The Wizard of Oz

October 29, 2012
Caldwell’s angular, dynamic artwork leans more toward Saturday-morning cartoons than romantic fantasy in the fourth comics adaptation in his All-Action Classics series. His Dorothy is gap-toothed and freckled; the black-eyed and troll-like Munchkins are truly alien; and the witches recall Disney villainesses like Snow White’s Queen or The Little Mermaid’s Ursula. (Caldwell’s Wicked Witch of the West even speaks with a Western twang: “You and yer little furry thing have back-breaking, bone-crunching work to do!”) Caldwell follows Baum’s original novel rather than the iconic film. The heroes are pursued by the Kalidah, “horrific beasts, with heads like tigers and bodies like bears,” and the famous path the four friends follow, as in the original, is called the “road of golden bricks.” The humor, though, is his own. “She enslaved and tormented us!” says one Munchkin about the Wicked Witch of the East. “She despoiled our lands!” says a second. “And cut library funding!” adds a third. Caldwell’s Wizard of Oz slots conveniently between Spongebob Squarepants and Adventure Time, and readers will fly through this story with the speed of winged monkeys. Ages 10–14. (Nov.)■

July 1, 2005
K-Gr 6 -Rebecca Burns narrates L. Frank Baum's classic work. Her clear voice ably brings the story to life, but she makes little attempt to differentiate between the characters and there are no sound effects. At times, Burns reads with a little too much earnestness. Children familiar only with the classic film will find the original story enlightening. While this version may not rival Flo Gibson's classic narration of the story (Recorded Books, 1980), libraries looking for a traditional reading of this title to complement abridged versions such as the Story Theater edition by Monterey Sound Works, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", will find this offering a suitable choice. -"Rachel Davis, Thomas Memorial Library, Cape Elizabeth, ME"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.