The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The classic work (now in public domain) by L. Frank Baum (read by Jason Pomerantz). Your comments are welcome!
From the Reader, Jason Pomerantz:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been called “the first true American fairy tale” and it richly deserves the title. The story of Dorothy’s epic journey through a strange land, filled with terrifying enemies and loyal allies, resonates today as much as it did when it was first written, at the turn of the last century.
You’ve probably seen the movie countless times, so you might not expect any surprises from the book. But when you listen, you’ll be charmed by how imaginative it is, and in a way that’s different from the film.
I dearly love the movie, but, in this reading, I’ve tried to approach the story as if I’d never seen it. My Dorothy is a little younger than her cinematic counterpart and her trio of beloved friends – The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman and The Cowardly Lion – are all just a little sillier. It’s hard to escape from the shadow of the MGM spectacular, but I’ve done my best.
I hope you have as much fun listening as I’m having recording!So sit back, put on your slippers (ruby, silver or whatever color you like) and watch out for flying monkeys! Load up your MP3 player and remember – There’s no place like home!
July 8th, 2006 at 7:39 am
Jason Pomerantz has a very creative way of reading this classic. It makes the story really fun and interesting. Jason is really quite good with voices. The Scarecrow is probably my favorite.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:30 am
Well read. I was enlightened to find how differn’t from the film the original work was.
August 11th, 2006 at 7:56 am
Thanks Chris and Josh!
I think my personal favorite is the Cowardly Lion.
October 17th, 2006 at 10:41 am
You probly know this already, but there is a huge series of Oz books by L. Frank Baum. I’ve read them so many times I couldn’t even count. The movie was good, but it’s only a tiny part of the Oz story. I encourage anyone and everyone to check out all the other Oz books or anything by L. Frank Baum.
He was a wonderful author who truly loved the children who grew up on his books.
I’m downloading your reading today, and I fully expect to go into another Oz rereading frenzy when I’m done with it.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:49 am
When I started listening to this book, I remembered trying to read it once upon a time, but couldn’t because the characters had so many peculiar speech mannerisms! I had no problem listening to Jason read. You did good, Jason! Thanks!
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:57 am
Shouldn’t this be on librivox.org instead of podiobooks? Does this reader get paid as an author?
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Not necessarily (though he could put the files up there) to the first question, and yes to the second, assuming donations are made to the book. Most of the time we pay authors, but sometimes we pay content providers.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:52 am
A great reading by Jason, not only was it full of character, but his enthusiams kept the book going all the way through…
I’ve never read the book before, although i’ve seen the film/cartoons/sit-com parodies… and now i wish i’d read the book before. Thankyou for a job well done.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:47 am
That’s a one great book. Jason Pomerantz is really amazing with his creativity in acting the voices of our beloved characters, and I really liked the character-voice development after fulfilling their wishes. My favorite character voice for sure would be the scarecrow.
March 29th, 2011 at 11:58 am
It is great to be reminded of this classic children’s book. And quite timely, as well, since my kids are at the perfect age to listen to stories audibly. I am looking forward to giving them the opportunity provided by Jason Pomerantz with this reading.
May 1st, 2011 at 12:18 am
This indeed is an excellent audio version of the classic book. Jason is awesome, for he made the characters came to life by his voice. I must say, after listening to other audio books of Oz, that Jason’s version is one of the best and funniest. Listening to this audio book is such a pleasure!