KidLit Forum

Reading Wizard of Oz I found the elements wich proove that this text is a fantastic one:
1. The ground zero of reality: Dorothy is just a girl from Kansas,a real place from America.'Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies,with Uncle Henry,who was a farmer,and Aunt Em,who was the farmer's wife.'
2. The intrusion of a supernatural element. Even if the cyclone is not a supernatural thing, the power it had is quite unusual: 'There's a cyclone coming,Em,'he called to his wife. [..] 'Quick, Dorothy!'she screamed. Run to the cellar!' [..] A strange thing then happened.The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.'
3. The reader's hesitation between a natural explanation and a supernatural explanation.
I felt this hesitation because as I was reading, I've noticed that the elements from the reality remained real even in the fantastic world:
Dorothy remains an usual girl who needs to rest from time to time,who needs food every day. 'What worried her most was that the bread was nearly gone,and another meal for herself and Toto would empty the basket.To be sure neither the Woodman nor the Scarecrow ever ate anything, but she was not made of tin nor straw, and could not live unless she was fed.'

In the fantastic world, the animals can talk: the Lion can talk, the monkeys can talk with Dorothy but Toto, being an animal from the real world. 'But what do you want?he continued,speaking to Toto. Toto only wagged his tail;for, strange to say, he could not speak.'

The Wizard of Oz himself is a man from reality so he has no supernatural power. 'I was born in Omaha... Well,one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted,so that I couldn't come down again. .. I found myself in the midst of a strange people,who,seeing me from the clouds,thought I was a great Wizard. .. One of my greatest fears was the Witches,for while I had no magical powers at all I soon found out that the Witches werw really able to do wonderful things.'

The way people from reality cannot have supernatural powers in the fantastic world, the same the characters from the Land of Oz don't have powers in the reality: the Winged Monkeys cannot get over the desert to get Dorothy in Kansas. The Witch of the North and the Witch of the South don't have that power either. Somehow, the two worls do not mix together. Even the magical shoes that finally help Dorothy to get back home are lost on the road,in the desert.

4. The return in the real world
In the end, Dorothy gets back in the reality but she does not question the existence of the fantastic world: ' Where in the world did you come from? .. From the Land of Oz, said Dorothy gravely.

A great reading even at this age..

Hi there!

It's my first reading of "the Wizard of Oz", although I have seen the movie several times.

The first thing I noticed was that here we don't deal with the famous ruby slippers, even though while reading I expected some magic to change their color. Well, silver is a nice color too.

Speaking of colors, I think the whole story is very specific on dress codes and colors: first the grey Kansas, the City of Emeralds, the road of yellow brick... or Boq's affirmation: "only witches and sorceresses wear white"; I think this color code helps children to imagine better the map of this imaginary country.

I also liked the big fuss made around the Wizard of Oz, we could apply this in society, and it would be a nice way to explain children our political system, the wonderful Wizard of Oz is just a little old ventriloquist lost in a baloon that convinced everybody to wear green sunglasses :"I found myself in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought I was a great wizard. Of course I let them think so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything I wished them to do"

I loved the dialogue in this story, even though the words are simply put by a little girl and her uncommon friends, if we read between the lines we find a wise thinking that proves to be deep and a naive sense of humor that sometimes might be perceived as black:

Scarecrow<<"-you see, I am stuffed, so I have no brains at all." D:"-Oh. I am awfully sorry for you">>
The crow: "-Brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matter one is a crow or a man"
The scarecrow: "-It is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool"
"-I shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one"
Tin Man: "-I shall take the heart for brains do not make one happy"
I also saw some violence here:"He seized his axe, which had made very sharp, and as the leader of the wolves came the tin woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf's head from its body, so that immediately died."
"The King Crow flew at the Scarecrow, who caught it by the head and twisted its neck until it died".


This is also a story of acceptance, I loved the friendship history, and, as Bianca remarked, the modesty and plausibility of fantasy.
I believe this book requires a quality reading and discussion with children, and it's full of examples that explain the way of the world.