Everyone knows how Dorothy and Toto save Oz from the Wicked Witch of West...or do they? How will Dorothy survive in a land filled with haunted bags of straw, hollow metal men and giant smelly cats? How will she fight off killer bees, mad wolves and really annoying monkeys? How will she defeat a witch with mind control and an all-seeing eye? And how will Dorothy ever find the way home? The simple truth is that she won't, at least not alone. Of course, she's not alone-she has Toto, her best friend. That is, Toto used to be her best friend. But in Oz, Dorothy spends more time talking to a cat than to him. And Toto finds new friends, too. Maybe, he should just take his wolf friends back to Kansas instead...
Toto's Tale
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
K.D. Hays and Meg Weidman are a mother-daughter team who aspire to be professional rollercoaster riders and who can tell you exactly what not to put in your pockets when you ride El Toro at Six Flags. K.D. Hays, who writes historical fiction under the name Kate Dolan, has been writing professionally since 1992. She holds a law degree from the University of Richmond and consequently hopes that her children will pursue studies in more prestigious fields such as plumbing or waste management. Meg is studying art in a middle school magnet program. For fun, she jumps on a precision jump rope team and reads anything not associated with school work. They live in a suburb of Baltimore where the weather is ideally suited for the four major seasons—riding rollercoasters in the spring and fall, waterslides in the summer and snow tubes in the winter. Although Meg resents the fact her mother has dragged her to every historical site within a 200-mile radius, she will consent to dress in colonial garb and participate in living history demonstrations if she is allowed to be a laundry thief.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Toto's Tale is an outstanding tail wagger of a book for kids, but not just for kids! I loved this tale and enjoyed seeing and sniffing down the yellow brick road in the land of Oz from Toto's perspective. This book follows the original story of the Wizard of Oz with the beloved characters we all know like metal man, straw man, the cowardly lion, wicked witch of the west and of course, the wizard. There is danger and adventure along the way, but good friends are there for Dorothy and Toto. Toto protects Dorothy all the way through their journey to the Emerald City from wolves, bees, crazy monkeys and more. It is a charming read and cleverly done.
A very nice chapter book for kids of all ages. Recommended.
A very nice chapter book for kids of all ages. Recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By SenoraG
Format:Paperback
I loved the idea of hearing the story of Dorothy's adventures in Oz from Toto's point of view. I often wonder what my dog and cats are thinking. I do believe they are a lot smarter then we give them credit for!
That being said, while the story itself was very cute, I found it to be a difficult read. I had to go back and re-read things to understand what the authors were trying to get across. Naturally Toto didn't always have the words for what he was trying to say and in their place he used the word 'something.' This was quite confusing to me until I got used to it.
All of our old friends from Oz are there, the Man of Tin, scarecrow and lion. It was amusing to hear the descriptions of them from Toto. He thought the scarecrow needed brains and the lion porridge.
I think kids would like this book especially younger ones if it's read to them. I could actually see it as an animated cartoon or movie. I think the things that were hard to read would come out much better in a cartoon. Overall it was a cute read that fans of The Wizard of Oz would enjoy.
That being said, while the story itself was very cute, I found it to be a difficult read. I had to go back and re-read things to understand what the authors were trying to get across. Naturally Toto didn't always have the words for what he was trying to say and in their place he used the word 'something.' This was quite confusing to me until I got used to it.
All of our old friends from Oz are there, the Man of Tin, scarecrow and lion. It was amusing to hear the descriptions of them from Toto. He thought the scarecrow needed brains and the lion porridge.
I think kids would like this book especially younger ones if it's read to them. I could actually see it as an animated cartoon or movie. I think the things that were hard to read would come out much better in a cartoon. Overall it was a cute read that fans of The Wizard of Oz would enjoy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Everyone knows the story of The Wizard of Oz... but since Toto couldn't talk, he never got his chance to tell the story. Now Toto tells what really happened in Oz after the windstorm that changed magical history. Toto becomes the main character in this story, and his mission is to save his pet girl and get her back to Kansas.
Toto's Tale was absolutely adorable. I fell in love with Toto right away. He has a wonderful personality and is very intelligent. Hays and Weidman did a very good job capturing the interior monologue of a dog who could not talk until this point. He was funny and a little quirky, and thought himself a lot bigger than he really was. But it only added to his charm.
Hilariously, Toto has a much better language than humans, and some of their words don't translate to dog-talk, so some of the human's dialogue is replaced with funny words that rhyme, or just the word "something." Along the way, they meet a straw man who says he needs some "trains," a Metal Man who needs a "cart," and a Big Cat who needs some "Porridge". They swallow the jello brick road to find the Lizard who will send them home.
The illustrations were adorable too. They were basic pen and ink drawings, one ever few chapters, displaying a lot of character. The supporting characters in the story like Happy the evil-turned-good Wolf, the bugs that Toto talks to, the Not-really-a-wizard, and the flying monkeys were quickly established and fun to read. As mentioned earlier, some of the dialogue of humans doesn't' translate to dog-talk, and the "something something"s got a little annoying after a while, but all in all I greatly enjoyed reading Toto's tale.
I loved Toto's tale and am going to get my little brother to read it when I go home for Christmas. It was a fast fun read.
Recommended for ages 6-14, and fun-loving teens and adults as well! A great Christmas gift for dog-lovers or Oz-lovers.
Review by Haley Mathiot, copyright 2010. Do not copy without permission. See policy, disclosure, and source at my blog ([...])
Toto's Tale was absolutely adorable. I fell in love with Toto right away. He has a wonderful personality and is very intelligent. Hays and Weidman did a very good job capturing the interior monologue of a dog who could not talk until this point. He was funny and a little quirky, and thought himself a lot bigger than he really was. But it only added to his charm.
Hilariously, Toto has a much better language than humans, and some of their words don't translate to dog-talk, so some of the human's dialogue is replaced with funny words that rhyme, or just the word "something." Along the way, they meet a straw man who says he needs some "trains," a Metal Man who needs a "cart," and a Big Cat who needs some "Porridge". They swallow the jello brick road to find the Lizard who will send them home.
The illustrations were adorable too. They were basic pen and ink drawings, one ever few chapters, displaying a lot of character. The supporting characters in the story like Happy the evil-turned-good Wolf, the bugs that Toto talks to, the Not-really-a-wizard, and the flying monkeys were quickly established and fun to read. As mentioned earlier, some of the dialogue of humans doesn't' translate to dog-talk, and the "something something"s got a little annoying after a while, but all in all I greatly enjoyed reading Toto's tale.
I loved Toto's tale and am going to get my little brother to read it when I go home for Christmas. It was a fast fun read.
Recommended for ages 6-14, and fun-loving teens and adults as well! A great Christmas gift for dog-lovers or Oz-lovers.
Review by Haley Mathiot, copyright 2010. Do not copy without permission. See policy, disclosure, and source at my blog ([...])
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book!
Toto's tale was such a fun read. It's a must read to any fan of "The Wizard of Oz". I loved that Toto was clever and sarcastic, but never mean spirited, the authors imbued him with... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Whole Grain fan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Toto's Tale> A funny book perfect for a book report!
How many of you have ever imagined yourself as Dorothy or the Scarecrow or maybe even ..... the Wizard of Oz? I know I did as a kid. Read more
Published on December 14, 2010 by Tina Peterson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Toto
I received this book from PUYB for a review and I am thrilled I did. I have been reading this with my 7 year old who loves it. Read more
Published on December 11, 2010 by Barbara Hightower
5.0 out of 5 stars
Toto's Tale is super Sweet!
Ya'll know the story of The Wizard of Oz,right? Well, I know I know it, and it is one of my FAVORITE movies. I love watching it when it comes on TV (thank goodness for DVRs!). Read more
Published on November 5, 2010 by ReviewsByMolly
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Perspective
I loved this book! Toto is brave and sassy. It follows the book The Wizard of Oz more then the movie, with added scenes that pull things together. Read more
Published on October 22, 2010 by C. G. Hilliard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go Toto!
"He has the brains, the heart and the courage... now if only he could just find a pork chop! Kids and dog lovers will enjoy this tale "fur" sure!"
Published on September 8, 2010 by Schmeagle
