indefinite articles

As someone who’s been alive since 1939, I’m very familiar with the movie The Wizard of Oz. I don’t actually remember seeing it for the first time — it’s one of those things that seems to have always been in my memory. The Oz story is still incredibly popular and influential, with two major reinterpretations coming out in the last five years. So I thought I’d go back to beginning, to a time before the songs, the Technicolor, the Pink Floyd, to explore where it all started: with L. Frank Baum’s original book series.

I remember reading the first book of the series when I was in third grade and liking it, but being annoyed by the ways it wasn’t like the movie. They were definitely small differences — Dorothy’s shoes were silver slippers, not ruby, and Glinda was from the South, not the North — but I was a picky kid. I don’t remember if I knew that there were other Oz books beyond the first; I know I definitely wasn’t interested in them.

It turns out there are a lot of Oz books. A whole lot. First, there are the books written by L. Frank Baum. I thought there were three or four — there are actually fourteen. These books are part of the “Famous Forty,” which are the astonishing 40 books considered Oz canon. Then there are other noncanonical and apocryphal stories, some of which were also written by Baum. Confusing.

I plan on tackling only the books written by Baum, because the rest of the “Famous Forty” were written after he died, so he didn’t have any creative input on them. Also, honestly, I don’t think I have the patience to go through all 40 books — I save that kind of stamina for Discworld.

In the introduction to the first book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Baum lays out the foundation and logic of the series. I scanned the whole thing because I think it’s too fantastic to cut short.

This may be one of my favorite introductions to any book, reminding kids that reading is supposed to fun and parents that if they want their kids to learn morals they should take care of it themselves. Also, Toto has little reading glasses, which is incredibly adorable.

Baum also gives himself a huge burden, naming himself as the successor to Andersen and the Grimms, although with less grossness. I think it’s safe to say at this point that he wouldn’t be wrong, but I’m excited to see him prove his point.

Coming up: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz.

Am I the only who always wondered where the red brick road went? Maybe the book will say.