Product Description

One of the true classics of American literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has stirred the imagination of young and old alike for over four generations. Originally published in 1900, it was the first truly American fairy tale, as Baum crafted a wonderful out of such familiar items as a cornfield scarecrow, a mechanical woodman, and a humbug wizard who used old-fashioned hokum to express that universal theme, "There's no place like home."

Follow the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, as their Kansas house is swept away by a cyclone and they find themselves in a strange land called Oz. Here she meets the Munchkins and joins the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powered Wizard of Oz.

This lavishly produced facsimile of the rare first edition contains all 24 of W. W. Denslow's original color plates, the colorful pictorial binding, and the 130 two-color illustrations that help make The Wonderful Wizard of Oz so special and enduring.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7706 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-31
• Released on: 2000-10-03
• Format: Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From Booklist
Gr. 4-up, younger for reading aloud. As Mark Evan Swartz comments in Oz: Before the Rainbow [BKL O 15 00], L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz "occupies a unique position in the cultural fabric of this country." Editor Peter Glassman (Oz: The Hundredth Anniversary Celebration) calls the story "quintessentially American." Yet it has a universal appeal--which may account for its translation into many different languages. Although children are often first introduced to the Land of Oz by the classic 1939 movie, the original novel and its many sequels have enchanted both young and old over the years. Published for the centennial, several new books commemorate the beloved story. Readers unacquainted with Oz are sure to find a pleasing version; readers who already know the story will find something to delight them all over again.In Oz: The Hundredth Anniversary Celebration, Peter Glassman presents art and words from children's book authors and illustrators who are big fans of Oz and here pay homage to "the enchanted land that inspired them and helped shape their imaginations." The paintings, in each artist's recognizable style, lovingly convey the essence of Oz, making this truly wonderful. Contributions come from Tomie dePaola, who imagines himself going down the yellow brick road instead of Dorothy; Paul O. Zelinsky, who shared the Oz experience with his children; Uri Shulevitz, who escaped from hunger and war during the 1940s in the pages of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ; Richard Egielski, whose childhood defense against the ghastly flying monkeys was to lie absolutely still in bed; Natalie Babbitt, Peter Sis, Bruce Degen, Lloyd Alexander, and many others. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).Then there's Robert Sabuda's extraordinary pop-up version. On the first double-page spread, the fearful cyclone whirls up to loom over the tiny farm house in Kansas; in the next spread, the house stands squarely on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. And so it goes, spread after spread. The story itself is condensed and told on foldout booklets attached to the pages. The standout pop-ups are prints created from cut blocks of linoleum, with sparkling touches of colored foil that add pizzazz. Sabuda's art evokes that of Denslow, including the silver, rather than ruby, slippers, and once again, his mastery of his craft enhances and enchants. A good selection for story hours.Also now available is Henry Holt's reissue of its 1982 version of the book, with artwork by the well-known children's book illustrator Michael Hague. It contains several new pictures and a slightly longer profile of Baum. It's certainly not an essential purchase, but it's a gorgeous edition for collections that don't have the earlier volume.Last, but certainly not least, is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the "100th Anniversary Edition," part of the HarperCollins Books of Wonder imprint. For those who want the look and feel of the 1900 publication, this fills the bill. It's a very handsome facsimile, printed on high-quality paper and containing all of W. W. Denslow's 24 original colorplates and 130 two-color drawings. Long live Dorothy and her stalwart companions. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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.

Customer Reviews

The ORIGINAL Wizard of Oz is Published
I don't own THIS particular Edition, but I will soon, and as soon as I saw it in Dymmocks, I looked through it and thought "I've really gotta get this book!" And this is why . . . .
I'm sure that there are those of you who have the annotated Wizard of Oz and/or the Dover editions of the Wonderful/Wizard of Oz (Dover has made different copies in publishing it in different ways). the Annotated Wizard of Oz may have the pictures in full-colour, but the colour plates are in 1 whole place, in the middle of the book, and that goes the same for the recent Dover Edition of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (where Dorothy is wearing a pink dress, talking to her friends, all wearing the Green glasses). The other Dover editions of this story have the pictures in black-and-white (sometimes all, other times, a few of them) with the colour-plates in their own chapter but in black-and-white.
THIS EDITION - the 100th Anniversary Edition - is one everybody should have. It has all the pictures in colour-and-black lined with the FULL-COLOUR-Plates in their OWN PROPER CHAPTER place, e.g. "She caught Toto by the ear" in THE CYCLONE, "I am the Witch of the North" in THE COUNCIL WITH THE MUNCHKINS, etc. It even has the picture of Dorothy and Toto back in Kansas on the very final page on the book in the backboard. And when you pull off this picture-cover (the one that you see now), the actual cardboard-leather-bound cover has the EXACT SAME ORIGINAL Cover Angela Lansbury shows in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic", where the Cowardly Lion is wearing the Green glasses on the Front cover, Toto is on the spine and the back has the faces of Dorothy, the Scarecrow and (Nick chopper) the Tin Woodman in circles.
An Important Note on this story is that it Is Imaginative But it Is Not DARK as some people say. It is not scary nor is it supposed to be attempted that way in any new adaptation, nor should it always be made similar to MGM with constant references or musical scenes. This is an AMERICAN 1900 Story, it is not English/British like J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, Tolkien's Hobbit/LofR or C. S. Lewis' Narnia - it is its own place!! Oz is a place where animals can talk, there are strange animals who are not mythical and never appeared in any other legends, wicked people are defeated by simple acts, by it accidentally-non-magical or magical, everybody is friends and the ordinary items of our world can have strong but simple magic.
Now matter how much the MGM Musical is loved, reading this book is worth it, because it explains how many of the events in Oz came to be when Dorothy arrived: how did the Tin Woodman come to be? How did and why do the Winged Monkeys obey the Wicked Witch of the West? What became of the Winkies after the WWWitch's death? Did Lion become the King of Beasts again? Naturally the musical is different from the book, but despite the change of the Kansas beginning/ending, the story is basically the same. this book only offers MORE than the movie did.
Hope you enjoyed my descriptive review. Watch out for my other Oz and Digimon reviews (by Sam A. Milazzo).

The Correct Order of all 14 Books in the series !!
I know you're all wondering, "how does she know the correct order?" Is she over 100yrs old? Well, I know because my grandmother, gone for 34 yrs now, had each and every book bought hot of the presses. Inside each book, except the first, are the previous books in order. Also a couple of the names have changed a bit since they were first written but I have the Books of Wonder titles in this list.

So, here they are in correct order.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz

Ozma of Oz
Dorthy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz
Glinda of Oz

Different Than the Movie
This book is about a girl named Dorothy. She lives in a farm in Kansas with her aunt Em and her uncle Henry. One day a big cyclone came and with all the wind blowing and the house rocking she closed her eyes and fell asleep. When she woke up, she was not in Kansas anymore. Later on she met three friends. They had amazing adventures.

This book is not like the movie. I like the part when the tin woodsmen cut off the yellow wildcat's head and saved the queen mouse's life. This book is very EXCITING! I recommend it for people of all ages who like exciting, magical stories.

by Clio