Wizard Books

Second in the series featuring Bea and Lyon Wentworth. Lyon is the writer of juvenile fiction and Bea is a Connecticut state senator. At a political rally, she introduces Randolph Llewyn, the gubernatorial nominee, and as she turns to shake hands with him, two shots ring out, killing Llewyn. Bea, must once again solve a murder.

This book is simply amazing. It is a story about a quest to be returned to normal, helped by the Wizard of Op -- a wizard who uses optical illusions and effects to do his work. Some of the effects are so effective that when I checked this book out of the library as a child, many adults refused to look at certain pages, complaining of headaches. Now that I'm an adult myself, I want my own copy! Five stars to Mr. Emberly!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In 1900, Baum and Denslow (with whom he shared the copyright) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to much critical and financial acclaim. The book was the bestselling children's book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen other novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz. The book was heavily influenced by landmarks in Holland, Michigan where he would stay with his great-grandfather. In fact, the Yellow Brick Road was named after winding cobblestone roads in that town.

Two years after Wizard's publication, Baum and Denslow teamed up with composer Paul Tietjens and director Julian Mitchell to produce a musical stage version of the book. It ran on Broadway 293 stage nights from 1902 to 1911, and also successfully toured the United States. The stage version starred Dave Montgomery and Fred Stone as the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow respectively, which shot the pair to instant fame at the time. The stage version differed quite a bit from the book, and was aimed primarily at adults. Toto was replaced with Imogene the Cow, and Tryxie Tryfle, a waitress and Pastoria, a streetcar operator were added as fellow cyclone victims.

A timeless classic that should be read by all.

The favorite children's classic author of many and the favorite illustrator of many combine to produce a truly gorgeous book! It's a wonderfully surreal shock to see the familiar story with pictures that seem straight out of Tolkien!

Okay, I readily and happily admit it -- I'm a pop-up bookaholic! Robert Sabuda is a marvel at bookmaking, and this is his stellar best. From the twirling tornado, along the glittering foil brick road, to the green Emerald City eyeglasses, and the inflating balloon -- as well as the half-fold pages and mini-pop-up booklets all through the treasure book ... oh, this bookaholic gets misty just listing some of the marvels. Buy the book, treasure the side-by-side wonder while reading and gasping with loved ones as you travel through this commemorative, 100th anniversary publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and you'll certainly agree that Robert Sabuda is the Marvelous Master of Pop-ups.

I joined Dorthy on her way to the wizard thinking it was going to be like the movie with Judy Garland, but there were different surprises such as a change of color of slippers and various tasks that had to be done. The book also describes the various lands and people in Oz that the moive didn't even touch upon.
Some things remained the same like the scarcrow, tinman and lion. The witch is still harasses Dorthy as she makes her way to the wizard.
The book gives a histoy about the scarcrow, tinman and lion and tells why they are the way they are.

I give the book five stars!

If you're a Wizard of Oz fan or just like to read, it's a great book to read. I could'nt put it down!!!!

I haven't seen this book since LONG ago, when I was very little, but I still remember the pictures of this book whenever I think about it . . . This style is a bit different from the original: Dorothy's Kansas shoes are red, the magic shoes are shiny-black (?), the Good Witches are Pilgrim-styled with different ages, the Wizard is a WIZARD (Long beard, tall hat, cloak robe, old face, you know . . . ) and the Wicked Witch of the West's face looks a bit like a clown, but she has a pointy black hat and thick black robe with short (spiky?) hair. I remember the Emerald City being illustrated with LOTS of Towers. If any of you have a different "kid's book" of the Wizard of Oz (where Robert McPhillips has Dorothy wearing PANTS!!!, the Tinman looking like a Knight, the Emerald City resembling the NeverEnding story and the Wicked Witch looking like a troll/ogre), then this book will be better suited because it resembles the original. There is another "kids book" and that version has the illustrations of Angus McBride looking almost EXACTLY like W. W. Denslow. This book is excellent and should be added to your collection of books on the Wizard of Oz and Other Oz Stories!!

THE ITEM WAS SHIPPED TO ME VERY PROMPTLY AND IT WAS EXACTLY AS I EXPECTED IT TO BE. THIS IS MY SECOND WIZARD OF OZ CALENDAR AND I WAS DISAPPOINTED.

The Wizard Of Oz And The Magic Merry-Go-Round is an enchanting children's storybook set in the wondrous land of Oz and written by the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, the immortal creator of Oz. Though featuring extravagant, full-color artwork, The Wizard Of Oz And The Magic Merry-Go-Round also sports an almost intermediate-level amount of text, and is an excellent exercise in reading comprehension for young people who are almost ready to graduate from picturebooks to more involved fare. A lively piece of music, "After the Ball", rounds out this delightful story especially recommended for young and old Oz fans alike.

This wonderful edition of the classic Oz tale is bothliterature and criticism in one volume. The entire story - unabridged- is here, with all of Denslows pictures (in black and white). It also includes two essays, one biographical and one critical, about Oz and it's creator, L.F.Baum.

The biographical essay by Martin Gardner is a good overview of Baum's "jack of all trades" life: chicken farmer, playwrite, traveling salesman, author. It includes many of the stories included in "To Please a Child," the wonderful biography of Baum that is long out of print.

The critical essay concerns the history of the Oz books as literature. Oz is considered by many both a Utopia and the first true American fairyland. Yet, critics of children literature rarely mention Baum along with other revered authors. Russel Nye captures perceptions of Oz over the first half century in a concise, but comprehensive manner.

My only criticism is that it was not changed from the first edition (published 1957) to the second (published 1994), other than a brief introduction. I would have like to have seen a review of how Oz has changed in the public consciousness in the past 43 years.

Enjoy this book, and enjoy the story at the end.