Revisiting Oz

Pendant by ItsAllAboutThePrint :)

I've always loved the classic Wizard of Oz movie with it's bright colors, witches, and flying monkeys! Somewhere along the way I realized that I had never read the books, and so I read through most (I think all) of the series awhile ago.  I don't remember how long ago, but it's been long enough that I don't remember them very clearly anymore, so I decided that it's time to re-read them! Starting, of course, at the beginning.

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum is full of fanciful images, sweet childhood, and great illustrations by W.W. Denslow!  It was fun to reread this book and remember all the differences from the movie, and yet all the similarities as well.  The copy I got from the Library had an introduction by Robert A Baum, the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum.  He said that:

"L. Frank felt that the old European fairy tales were dated and full of 'stereotyped genies, dwarfs and fairies,' not to mention 'horrible and blood curdling incidents devised to point out a fearsome moral in each tale.' He felt it was time for a new generation of 'modernized' fairy tales to be written just to entertain."

I think he did an excellent job - and if you've never read the book I highly recommend you go out and pick up a copy - revisit your childhood!