I found it difficult to read this without the ghosts of the MGM musical and Gregory Maguire's [book: Wicked] and [book: Son of a Witch] lurking over my shoulder.Definitely liked it more than the musical -- no offense to Judy Garland. Dorothy's comrades are much more interesting in the original, especially little Toto.***August 2008 selection of the GB Book Club.*** ( )

I was actually pretty disappointed with the book. My wife suggests that I was disappointed primarily because I already knew the story, but I'm not convinced that's it.

I know that it is a children's book, but I guess I was expecting something a little more mature - if I had to say what age range it would appeal to, I'd say about 4 or 5. I guess I was expecting something in the 9-12 age range.

The one thing that I did think was done quite well was the way that the author made it obvious to even very young readers that each of the characters - with the exception of Dorothy probably - already had what they were looking for, and making it clear without actually explaining it to them or harping on the fact. The way it was done, the reader "figures it out" on their own, which I would guess would be fun for a kid. ( )

Mr Baum must have been high on opium when he wrote this. ( )

A must read if you're into the Wicked series by Gregory Maguire. And, the paperback I got from amazon.com has all the original illustrations, which are wonderful ( )

Maybe it was because I never read the book when I was young, or maybe I simply don't have an innate appreciation for fantasy literature, but this book--like the movie--is just weird to me. My girls (whom I read the book aloud to) thought that it was pretty good; they have yet to see the movie. All that said, I'm glad to have read it--simply because it makes me feel more culturally literate. : ) ( )