The Wizard of Oz (Puffin Classics) - L. Frank Baum [55]
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT…
Dorothy is considered by many to have all the best character traits a girl could hope to have. What do you think these are?
In his introduction, Baum insists that he wrote The Wizard of Oz ‘solely to please children’ and calls it a ‘modernized fairy tale’, but as with all fairy tales it also has some lessons to teach us. What do you think they are? And has Baum fulfilled his wish to write a story full of ‘wonderment and joy’?
What do you think of the Wizard of Oz himself? Do you think he was wrong to trick the people of the Emerald City? If so, do you think that he redeems himself in the end?
Baum never states Dorothy’s age. Do you think this is deliberate? How old do you think she is? And does age make a difference in certain circumstances?
There are thousands of children’s books set in fantasy worlds. What do you think it is about The Wizard of Oz that has made it such a popular classic?
SOME THINGS TO DO…
Draw a map of the Land of Oz showing where the yellow brick road begins and ends, and mark on it all the different places that Dorothy visits and the different people and creatures that live there.
The last we see of the Wizard of Oz in this book is him being carried away in a hot-air balloon. Try to imagine the adventures that he may have had after he left the Emerald City and write one down.
Have fun making your own scarecrow! Find some old clothes and stuff them using old tights, balls of wool or rags. Tie up the ends of the arms and legs with string. Stuff an old pillowcase for the head, draw on a face with marker pen, and tie it on to the neck!
A Hollywood studio has asked you to make a new film of The Wizard of Oz…
In what ways might you change the story for the film script?
Who would you cast as the main characters?
What kind of special effects would you use?
Write your own magical Oz adventure. How did you get there and who did you meet? What happened along the way and, most importantly, how did you get back home again?
Draw your favourite characters or scenes from the story.
Research some interesting facts about the state of Kansas in the United States to find out more about where Dorothy lived before she was transported to the land of Oz.
STORMY WEATHER
The word ‘cyclone’ means a storm or wind that rotates, and it comes from the Ancient Greek word meaning ‘to go round’. The ‘eye of the storm’ lies in the centre and is an area of fairly light winds and blue skies compared to the surrounding stormy environment.
Many years ago, about the time that L. Frank Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz, people thought that cyclones and tornadoes were pretty much the same thing. But today the term ‘cyclone’ is used to describe a strong tropical storm over the sea, causing hurricanes (also known as typhoons) and floods to occur on land, and a ‘tornado’ is used to describe an extremely violent windstorm which happens over land. A tropical cyclone may last for several days, whereas a tornado — although highly destructive — may only last for five to ten minutes.
A tornado needs warm, moist air to come into contact with cooler, drier air. They almost always develop with thunderstorms. Strong air currents in the thundercloud causes the air to speed up and spin at a very fast speed, causing a column of air starting from the base of the thundercloud and reaching down to the ground. More and more air is then sucked up into the column like a giant vacuum cleaner which is so powerful it can uproot trees and lift the roofs off houses, flip cars and trucks — even people (although it’s unlikely to carry you to the land of Oz!).
A tornado is only a tornado if it makes contact with the ground. Otherwise it is known as a ‘funnel’. Tornadoes can reach wind speeds of up to 300 miles per hour. Another type of tornado is a ‘waterspout’, which is a tornado over water.
Tornadoes occur