One of my favourite books as a child was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Did you know it was so popular that he went on to write 13 more Oz books? This was one story I couldn’t wait to share with the children and I have been able to thanks to a new, beautiful pop-up version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It has had a makeover at the hands of Stella Gurney, with illustrations by Lorna Freytag, and ties in with a new version by Disney.
2013 is the year of Oz with live action Walt Disney film Oz: The Great and Powerful, a sequel to the original story. There will also be an animated film Dorothy of Oz and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Wizard of Oz stage musical continues to delight in the West End.
The new book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz follows the well-loved story:
What should poor Dorothy do when a terrible tornado plucks her from the Kansas plain and drops her in the Land of Oz? Follow the Yellow Brick Road, of course! This title lets you join a brave little girl, a straw-stuffed scarecrow, a cowardly lion and a man made of tin as they set off to find the things they most long for.
This is a lovely version to share with your children. It is quite text heavy so perfect to read in chunks at bedtime. My toddler loved pulling the tabs, turning the wheels and looking at the pop up tornado. The images are lovely so there’s a lot to look at on each page and all the important parts of the story are still there. We also loved the cast of characters at the beginning of the book which helped the toddler understand the main characters. Definitely a book we will be reading again and we can’t wait for the film too!
We were kindly sent a copy for the purpose of this review. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a magical retelling by Stella Gurney, is out now from www.carltonbooks.co.uk
I remember I was really scared of this book as a child! I will have to read it again before introducing it to the little ones, I do not even remember what scared me so much…:) Are you planning to go and check the film? I love James Franco, so maybe I will!