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The New Wizard of Oz
Excerpt from The New Wizard of Oz
Yet the old-time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as historical in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer wonder tales in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incident devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder-tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.
Having this thought in mind, the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written solely to pleasure children of to-day. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonder ment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Yet the old-time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as historical in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer wonder tales in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incident devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder-tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.
Having this thought in mind, the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written solely to pleasure children of to-day. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonder ment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
246 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1899
About the author
L. Frank Baum
3,582 books2,845 followersalso wrote under the names:
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 14, 2017
I finished The Wizard of Oz last night. It is quite wonderful and deserving of every bit of the praise that's been slathered over it all these years. I was lucky enough to read it the very edition I was given for Christmas 1949 or 1950. I was seven and was sure it was the best book I ever read.
And this edition is special because of its remarkable illustrations, so much better than the originals by W. W. Denslow. Winslow didn't really understand what Baum was doing and went cute, cartoonish...too cartoonish.
Bobbs-Merrill's 1949 edition features fresh illustrations by Evelyn Copelman, an artist well-versed in 1940s realist magazine style. Her portrayal of Dorothy is captivating, at least to me. She has become a real little kid caught up in the astounding adventures we all think we know. Somebody needs to needs to reissue this one.
And this edition is special because of its remarkable illustrations, so much better than the originals by W. W. Denslow. Winslow didn't really understand what Baum was doing and went cute, cartoonish...too cartoonish.
Bobbs-Merrill's 1949 edition features fresh illustrations by Evelyn Copelman, an artist well-versed in 1940s realist magazine style. Her portrayal of Dorothy is captivating, at least to me. She has become a real little kid caught up in the astounding adventures we all think we know. Somebody needs to needs to reissue this one.
April 20, 2013
Such an iconic book. Can't believe I never read it until age 46. (I read it aloud to my 5-year-old daughter over the course of a week.) Of course I was already familiar with the story, through the movie, which is even more iconic than the book. The story here is pretty much the same as the movie, but as one might expect the book contains more details, which I found fascinating. For example, both the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow have back stories, tales of origin, which are unfolded here.
Other surprising differences: There are four witches in the book, two good and two evil. The magic shoes are silver, not ruby. The book has quite a bit more violence; there are 40 strangulations and 43 (count 'em) decapitations. And in the end, the adventure is not revealed to be a dream. Dorothy was gone so long her uncle had time to build a new house, to replace the one the cyclone spun off to Oz. Apparently it all really happened.
Probably my favorite details is the fact that the Emerald City is not really green after all. It only looks that way because everyone who enters is required to wear green-tinted spectacles which are locked onto the head for the duration of their residence.
The triumph of the story is how all the characters already have the things they are seeking. Even Dorothy has the ability to go home all along. The book makes it blindingly obvious, to adults anyhow, that the Tin Woodman already has the biggest heart in the group, the Scarecrow already has the most brains, the Lion the most courage. The movie's biggest improvement is in the handling of how Oz doles out his rewards; in the book it's a bit clumsy, even grotesque, as the wizard stuffs the Scarecrow's cranium full of bran (yes, bran) and nails, performs surgery on the Tin Woodman, and makes the Lion drink a magic potion.
I should note that as far as I can tell, this text is identical to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or nearly so, despite the variant title.
Other surprising differences: There are four witches in the book, two good and two evil. The magic shoes are silver, not ruby. The book has quite a bit more violence; there are 40 strangulations and 43 (count 'em) decapitations. And in the end, the adventure is not revealed to be a dream. Dorothy was gone so long her uncle had time to build a new house, to replace the one the cyclone spun off to Oz. Apparently it all really happened.
Probably my favorite details is the fact that the Emerald City is not really green after all. It only looks that way because everyone who enters is required to wear green-tinted spectacles which are locked onto the head for the duration of their residence.
The triumph of the story is how all the characters already have the things they are seeking. Even Dorothy has the ability to go home all along. The book makes it blindingly obvious, to adults anyhow, that the Tin Woodman already has the biggest heart in the group, the Scarecrow already has the most brains, the Lion the most courage. The movie's biggest improvement is in the handling of how Oz doles out his rewards; in the book it's a bit clumsy, even grotesque, as the wizard stuffs the Scarecrow's cranium full of bran (yes, bran) and nails, performs surgery on the Tin Woodman, and makes the Lion drink a magic potion.
I should note that as far as I can tell, this text is identical to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or nearly so, despite the variant title.
May 10, 2024
This book is like the movie, in different ways, I liked the book alot it was very interesting and I rate it a 5 I'm Usally not into all the reading stuff like this but I do like this book and I would recommend it to other people if they was to ask about a good boo.
October 15, 2021
Very different than the classic movie. I loved this first version much better even though it was dark. Absolutely a must read!
December 16, 2021
I love this book❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💗💓💞💕🤍♥️❣️💔💘💝💖
Read
March 14, 2022I have not seen this movie in many years. Definitely want to now that I have read this book.
September 21, 2023
I love the movie, but have never read the book. Same book but very different
So violent. I was shocked. So glad the movie is much tamer.
So violent. I was shocked. So glad the movie is much tamer.
October 17, 2023
After reading “Finding Dorothy” I had to go back and reread this one. Still a good children’s book
Want to Read
February 5, 2026Overall, this is a wonderful book. The content is well organized, and the writing style makes it enjoyable to read.
February 18, 2013
This was handed down to me by my mother along with other books by the publisher of children's stories. My grandmother had kept them and she gave them to my mom to give them to me when I was young. Now my 11 yr old daughter has discovered them and reading them. This was the first one she found. Just as fun to read as an adult as it was as a child. Story slightly different than movie version but a cute book to read.
June 24, 2013
This version of the Wizard of Oz is different from the movie. For one, Dorothy doesn't run away then come back home only to get whisked away in a cyclone. For another, she has many more adventures and meets more than just the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion on her journey to Oz. I found it different enough to keep my interest and not be bored from the same old story. The other difference (and I will not spoil it) is how she gets back home to Kansas.
May 3, 2010
Read for a class. Haven't taken time to find the exact edition on Goodread's list.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews