The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Frank Baum)

I recently saw a stage production of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I had wanted to read the book ahead of time so that I could see the differences between the original story and the stage production. Although I didn't find the book in time, I'm still glad I read it.

A lot of the book is pretty much the same as the stage production, until you get to the end. The end of the book goes on much longer after Lion and Tinman and Scarecrow receive what they're seeking. The wizard gives them a much bigger run around in the book and there seems to be a lot more violence, which is often the irony in fairy tales written for children - except for that lady who wanted to take Toto. I don't remember her in the book at all. The other thing is in the book it wasn't a dream, like the movie or the play...thank goodness! I think that is a pansy way of making sense of a story. I liked that about the book! Also, Dorothy wears silver shoes in the book, not red. There seem to be a lot more witches in the book. I couldn't keep them straight. Every point on the compass has a witch, it seems. I also couldn't keep track of all the places in Oz in the book. Mifkets? Merryland? The Land of Ev? They were also things I couldn't really keep in my head.

I'm glad I read the book.

Good reads says:

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.‘“Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”’Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home.With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.

The Marvels (Brian Selznick)

I was going to read this book months ago. I had borrowed it from the library and it was in my car when my car was stolen! Fortunately, car thieves tend to ignore books and I got it back. I returned it to the library and it took a few months to get it again.

I love this book!! Brian Selznick has done something amazing again. He seems to have a thing about theatre, runaways, history and French. 

This story is based on a real story - someone who tried to save stories, like the characters in this story. One interesting thing was that the real person this story was based on was greatly influenced by Peter Ackroyd's writing! 

I love the touch of French, the quest to learn about a family's past, and although it seems like a little thing, the gold edges on the pages. It is a beautiful story!

Goodreads summary:

Caldecott Award winner and bookmaking trailblazer Brian Selznick once again plays with the form he invented and takes readers on a voyage!

Two seemingly unrelated stories--one in words, the other in pictures--come together. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries.