** spoiler alert ** I have always found the movie pretty boring, but the story fascinating. Then I realized I had never actually -read- the story. So I decided to. I picked up my copy for $5 in the kid's section, and while I felt a little embarrassed checking out, let me tell you-this is a fantastic version.

At first, I absolutely hated the drawings. Hated them to the point I contemplated selling the book back and getting a different copy. It looked too cartoonish for my taste, and Dorothy was really frightening. But, after the first couple pages, she gets to be pretty cute.

Also, I'm probably just an idiot, but I had no idea there were 14 more books after this one. No. Idea. I also had no idea that her shoes in the book were silver, not red.

But, my handy-dandy little Puffin guide in the back told me that they made the shoes red for the movie because the color showed up better in Technicolor. I was really proud of myself for knowing this, until I realized that most people who have seen the movie -also- know this. Oh well.

The guide in the back also gives you a little overview of L. Frank Baum's life, and makes up a convenient list of the places Dorothy went to, complete with description, and a list of the characters.

The only disappointment in the book was that the witch did not actually shriek that she was melting. And I am still wondering what happened to the Wizard when he flew away in his hot air balloon. I think that part was left out in the movie, BUT in the book apparently the Wizard was also from Kansas. Pretty cool.

Anyway, the book was just as good as I expected, and as you can probably tell, I really really enjoyed the guide in the back. I had no idea that in the book everything that happened to Dorothy wasn't actually a dream. That was a little weird. But if you can get past the differences between the book and the movie, it's pretty fantastic.