Audiobook · read by volunteers
Road to Oz
L. Frank Baum (1856–1919)
Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023) · 24 chapters · 4 h 45
About the book
It begins on a Kansas farm, when Dorothy tries to help a shaggy stranger who is looking for the road to the city of Butterfield, and ends with a birthday party in the Emerald City. In between, the roads of Oz seem to twist and fork in every direction. Dorothy meets Button-Bright, a cheerfully lost boy, and a whole procession of new companions, some kind, some grumpy, some merely bewildering. Together they cross strange countries, run into talking creatures, and eventually find themselves among the friends from earlier adventures, all heading to a celebration in honour of Princess Ozma. L. Frank Baum fills the journey with comic characters, odd places and warm hospitality. At nearly five hours and twenty-four chapters, it is a generous, well-paced listen for children and nostalgic adults alike, read here by Kara Shallenberg.
Introduction
L. Frank Baum, born in 1856 and died in 1919, was an American author who created the Land of Oz. His first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, appeared in 1900 and was a great success, and he went on to write a long series of sequels that kept him busy for the rest of his life. The Road to Oz, published in 1909, is the fifth book of the series, and it brings back Dorothy for another visit to the fairy country she loves.
Unlike some of the other Oz stories, this one is built around a journey. Dorothy and her new companions travel, meet, argue and discover, and the narrative has a rambling, episodic charm. Baum had a talent for inventing odd characters and for giving even minor ones a distinct personality, and he treats his readers with respect: the stories are full of puns, wordplay and affectionate humour. At the heart of the book is the idea of friendship, which Baum evidently believed in more than any particular moral lesson.
This recording lasts a little under five hours, divided into twenty-four chapters, and is read by a single LibriVox volunteer, Kara Shallenberg. It suits family listening, whether in the car or at bedtime, and it works well for adults who grew up with the films and want to meet the original books. It is not necessary to know the earlier titles, although a familiarity with Oz will make some of the reunions more fun. Because each book of the series is complete in itself, this is also an easy place to begin for anyone who has seen the famous film but never visited the books.
Public domain
L. Frank Baum died in 1919: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text