Wizard of Oz Review

Wizard of Oz is a marvelous version of the classic book for iPad with gorgeous artwork and quality interactions. Without narration, this book is intended to be read alone or out loud to one's children and would also make a lovely book for advanced readers to read on their own.

I loved this book as a child and I am a big fan of this app as well. I really appreciate how elements from both the classic 1939 movie as well as the original book have been interwoven to make a wonderful new version of this story. The artwork here is really wonderful and includes not just lovely drawings, but also many pages of paper-cut illustrations which I appreciate for their use of interesting textures as well as delivering additional details and dimensions to this story.

Lovingly adapted, this app is 45 pages and keeps intact events that are omitted from many other shorter Oz versions including one of my favorite moments of the gang in the poppy field as well as other details Oz enthusiasts will enjoy. I really enjoy how movie details here are kept in tact as well, and love the artwork used showing the world before Dorothy opens the door to Oz as well as the ending back in Kansan is in black and white - one of my favorite elements from the movie. Still, it is nice that Dorothy's shoes remain silver which is true to the original book, something that I appreciate.

The interactions are also very nice here and can sometimes be quite involved, which I really like. The developers give detailed info about these interactions on their site. I hope at some point these valuable and fun details can be added to the app itself as they could be of interest to those who may not think to go to an independent site looking for more information.

Although I do love narrated apps, I respect the decision not to include narration here as this makes a lovely story to read to children or for an advanced reader to read to themselves. The interactions are can be sophisticated at times and will appeal both to children who are able to read this book to independently, to older students and adults as well as to younger kids who get to listen as this story is read out loud.

I have really enjoyed this app and I hope that more apps are created by these developers. All the elements are very well done, and I hope to see more from them.