The Wizard of Oz

Illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt & Adapted from the Original Novel by L. Frank Baum

Book Data:

Book Title: The Wizard of Oz | Illustrator: Greg Hildebrandt | Writer: Adapted from the Novel by L. Frank Baum | ISBN-13: 9780881012170 | ISBN-10: 0881012173 | Publisher: The Unicorn Publishing House New Jersey | Binding: Hardcover

From the Book:

Dorothy lived in the middle of the great Kansas prairie with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Their house was only one room. The house had no attic and no cellar. There was only a small hole dug in the ground. This was called a cyclone cellar. The family could go down there in case one of those great whirlwinds arose.

When Dorothy looked outside the house, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on all sides. The sun and the wind had baked the land into a gray mass with little cracks running through it. Not a tree or house appeared across the flat countryside. Aunt Em had come there when 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 dark gray. She was thin and tired, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came, Aunt Em would look at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything at all to laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed. He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots.

He looked stern and grave, and rarely spoke.

It was Toto that saved Dorothy from growing as gray as everything else. Toto was a small black dog with long silky hair who played all day long, and he was Dorothy's only friend. But today they were not playing. Uncle Henry was looking fearfully at the sky. It was grayer than usual. Dorothy stood looking at the sky, too. Aunt Em was busy washing the dishes. Far away, they heard the low wail of the wind.

Suddenly, Uncle Henry said, "There's a cyclone coming. Em. I'll go look after the stock."

Then he ran to the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door....