The Marvelous Land of Oz (Dover Children's Classics) [Paperback]

L. Frank Baum (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Dover Children's Classics

Second Oz book; Scarecrow and Tin Woodman are back with hero named Tip. 120 black-and-white, 16 full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book is in Electronic Paperback Format. If you view this book on any of the computer systems below, it will look like a book. Simple to run, no program to install. Just put the CD in your CDROM drive and start reading. The simple easy to use interface is child tested at pre-school levels.

Windows 3.11, Windows/95, Windows/98, OS/2 and MacIntosh and Linux with Windows Emulation.

Includes Quiet Vision's Dynamic Index. the abilty to build a index for any set of characters or words.

This Electronic Paperback is illustrated.

This Electronic Paperback is read aloud by an actor. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

L[yman] Frank Baum, born in Chittenango, New York, in 1856, tried his hand at numerous professions but didn't discover until the age of forty that his true talent lay in writing of fantastic tales. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first of the fourteen full-length Oz novels, is his most famous work, but he is also known for his many other fantasies and pseudonymous books. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486206920
• ISBN-13: 978-0486206929
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #327,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A triumph of fantasy and adventure, April 3, 2002

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Marvelous Land of Oz (Books of Wonder) (Paperback)

I am most familiar with the fantasy world of Oz through the classic musical film starring Judy Garland. "The Marvelous Land of Oz," by L. Frank Baum, could be read as a sequel to the film. Three of the film's most important characters -- the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and good witch Glinda -- are important characters in this book (although Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion do not appear).

Baum creates a marvelous cast of new characters to interact with the three familiar ones mentioned above. Central to this story is Tip, a young boy whose unhappy life with a mean witch will probably remind some readers of Harry Potter's less-than-ideal home life with the Dursleys. Tip's escape from the clutches of the witch Mombi is the start of a fantastic adventure that leads him to the fabulous Emerald City, to an encounter with an all-female army led by a bold conqueress, and to relationships with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and a host of equally fantastic beings.

The new characters are really great, but probably my favorite is Jack Pumpkinhead, an artificially-constructed, pumpkin-headed being brought to life by magic. Jack has a childlike innocence that I found quite endearing. Also memorable is the ornery but courageous Saw-Horse, another magical being.

There is a curious undercurrent of subversive gender politics to the book; although the main party of adventurers are male, the most powerful characters in the book are ultimately its female characters (both heroic and villainous). And one jaw-dropping plot twist (which I will not ruin by revealing!) furthers this theme.

This book is quite simply a wonderfully delightful story, well-told by Baum and superbly complemented by John R. Neill's whimsical illustrations. And despite the fact that it's a fantasy, I felt that the book has some relevant real world themes, most notably the ideas of respecting diversity and valuing "unusual" folks. And the friendship between the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman is especially heartwarming. "The Marvelous Land of Oz" is a great classic for both adults and young people.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff: Similar to Twain or Thurber, October 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Marvelous Land of Oz (Dover Children's Classics) (Paperback)

Baum wrote a dozen or so Oz books in the early 1900s. The movie was made from the first in the series. "The [Marvelous] Land of OZ" is the 2nd in the series, and possibly the best.

The short chapter from page 71-81 reaches a level of perfection attained only rarely in the history of literature, and is certainly equal to even the best passages of Mark Twain or James Thurber. I can't read that passage out loud to my kids without going into a fit of laughing myself to tears. I wish I could reprint it here.

You must try if you can to obtain the wonderful hardcover (or sometimes called 'library binding') edition that goes by the ISBN number of 0688054390. It is an amazingly faithful facsimile of the original 1904 edition complete with its beautiful color-illustrated endpapers and dozens of color plates and black and white illustrations so charmingly integrated with the text.

I snapped up a dozen and gave them away as birthday gifts for kids age 7 and up. I don't know if there are any left in print, and it's a good bet these will go up in value. Fine first edition OZ books command a pretty penny.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Marvelous Land of Oz, November 5, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Marvelous Land of Oz (Books of Wonder) (Paperback)

The title of my book is "The Marvelous Land of Oz." It is by
L. Frank Baum, who is well known for writing the Oz books. I think that anyone, who is six years old, or older, would like the book. Even people who are 100 years old would laugh out loud at this hilarious book.

The story takes place in Oz, a magical land that has strange and funny people. This book is a sequel to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Many of the characters and parts of the story are very funny.

The Emerald City of Oz is a beautiful place until General Jinjur invades it with her army. The scarecrow, who is the king of Oz, and his friends, try to regain the throne only to find that there is another real heir to the throne!

Tip is the book's main character. While many of the characters are very unusual, Tip looks like a human and is from the country of Gillikins. He gets in bad trouble with Mombi, who is evil and he runs away to the Emerald City. He becomes friends with the Scarecrow and tries to help him return as king.

The genre is adventure. Here is an example:
Tip thought this strange army bore no weapons whatsoever, but in this he was wrong. For each girl had stuck through the knot of her hair two long glittering knitting needles.

I give this book 5 stars because it was so good I could not put it down, and I read all 119 pages in only two days.