The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Audio book)

Zusatztext “Baum was a true educator! and those who read his Oz books are often made what they were not—imaginative! tolerant! alert to wonders! life.”—Gore Vidal Informationen zum Autor L. FRANK BAUM  was born on May 15! 1856! in Chittenango! New York. He grew up on a country estate called 'Rose Lawn'! his father having made a fortune. As an adult! he worked in the theatre! newspapers! and magazines! manufactured an axel grease! managed a general store! and raised chickens! In 1900! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published and became an overnight success. Two years later a musical of the book was produced on stage with Baum writing the lyrics.  Baum wrote 13 Oz books and nine other fantasies. More authors contributed to the Oz series! making a total of 40! The famous movie starring Judy Garland came out in 1939! 20 years after Baum's death in 1919. Klappentext L. Frank Baum's timeless classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the ?rst uniquely American fairy tale. A combination of enchanting fantasy and piercing social commentary! this remarkable story has entertained and beguiled readers of all ages since it was ?rst published in 1900. Ray Bradbury writes in his Introduction! "Both [Baum and Shakespeare] lived inside their heads with a mind gone wild with wanting! wishing! hoping! shaping! dreaming!” and it is this same hunger that makes all of us continue to seek out the story of Oz—and be nourished by it. This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the de?nitive ?rst edition and includes the New York Times review of that edition as well as the original Preface by the author. Chapter 1 Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cooking stove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all, and no cellar-except a small hole, dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap-door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole. When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else. When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled, now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at. Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.<...

Product details

• Authors: L. Frank Baum, Paul Rudd, Brooke Shields
• Assisted by: Paul Rudd (Reader / Narrator), Brooke Shields (Reader / Narrator)
• Publisher: Listening Library
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 8 to 12
• Product format: CD-Audio
• Release: 11.09.2012, delayed
• EAN: 9780307941619
• ISBN: 978-0-307-94161-9
• Subject: Children's and young people's books