Review: Talk about value for money!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 1, 2013
I had known for years that there were many books in the series other than the one the movie was made from, and this became especially obvious when I read some collections of Oz stories written by others.  Al;though I suppose that I could have found all of these books somewhere on the Internet for free, this is an excellent reproduction, with the illustrations, that I would have been thrilled with if I had paid Doma a lot more.  One sociologically interesting addition are the author's introductions, which talk down to youthful readers like Cowboy Bob on the original Howdy Doody Show.  Baum sets great store by his decision to provide an alternative to the violent Grimm tales, with wholesome adventures, but these books are filled to the brim with characters out to cause harm, who are killed off at a level that brings to mind a Bruce Willis movie. Well, no doubt today's children are desensitized to this violence, but I am still amused by an author who argues that he is avoiding evil and violence, but the plot of most of his books involves killing off the evil and violent.  I suppose what he had in mind was his never-ending reminder that many thousands loved Dorothy dearly (his favorite expression), almost as dearly as they loved legitimate authority (Ozma).  But, this remains a wonderful series at essentially a free price,  Just be sure to specify the Doma edition to get the illustrations.