The Giant Chinchilla of Oz

by Andrew J. Heller, Barbara Rich (Narrator)

The Giant Chinchilla of Oz is an exciting, funny, thought-provoking and clever mixture of L. Frank Baum, Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth), and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Eleven-year old Jason Brandt meets Harvey the Squid (a retired cab driver), and Button-Bright (who can’t remember his real name), and acquires a pet Expanding Giant Chinchilla (for use in emergencies). Together this foursome must overcome The Two Weevils (Less and Greater, of course), The Spin Doctor, the weird inhabitants of Stationery City and other dangers to bring a warning to the Emerald City before it’s too late. Filled with jokes and sly commentary on everything from our Internet-obsessed society to the world of fashion design, The Giant Chinchilla has something for readers of all ages.

Audible Audio

First published September 19, 2011

Reviews

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason Brant, a boy who has recently moved from California to New Jersey, discovers a chest of magic in his attic. He uses this magic to transport to Oz and travel in the company of Button-Bright, a squid who used to work as a cab driver, and a magically enlarged chinchilla named Andy. According to his biography on Amazon, the author has a pet chinchilla, and this is one of the few kinds of animal that HADN'T already had an adventure in Oz. There was a good amount of fairly direct satire that reminded me of The Phantom Tollbooth. The bit with the Lesser of Two Weevils is very much in that style, while the Multi-Land and Kingdom of Style episodes comment on some of the shallowness of society. The dialogue has a modern feel, which is fine for non-Ozites like Jason, but seems a little out of place for Button-Bright and some of the others. There's some humor in Professor Wogglebug being unable to speak in a non-pretentious fashion without magical assistance, and Harvey the squid conversed in a vaudevillian manner reminiscent of King Anko in The Sea Fairies. Hey, maybe they knew each other back in Harvey's ocean days. There's an interesting development in Harvey's desire to start a cab company in Oz, which had sort of already been tried with the Scalawagons.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much! A fun episodic adventure. I've been trudging through Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamov so this was a refreshing read.
I love the chinchilla. I also owned and lost a family chinchilla. Her name was Chikie, and I agree with Andrew that watching chinchillas dust bathe is very entertaining.
My one slight is that the characters felt rather flat. But that is typical in this sort of story structure. The whimsical, clever towns and scenarios more than made up for it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute story! While I haven't read/listened to any of the other stories. With this one, Each chapter was like s separate little vignette about something in Oz. My favorite chapter was the one in which everybody was trying to multitask by using their cellphones and doing something else, such as driving. The very clear accidents that occurred continuously, along with the idea that nobody could actually multitask so everybody was doing something poorly, were comical. This is definitely a story that I will return to.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free at my request but the opinion is of my own. Jason just moves and finds a magic chest that takes him to Oz. There he uncovers a plot against the kingdom of OZ. He must work with four new friends to stop this plot before it’s too late. If you grew up on oz and loved the stories this is a great edition as we see a few familiar names from the beloved OZ books.

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries · Rating 5 out of 5]

This high quality adventure is loaded with vibrant and bright storytelling. The narrator does a great job with all the characters.

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

THERE IS A GIANT CHINCHILLA.

I love chinchillas, so I just had to listen to this audiobook.

This is a light and fun children's book about a boy name Jason and his magical travels and the friends he makes along the way. Such as a Giant Chinchilla.

Jason and his chinchilla get in all sorts of trouble on their way to the Emerald City of Oz to warn the citizens of a great danger looming on the horizon. Will they make it in time?

This book is good for children of all ages.