The Annotated Wizard of Oz (Centennial Edition)
by L. Frank Baum
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Book Summary Information
Author: L. Frank BaumEditor: Michael Patrick Hearn
Illustrator: W. W. Denslow
Foreword: Martin Gardner
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09-17
ISBN: 0393049922
Number of pages: 396
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of The Annotated Wizard of Oz (Centennial Edition)
Book Review: worth its weight in gold
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Annotated Wizard of Oz" (Centennial Edition) is a huge book that is just as fascinating as it is educational. If you enjoy classic books, "The Wizard of Oz" or just American literary history than this book is most assuredly for you.
The book is hard cover (10" x 9" and 2 1/2 inches thick) and is well over 500 pages long. Of course it includes the original text by Mr. L. Frank Baum with all of the pictures by the original illustrator for the original 1900 classic, W. W. Denslow. The book is edited by Michael Patrick Hearn and includes a brief preface by Martin Gardner. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" "The Annotated Wizard of Oz" was published in 2000 by W. W. Norton & Company. There is also an annotated edition from the 1970's, too, however the 2000 edition is the definitive one to get.
The cover of the book is like a bright and colorful present. It's almost 3-D. It is a beautiful evergreen and dark golden brown and the pictures just pop out in all different directions.
I like to think of this book as 4 mini books in one. It's a wealth of information that everyone will appreciate because it truly has something for everyone. I do take exception with the editor who stated that this book is for adults; this would make a wonderful gift for a young person, which would start a lifetime of appreciation of Mr. Baum's work.
As a child I was given "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and ever since then I have been a huge fan of it. It was really one of the very first books that got me interested in reading because the story was so imaginative and timeless. I still have that book which I hold dear.
There is a very elaborate introduction which is more than 100 pages long. It describes the background of how the book was first written, as well as the biography of Mr. Baum. It also details the impact that the book had on society, as well as the countless other Oz books, plays, projects and movies, including Judy Garland's 1939 classic.
The introduction features tons and tons of otherwise unpublished and scarcely seen photos, such as the "Father Goose" comic strip. These include early pictures of L. Frank Baum as a child, rarely (if ever) seen promotional pictures and posters put out by the original publisher and even some unusual and unique drawings by W. W. Denslow, which predate "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
This has the original publication of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" right after the introduction. The story was so magical because it reminded me of my childhood. L. Frank Baum had such a way about his writing because he was able to speak to young and old readers alike. The story is both universal and transcends all times and places. I always loved how it ended because it was so simple and of course, ended happily ever after.
The original text is so effortless, yet so complex because instead of writing about things that could scare children, the book is very plot-driven. Something is constantly happening. This is the type of story that you can be proud to share with your child and grandchildren.
The original text also includes all of the first-edition chapters, table of contents and the introduction that was first included. And the original full-page color plates (as well as the color title page) are also printed, too. These are so beautifully illustrated and really articulate this story perfectly. My favorite is the seventh one of Dorothy on the yellow brick road with the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow and Toto.
Mr. L. Frank Baum' vision is actually much different from the '39 movie. I love the movie (it's my very favorite movie, in fact), but the book is not as rushed or hurried. It also describes many things that never took place in the movie, such as the last several chapters.
Interspersed throughout the text are annotations on nearly every other page, about nearly every page. The editor of this book painstakingly went over every single syllable, word, phrase, line, paragraph and page to come up with the cumulative analysis of this classic story that is famous around the world.
We hear from tons of literary scholars in the annotations, including everyone from L. Frank Baum himself to Salmon Rushdie to the author of the Russian version of "The Wizard of Oz" just to name a few. It is fascinating how such a simple story could be broken down into something that is truly complex and incredibly detailed and descriptive and thought-out.
There are also many rare and also unseen pictures throughout the text/annotations. Such as letters and inscriptions that L. Frank Baum wrote and even some early drawings by W. W. Denslow.
After the story ends there is a brief appendix about W. W. Denslow which includes more rarely seen drawings, as well as the story "Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Man and the Little Girl" by Thos. H. Russell.
There are large, full-page, color Oz maps on each of the inside cover pages, on both sides of the book too. And there's a meticulously described bibliography that literally lists every single published work of L. Frank Baum, and much, more besides that.
For whatever reason, it seems like the "Wizard of Oz" seems to be a cottage industry that attracts many greedy and money-motivated people to spit out anything as long as they can get a few shekels for it. But "The Annotated Wizard of Oz" is surely the exception. Although it is not cheap, it is well worth the investment because the stories and pictures, as well as the wealth of information are truly invaluable.
Summary of The Annotated Wizard of Oz (Centennial Edition)
The "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is the quintessential American fairy tale, but it is also a controversial children's book.
This annoted edition illuminates the numerous contemporary references, provides character sources, and explains the actual meaning of the word "Oz". A facsimile of the rare 1900 first edition appears with the original drawings by W.W. Denslow, as well as 25 previously unpublished illustrations. There is a bibliography of L. Frank Baum's published work, every notable "Oz" edition and the stage and cinematic productions from 1939's "The Wizard of Oz", to the 1974 Broadway hit "The Wiz".An updated version of the definitive guide, The Annotated Wizard of Oz provides a facsimile color version of the first edition of L. Frank Baum's children's classic along with extensive notes and a thorough history of the immense Oz project. In his excellent introduction, Michael Patrick Hearn describes the author's early life and interests and the development of his collaboration with W.W. Denslow, the original illustrator for his books.
An energetic and excitable fellow, Baum's devotion to make-believe began in his early 20s, when he joined a small touring theatrical troupe on the East Coast. Later attempts to run a general store and a newspaper in South Dakota (then the Wild West) failed miserably. Although few of his business ventures or artistic efforts had met with success, in 1897 Baum's "Father Goose" rhymes (designed and illustrated by Denslow) became a surprise bestseller, and Baum was able to buy his family a summer cottage on Lake Michigan, christened "The Sign of the Goose," for which he made most of the furniture (goose-themed, of course) and stenciled the walls with a frieze of green geese.
The idea for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, "a modern fairy tale," as he considered it, soon followed, and the book appeared in May 1900. The 10,000-copy first printing sold out in two weeks, and about 90,000 sold within the first year. Hearn goes on to describe the many books that followed, as well as the 1902 musical extravaganza The Wizard of Oz and Baum's subsequent, ill-starred attempts to depict the world of Oz on film. (He died long before the 1939 MGM musical made his fairy tale known around the globe.) In 1907, he told a reporter for the Grand Rapids Herald why he preferred young readers:
To write fairy stories for children, to amuse them, to divert restless children, sick children, to keep them out of mischief on rainy days, seems of greater importance than to write grown-up novels. Few of the popular novels last the year out, responding as they do to a certain psychological demand, characteristic of the time; whereas, a child's book is, comparatively speaking, the same always, since children are always the same kind of folks with the same needs to be satisfied.Hearn has gone to great lengths in his notes to this facsimile of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, often referring to subsequent volumes in the series, slowly building a key to the rules and history of Oz, pointing out inconsistencies as well as hints to Baum's literary sources (such as Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress), and providing, among other delights, a mini-treatise on malevolent vegetation in Oz. This is an essential volume for the Oz aficionado or the student of children's literature, and a wonderful resource for parents of young readers. --Regina Marler
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