2 out of 5 stars. Oh my, I did not like this book at all. Disclaimer -- when the movie is the only version of the story that I've every really known, I figured it would be hard to give the book a fair shake. However, I just didn't think the writing was that good at all. Could it be a time period thing? Possibly. I just can't believe that this book was ever published and that there were sequels. Also, there are quite a few moments in the book that don't really seem to do anything to move the story along, such as when they meet the china people. What was the point of that? Anyway, I'm not sorry I read this because it is a classic, but I'll never read it again or anything else by Baum. Not a fan.
Parents & Teachers -- No bad language. No inappropriate physical contact between characters. Some action-type violence. Visualizing a few of the scarier characters could disturb a few gentler readers, but nothing really to worry about for most kids. Ages 8+.
