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Wizard of Oz
The classic story by L. Frank Baum, retold for children growing in their reading confidence and ability, sumptuously illustrated by Mauro Evangelista. When Dorothy is whizzed to Oz in a tornado, she lands in a place where nothing is quite as it seems. Can she find the Wizard, defeat the Wicked Witch of the West, and be granted her wish to return to Kansas? Usborne Young Reading has been developed with reading experts from Roehampton University. The audio CD includes a dramatic listen-along recording with music and sound effects, followed by a read-along version with prompts for page turns.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published May 17, 2007
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Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 5, 2019
Having seen the film with Judy Garland, it seems remarkable that 'The Wizard of Oz' can be told in just 24 pages. But here it is and it seems to miss nothing significant and in addition it is beautifully illustrated by Mauro Evangelista.
Dorothy lives on a farm with her little dog Toto and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em when one day a storm blows up and spins the house into the air. It sails through the sky and lands with a mighty bump and when she pokes her head outside she sees friendly faces who greet her with 'Welcome to Oz!' But Dorothy just wants to find her way home and when she asks how to do so, a local woman directs her to the wizard who lives in Emerald City. To assist her on her way she gives Dorothy a pair of sparkling silver shoes.
She walks along the yellow brick road and a scarecrow shouts 'Hello there!' and asks where she is going. She tells him she is going to see the wizard so he asks if he can join her for he wants to ask the wizard for some brains. The two of them then carry on their way.
Next she encounters a tin man who says, 'Help! I'm rusted up.' Dorothy fortuitously spots a nearby oil can, trickles some oil onto the tin man's stiff joints and tells him that she is off to see the wizard. The tin man asks if he can accompany her as he wants to ask the wizard for a heart. The three of them then continue their journey.
'Roar!' is the next thing Dorothy hears and a lion leaps out of the trees. He is a very tame lion and when he realises they are off to see the wizard he asks if he can go with them because he wants to be made brave. The four of them carry on along the yellow brick road, past forests, rivers and fields until they come to a city of glittering emeralds.
Once there a gatekeeper gives them each a pair of green glasses and leads them to the wizard's palace. They meet the wizard who says that he will help each of them providing that they help him first. 'You must kill the wicked witch,' he tells them.
The only problem is that the witch lives in a castle guarded by wolves and crows. So the tin man fights off the wolves, the scarecrow scares away the crows and the lion simply looks on. The witch sees what is going on and is furious so she summons her flying monkeys and the four friends are made prisoners in her castle. 'Now you're my slaves,' she cackles, 'Get to work.'.
She then notices Dorothy's silver shoes and decides that she wants them so when Dorothy fetches a pail of water the witch pushes her down ready to steal the shoes. Dorothy is so annoyed that she throws the water all over the witch … and you cannot imagine what happens!
Anyway the foursome are free to move on and the wizard gives out his rewards, the scarecrow is given a handful of pins, the tin man is given a heart-shaped cushion and the lion is given a bottle marked 'Courage'. Last of all Dorothy is given a hot-air balloon and the wizard says, 'We'll fly home!' But before Dorothy can get in the balloon the ropes securing it snap and it takes off without her.
'Go to the good witch Glinda' shouts the wizard, 'She'll help you.' and Dorothy does just that. Glinda gives Dorothy an important clue as to how to get home … and it works a treat.
Dorothy and Toto whirl through the air and are soon back on their farm with Aunt Em waiting to greet them. 'I've been on an amazing adventure. But oh! I'm so glad to be home,' she says. And Toto's bark is interpreted as him saying 'Me too!'
This is a really nice re-telling of the tale and the illustrations complement it admirably.
Dorothy lives on a farm with her little dog Toto and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em when one day a storm blows up and spins the house into the air. It sails through the sky and lands with a mighty bump and when she pokes her head outside she sees friendly faces who greet her with 'Welcome to Oz!' But Dorothy just wants to find her way home and when she asks how to do so, a local woman directs her to the wizard who lives in Emerald City. To assist her on her way she gives Dorothy a pair of sparkling silver shoes.
She walks along the yellow brick road and a scarecrow shouts 'Hello there!' and asks where she is going. She tells him she is going to see the wizard so he asks if he can join her for he wants to ask the wizard for some brains. The two of them then carry on their way.
Next she encounters a tin man who says, 'Help! I'm rusted up.' Dorothy fortuitously spots a nearby oil can, trickles some oil onto the tin man's stiff joints and tells him that she is off to see the wizard. The tin man asks if he can accompany her as he wants to ask the wizard for a heart. The three of them then continue their journey.
'Roar!' is the next thing Dorothy hears and a lion leaps out of the trees. He is a very tame lion and when he realises they are off to see the wizard he asks if he can go with them because he wants to be made brave. The four of them carry on along the yellow brick road, past forests, rivers and fields until they come to a city of glittering emeralds.
Once there a gatekeeper gives them each a pair of green glasses and leads them to the wizard's palace. They meet the wizard who says that he will help each of them providing that they help him first. 'You must kill the wicked witch,' he tells them.
The only problem is that the witch lives in a castle guarded by wolves and crows. So the tin man fights off the wolves, the scarecrow scares away the crows and the lion simply looks on. The witch sees what is going on and is furious so she summons her flying monkeys and the four friends are made prisoners in her castle. 'Now you're my slaves,' she cackles, 'Get to work.'.
She then notices Dorothy's silver shoes and decides that she wants them so when Dorothy fetches a pail of water the witch pushes her down ready to steal the shoes. Dorothy is so annoyed that she throws the water all over the witch … and you cannot imagine what happens!
Anyway the foursome are free to move on and the wizard gives out his rewards, the scarecrow is given a handful of pins, the tin man is given a heart-shaped cushion and the lion is given a bottle marked 'Courage'. Last of all Dorothy is given a hot-air balloon and the wizard says, 'We'll fly home!' But before Dorothy can get in the balloon the ropes securing it snap and it takes off without her.
'Go to the good witch Glinda' shouts the wizard, 'She'll help you.' and Dorothy does just that. Glinda gives Dorothy an important clue as to how to get home … and it works a treat.
Dorothy and Toto whirl through the air and are soon back on their farm with Aunt Em waiting to greet them. 'I've been on an amazing adventure. But oh! I'm so glad to be home,' she says. And Toto's bark is interpreted as him saying 'Me too!'
This is a really nice re-telling of the tale and the illustrations complement it admirably.
December 19, 2022
Cute short version of “The Wizard of Oz” that is also less scary for younger children. Read as part of a Usborne advent calendar for my young son. The Wizard of Oz is a classic tale and was always one of my favourites. I recently found out what a racist L. Frank Baum was, so that has somewhat tainted my enjoyment of this story. As an Indigenous woman, it’s hard to ignore that the author advocated for the complete genocide of Indigenous North Americans (look it up). Anyways, the illustrations in this version are also cute l, down by Mauro Evangelista.
August 3, 2019
A good version.
November 9, 2019
Nice looking book, but the briefness means some story parts are lacking.
January 17, 2025
great childrens book
September 28, 2017
Miss 3 and I like to explore different books at the library and try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
So we read "My name is not Isabella" and Miss 3 LOVED it. She recognised Goldilock & the Three Bears but didn't know that the rest of the pages were also references to well known children's books. Thus began a quest to try and get suitable picture book versions of the other tales, like "The Wizard of Oz"
This version was okay. It seemed a bit odd that it included some bits but missed others (i.e. she gets handed the magical shoes at the start but there's no mention of her house landing on the Wicked Witch of the East). Artwork is okay.
So we read "My name is not Isabella" and Miss 3 LOVED it. She recognised Goldilock & the Three Bears but didn't know that the rest of the pages were also references to well known children's books. Thus began a quest to try and get suitable picture book versions of the other tales, like "The Wizard of Oz"
This version was okay. It seemed a bit odd that it included some bits but missed others (i.e. she gets handed the magical shoes at the start but there's no mention of her house landing on the Wicked Witch of the East). Artwork is okay.
March 27, 2022
This print book was appropriate for a grade 1 child. This is a truncated version. I posed the following questions to my student: 1. What was the color of the shoes that Dorothy receive? What happened to the witch when Dorothy threw water over the witch? What was unusual when the lion yelped "Don't hurt me!" The tin man wanted a heart while the scarecrow wanted a brain; which is more important to you and why? Dorothy went home by knocking her shoes together; if you were the good witch, how would you help Dorothy go home?
December 27, 2015
OK, so I'm skewed by the movies. But this DEFINITELY isn't the definitive version. Unspectacular drawings and unremarkable prose. Kinda a cash-in.
5/10
5/10
December 15, 2023
Illustrations were a but bland and it looked like Dorothy never had shoes on
January 19, 2024
So short and rushed that it would be quite confusing to many children, I think.
February 6, 2016
I'm enjoy reading it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews