Like just about any other American, I have fond memories of watching the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland and all the rest from deep in my childhood. My own personal memories involve an old quilt on the floor and popcorn—movie night at home after church on Sundays.
My kids have yet to see the movie, but this week during the New Year holiday, we read the book together in anticipation of ever finding the DVD second-hand. This was an adventure for me too, since I had never read the book before. Would it hold up? Would I even recognize it?
As often happens when comparing books and films, my experience with one impacted my taste in the other. I loved the film, and while I knew the book version would differ in content, I wasn’t sure by how much. As it turns out, this story contains about 60% of the film’s plot, which is perfect for me—it shares enough to keep the story familiar yet introduces enough to keep me engaged.
The skeletal structure is there: Dorothy and Toto getting whisked away in their house by a tornado only to land atop the Wicked Witch of the East in the Land of Oz. The Good Witch is there, as are the munchkins (minus the singing and dancing), though the famous ruby-red slippers are replaced by silver shoes. Dorothy still needs to follow the Yellow-brick Road to reach the Emerald City, and along the way she meets the brainless Scarecrow, the heartless Tinman, and the cowardly Lion (each of whom have intriguing little stories to share). Their duty from the Wizard is the same: kill the Wicked Witch of the West and get from him all that they desire.
The flying monkeys, the giant wizard’s head, the balloon—so much of the details are there, and yet so many new and exciting little adventures exist too, like the river raft and the Scarecrow getting stuck upon a pole in the middle of the water, or the Wicked Witch’s armies wolves and bees.
I was so glad to have shared this experience with my kids, and to find that this first installment of fourteen stories was wonderfully understandable despite its age (over 120 years old!) and held my kids’ attention throughout. I’m not big on fairy-tales, but this homegrown American saga is something that every citizen should enjoy at least once in their life.
If you’ve got kids or grandkids, I highly recommend reading this classic story to them before bed or before a roaring fire. There’s no better way to teach them that “there’s no place like home.”
©2021 E.T.