dress to use as a bookmark (its all about the little details that i love).
There is just too many things to list why i love this book and why i believe it is a must have for your collection. Here are some themes you can discuss with your kids.
-The power of friendship and doing anything you can to help a friend out. Dorothy was helped a lot of times due to her willingness to always help others when they needed it.
-The desire for brains, heart, courage and to find a way home. They had what they wanted all along:
The scarecrow wishing he had a brain, when all he really needed was experience. Knowledge is the accumulation of life long learning. The lion wanting courage, but realized he needed to boost his confidence. Confidence brings courage when faced with difficulty. The Tin woodman wanting a heart. He proved he had a heart already when he sympathized with Dorothy and her friends. Dorothy wanting to go back to her gray and deserted home even after being exposed to such a colourful city, full of people and new experiences. We can travel and venture far, but there will always be a special place in our heart for the place that we call home. After her travels her home looked much better than she had remembered rather than more bleak.
-Dorothy and the great Wizard of Oz were just ordinary people, but due to circumstances people believed them to be extraordinary. We never quite see ourselves as capable and influential as others do.
The possibilities of themes are endless.
I would absolutely recommend this book for your collection. It is a keepsake and will hopefully be one of those books that one day my daughter will read to her own children, or any child in her life. She really takes pride in this purchase and treats this book so well. If a child can see how special it is, you really have to believe it. You can find it online for $15, but we spent the extra $5 for her to go to the bookstore to purchase it herself (amazing hardcover price). I love Amazon online, but i think it is special when kids get to see the books, and bring them up to the counter to pay every once in a while.
I will leave you with a link that i am using to help build my collection.
I DID.
When we got the the kids section, i asked one of the employees if she could help me out. She giddily told me she had exactly what i was looking for and led me away from the kids section. They had a shelf devoted to The Wizard of Oz. She pointed out one of the books and said it would be perfect for my daughter...and for me. The front cover was beautiful, and it instantly captured the attention of my daughter. Inside it was filled with pictures just as beautiful as the cover. The illustrations are amazing!
Charles Santore is a brilliant artist and even the most discerning Wizard of Oz critics have nothing negative to say about his illustrations. Santore says "I approached the work very seriously, as though i were on the journey as a naturalist, recording these events for the first time."
My daughter took the book and asked if we could sit in the teacup chair (all Chapters have a nice big chair that resembles a teacup) to read it. Without really knowing much else about the book we had chosen (not knowing how the story would be adapted for younger readers) we got to reading. We got to the part where the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East and all that was left were the silver shoes....wait a minute here....SILVER. How could they change it to silver shoes?
I went and asked that giddy employee what the deal was with this book. She played off my stupidity and engaged in an enlightening conversation about this book. Since i had never read the original, i had no idea that the slippers were silver in Baum's book. Only in the movie adaptations and subsequent plays and books thereafter did it get changed to ruby slippers. Ruby was chosen to highlight the slippers in the movies because it would provide a great contrast to the Yellow Brick Road. Silver would have blended in too much.
Furthermore, what i learned was so great about this book is that it is not a mere retelling or adaptation of the original, but a condensed version. Almost every word in the book is Baum's own. That is what makes this book perfect. Original words, but condensed so that you can read it to young children. Don't be fooled, the book is still long but coupled with the powerful language and imagery you will keep the young readers interested. We don't read this from cover to cover- you read a few pages and come back to it. I was actually surprised that we finished it in three reading sessions. After reading one part to my daughter before bed, she wanted to read another part when she woke up .
Perhaps this is the reason they included a beautiful little ribbon in the same gingham pattern as Dorothy's dress to use as a bookmark (its all about the little details that i love).
There is just too many things to list why i love this book and why i believe it is a must have for your collection. Here are some themes you can discuss with your kids.
 |
| Book Club Discussion Topics For Your 4-6 Age Range. |
-The power of friendship and doing anything you can to help a friend out. Dorothy was helped a lot of times due to her willingness to always help others when they needed it.
-The desire for brains, heart, courage and to find a way home. They had what they wanted all along:
The scarecrow wishing he had a brain, when all he really needed was experience. Knowledge is the accumulation of life long learning. The lion wanting courage, but realized he needed to boost his confidence. Confidence brings courage when faced with difficulty. The Tin woodman wanting a heart. He proved he had a heart already when he sympathized with Dorothy and her friends. Dorothy wanting to go back to her gray and deserted home even after being exposed to such a colourful city, full of people and new experiences. We can travel and venture far, but there will always be a special place in our heart for the place that we call home. After her travels her home looked much better than she had remembered rather than more bleak.
-Dorothy and the great Wizard of Oz were just ordinary people, but due to circumstances people believed them to be extraordinary. We never quite see ourselves as capable and influential as others do.
The possibilities of themes are endless.
I would absolutely recommend this book for your collection. It is a keepsake and will hopefully be one of those books that one day my daughter will read to her own children, or any child in her life. She really takes pride in this purchase and treats this book so well. If a child can see how special it is, you really have to believe it. You can find it online for $15, but we spent the extra $5 for her to go to the bookstore to purchase it herself (amazing hardcover price). I love Amazon online, but i think it is special when kids get to see the books, and bring them up to the counter to pay every once in a while.
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| This is the cover of the book. It is also my daughters favorite image. There is a double paged version of this in the book. |
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| My favorite illustration. Dorothy scolding the lion after he tried to scare her faithful friend Toto. |
I will leave you with a link that i am using to help build my collection.
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