“There’s no place like home!” When we hear these words, most everyone thinks of Judy Garland as Dorothy clicking her ruby red slippers three times in order to return home from the wild and wonderful world of Oz. Nearly all
“There’s no place like home!” When we hear these words, most everyone thinks of Judy Garland as Dorothy clicking her ruby red slippers three times in order to return home from the wild and wonderful world of Oz. Nearly all of us who were brought up under the influence of American culture can identify this phrase immediately — Hawaii included! But, did you know that in the original storybook those iconic ruby red slippers were silver?
Yep! They made the movie slippers red because they showed up better on screen than silver. So, then you might wonder, what else is different in the book? How about that Dorothy wasn’t dreaming? Oz was a real place over the mountains! What?! “The Wizard of Oz” was the first book in a fantastic series of 14 books! The film was based on the just the first book.
This means that there is a whole wide world of Oz to explore, with characters and lands just waiting to be discovered! Fortunately for all of us, renown publisher Simon & Schuster has compiled these numerous stories into a five volume series, the first of which we are reviewing, “Oz: The Complete Collection—Volume 1”, contains not only the classic “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” but includes also the next episodes of the adventure: “The Marvelous Land of Oz” and “Ozma of Oz.”
The author, Frank L. Baum, penned these many stories over a century ago, and yet his imagination was as fertile as any fantasy stories we see today. His rich and creative world has continued to be enjoyed generation after generation, and its thrills and fun are enjoyed by children and adults alike. So take another trip along that yellow brick road, pick up this book, and see what new and undiscovered adventures await you!
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Ed and Cynthia Justus are owners of The Bookstore in Hanapepe.
