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Fireside Reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Experiencing a story read out loud is one of the oldest forms of entertainment there is. Fireside Reading is a way to slow down, reconnect with the timeless wisdom of great books and rediscover the simple pleasure of being read to. Join Gildart Jackson in front of a cozy fire as he reads The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum to you and your family from beginning to end.
Audio CD
Published March 17, 2022
About the author
L. Frank Baum
3,215 books2,778 followersalso wrote under the names:
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 27, 2023
This is a classic children's story that I read as a child and maybe a young adult. In my sense of things this is a 5 star story, but this is also an audio book so the narration must come into account.
The narration was homey, but as the narrator tried to create the voices of the characters, I think he didn't do that good a job. Make no mistake, I liked the narrator and apparently this rendition of the story comes in a video as well, so I may be missing a lot in the video presentation. Looking at the picture on the cover, though, the narrator seems like a pleasant sort of fellow who would be perfect to read such stories to children.
The story: Dorothy of Kanas and her little dog, Toto are taken to the Land of Oz when a tornado picks up their house and flings it across the desert. The house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East and kills her. The Good Witch of the North, kisses Dorothy on the forehead which leaves a mark of blessing, and Dorothy is presented with the Wicked Witch's ruby-red slippers. As she follows the yellow brick road to seek the Wizard of Oz to send her home she meets a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion. (Yes. There are deadly poppies along their journey, but their rescue is different than in the movie.) They finally meet Oz, and he promises to grant their wishes, but first they must kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
And you know how that goes. The rest of the story is a little different from the movie, but the major elements are there. I wish the movie makers had figured out how to introduce the "Hammer Heads" into the movie, and the trip to see the Good Witch of the South, but that would have made a very long movie even longer. It also didn't fit into a normal movie story arc, so I understand.
This is probably my third reading of this story. It is still delightful.
The narration was homey, but as the narrator tried to create the voices of the characters, I think he didn't do that good a job. Make no mistake, I liked the narrator and apparently this rendition of the story comes in a video as well, so I may be missing a lot in the video presentation. Looking at the picture on the cover, though, the narrator seems like a pleasant sort of fellow who would be perfect to read such stories to children.
The story: Dorothy of Kanas and her little dog, Toto are taken to the Land of Oz when a tornado picks up their house and flings it across the desert. The house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East and kills her. The Good Witch of the North, kisses Dorothy on the forehead which leaves a mark of blessing, and Dorothy is presented with the Wicked Witch's ruby-red slippers. As she follows the yellow brick road to seek the Wizard of Oz to send her home she meets a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion. (Yes. There are deadly poppies along their journey, but their rescue is different than in the movie.) They finally meet Oz, and he promises to grant their wishes, but first they must kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
And you know how that goes. The rest of the story is a little different from the movie, but the major elements are there. I wish the movie makers had figured out how to introduce the "Hammer Heads" into the movie, and the trip to see the Good Witch of the South, but that would have made a very long movie even longer. It also didn't fit into a normal movie story arc, so I understand.
This is probably my third reading of this story. It is still delightful.
Displaying 1 of 1 review