The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum | Adventures in Oz #1

This is another of those children's books that I never read when I was a child. I suppose I thought that I had because I had watched the film a lot, but it seems that 'somewhere over the rainbow' isn't actually in the book. Though this is a pity as it is a brilliant song, I have to say that next to nothing disappointed me about this book.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy and her dog Toto who are caught up in a tornado one day in their home of Kansas and transported to the magical world of Oz. During their landing into Oz the house that they were travelling in accidentally lands on the Wicked Witch of the East and kills her, much to the relief of the inhabitants.

The first thing that I noticed about this novel were the differences in plot from the 1939 film. The witch of the North is in fact quite an old lady, not the glamourpuss of the '39 film and the ruby slippers are silver! After realising both those things I quickly got rid of the picture of Judy Garland in my head and began to picture Dorothy as she was in the book: a child.

This book was actually quite dark for what I had expected of a children's story including several instances of murder and cruelty. There was a giant spider, rabid wolves, killer bees and enslaved flying monkeys! I liked that Baum didn't shiy away from things such as this in his book and fully embraces them. The feeling of genuine danger makes for a quick pace and great atmosphere. As a reader you feel as though that you don't know what is going to happen next which exactly what is needed from a good adventure.

I think the overall moral of the story, that the power is within you to achieve what ever it is that you want, whether it be feeling as though you have brains, a heart etc, is within you at all times was both engaging and uplifting. It was a very empowering message and one that I thought was demonstrated enormously well.

The theme of 'home' is also something that was explored well in this novel. Of course Dorothy wants to get back Kansas, but she isn't the only one looking to get home. It seems that everyone is searching for a place to belong or are looking to reclaim the place that they once called home. The way in which all of Dorothy's party all ended up finding a place of their own was very organic and at times quite subtle so that it isn't until the end that you realise it has all worked out for the best.

This book is where my knowledge of the Land of Oz ends, but knowing that there are 12 canonical texts makes me so happy. Unfortunately I don't have the second story in my possession nor does my local library have it so I'm bumping that one up to the top of my wish list.

Rating: ★★★★

Next in series: The Marvellous Land of Oz