Kirsten Brown- The Wizard of Oz

I chose The Wizard of Oz, by Frank Baum, for two reasons. The first reason is that in the fall, I will be participating in the play The Wizard of Oz at Young Actors Theatre. I thought that by reading this book I would be able to study for my play while also completing my summer work. The second reason that I hose this book was because I recently went to see the Broadway production of Wicked. I was able to see a backstage tour and was told that the ruby slippers were actually silver. The reason for this was that the play had to follow the book, not the movie. I was told that in the original books the slippers were silver and that to get around this legal issue, the silver slippers in Wicked were constantly light by a red spot light. This made me curious. What else was different in the book? I had only ever seen the movie, so I wanted to know how closely the producers had staid to the novel. I'm very glad that I chose The Wizard of Oz. There were many more events in the book that weren't even mentioned in the movie such as the gaps in the road, the cap of the winged monkeys, and the porcelain city. The book also conveyed the important ideas of the story much more effectively. It is very obvious in the book that the characters have what they are seeking for all along. The Scarecrow is intelligent, the Tin Woodman is caring, and the Lion fears not even death. This book was incredibly entertaining and enlightening as well. I would recommend it to everyone.