Another classic that neither Rob not I had read before. We were surprised at how rapidly Baum launches into the story, compared to the film version - the cyclone arrives on page three or so - and at how much more morally grey the story was - Dorothy throws the water on the Wicked Witch of the West in what's basically a fit of pique (an understandable one, but still) and the Woodman rescues a mouse by chopping off the head of a wildcat....
On passage especially caught my attention though :- "Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere." Sound familiar at all? I'm not suggesting it was lifted intentionally, but I can't help wondering whether a copy of this book ever found its way to Professor Tolkien :-)
We rather liked it though and I'll be hunting up the sequel at some point.
