The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Dover Children’s Evergreen Classics)

Since it was first published in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has enchanted readers of all ages with its lovable characters, gentle humor, and quiet wisdom. This complete and unabridged edition of L. Frank Baum’s beloved classic invites a new generation of readers to travel down that Yellow Brick Road with the delightful little girl from Kansas and her unusual friends.
Dorothy, her little dog Toto, the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion will charm boys and girls of today as much as they delighted children nearly a century ago as they set out on an exciting quest for the elusive Wizard of Oz. Along the way, they’ll encounter the Wicked Witch of the West, the fantastic Winged Monkeys, the Queen of the Field Mice, the kind-hearted Munchkins, and other fanciful creatures.
Reset in large, clear type and accompanied by 42 of W. W. Denslow’s original illustrations, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is ready to whisk readers off once more on a marvelous flight of fancy. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

In spite of the fact that L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) is one of the most popular stories in America, relatively few people have actually read the book. It’s well worth the effort! Young readers expecting rainbows, Munchkin songs, and wicked witches with burning brooms will instead find a complex country populated with mocking Hammerhead men, dainty people made out of china, and fierce monsters with heads of tigers and bodies of bears. Through the fantastic land of Oz ramble Dorothy and her trusty companions–Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion–each seeking his or her heart’s desire. Although the premise of the book and the 1939 movie is the same, the book–as so often is the case–delivers a far more subtle and intricate plot. A child’s imagination will run rampant in these pages as one extraordinary creature after another leads the motley crew into strange and magical adventures. (All ages) –Emilie Coulter