Wizard Of Oz Books

Once it was a luxury, now it's what nerds do

While reading Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum earlier this week, I realized just how far we've come.

If you think about it, go back to the time in which any of the classics were originally published. When Sense and Sensibility or Jane Eyre or the Prince and the Pauper were originally released, they were the main form of entertainment to many. In a world without television and Internet, reading was one of the only ways a person could entertain herself of her own accord.

Sure, you could go outside and chase after your neighbourhood friends with a stick, but there was no way to amuse yourself when you were alone without a book.

This usually caused problems, considering in those days, unless your family had money, there was no way you were going to school, which meant that the majority of people lacked the ability to read and write.

For many, reading was a way to get out of their current life and experience a new world. For example, women who were forced into marriages were able to read about the true love that they always coveted.

Now, bring yourself back to today's society. Every generation it seems like the number of literate children and teenagers is getting smaller. When a book is assigned in English class, most don't actually read it, but rather search the quick notes online. When handed free time, teens sit in front of the TV with a XBox controller in their hands playing Halo, or whatever the cool new game is at the moment.

Even those, like myself, who do chose to read, well, we aren't necessarily challenging ourselves. What I mean by this is that the books that I choose to read are simple novels. The majority of them follow the same key plot points as many of the classics; like Twilight, which follows the same theme as Romeo and Juliet. And, yet, I chose to read the more simplistic version.

Personally, I have a hard time reading the classics because I am a literal reader. When I'm reading, I can't pick out any of the metaphors, or hyperboles, or symbolism. For me, I focus on what is literally being said. This is probably a horrible example, but when the author writes that the protagonist noticed a man wearing a rain coat, that's exactly what I read. I don't look into it and go, oh, that could be foreshadowing something or that's a symbol for this. No, I just read what is there. For this reason, I have a hard time reading the classics, which are chock full with symbolism and whatnot.

Wizard of Oz 3D, The Experience Review – Books, Reviews, iPad Apps ...

Brings the classic to life on iOS in a way that will make a reader’s eyes open wide.

This book-app has the complete classic text, Greg Hildebrandt’ s rich illustrations and adds first rate voice acting, mixed with what are genuinely three dimensional, or at least, illusion-of-depth creating illustrations.

This is not a complex interactive book. It has no games, no tapping to reveal a hidden munchkins, just a few small things to move within some illustrations, but it needs no extra flash. This is the book that generations grew up with, illustrated in a very 21 century way.

The physics engine used to render the beautiful full color drawings and detailed sketches is amazing. Almost every virtual page reveals an artistic reimaging of the beloved cast and moving the iOS device allows a user see them from multiple angles, not unlike a paper pop-up book.

It can take a minute to get used to the “Pinch and Flick” feature, but once a reader gets the hang of it, it allows them to drag any drawing to the front, zoom in on it and really explore the details. Conversely, it allows the illustration to be flicked to the top of the page, mini-icon sized, so more text can be displayed.

This is not, strictly speaking, a kid’s book-app. Of course it will appeal to children as the story always has, but it’s a text-dense, feature-lite app. Its appeal lies in the wonderful narration of the audio book, and the breathtaking design.

Narration can be turned off, but one of the more subtle things that makes this app so engrossing are the sound effects and the ambient noises. They don’t hit a reader over the head, but instead enhance the mood like a good movie score.

There is no need for a new review of one of the most beloved and iconic stories in modern history, and an app that recounts the story isn’t new either. What FlyingWord adds to the mix is the illusion that the reader is engaged with a traditional, even old-fashioned book, almost unaware of the technology that helps the tale feel as fresh today as it did in 1900. It’s a wonderful way to meet or revisit the magical world of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz, Level 4

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz, Book 1

The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz