Large Print Reviews - The Lizard of Oz

Large Print Reviews

The Lizard of Oz
By Richard Seltzer
Seedy Press, (1991)
B & R Samizdat Express
P. O. Box 161
West Roxbury, MA, 02132
ISBN: 0-915232-93-6
Genre: Children's Fiction

Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - March 25, 2002

The Lizard of Oz is the title of CD that contains a collection of children's stories written by Richard Seltzer. The collection includes five multimedia books: The Lizard of Oz, Now and Then and Other Tales from Ome, Hundreds and Hundreds of Gerbils, Tiger in the Intercom, and See You Later, Elevator. Besides being able to read the text of these books, you can also listen to a narration of each story on a page by page basis using the RealPlayer audio player. Also included is a text only section entitled Food for Thought which consists of "brief excerpts from works alluded to in The Lizard of Oz."

The Lizard of Oz

This delightful book consists of 27 chapters, with whimsical illustrations by Christin Couture. The narrative portion of this book is read by the author, Richard Seltzer.

"Once or twice, long ago the fire of enchantment burnt low, and children and even grownups found nothing new in the world, nothing worth seeing or doing or bothering about; nothing, that is, except machines. The disenchantment spread just about everywhere, until it reached the basement classroom in Winthrop, Massachusetts, where a pair of fish, Mrs. O'Rourke and Mr. Shermin, lived in a fishbowl. It was there that began the quest that took an entire class to Oz and to Ome, to bring back fire to the world."

Thus begins this enchanting tale that takes the reader on a whirlwind jaunt through the realm of imagination, aided by the use of a VW Bug. And, along the way this story introduces the reader to a wealth of literary characters ranging from Captain Ahab to Humpty Dumpty.
Food for Thought

Is a 'text-only' appendix to The Lizard of Oz. This appendix contains a list of the books alluded to in the The Lizard of Oz with brief excerpts from each title.
Now and Then and Other Tales from Ome

This book contains four illustrated fables, Now and Then, Julie's Book: the Little Princess, Mary Jane's Book: the Book of Animals, and The Little Oops Named Ker Plop.
Hundreds and Hundreds of Gerbils

This is another collection of short stories containing: Fathers are Pushovers, Chester on the Loose, Civil War, Saving Chester, More and More Gerbils, Tragedy Strikes, and More and More and More Gerbils. These seven stories are interrelated and deal with vicissitudes, and joys, that come from raising gerbils. After your kids read this story, they will hound you to get a gerbil. But be forewarned, gerbils have a habit of multiplying...
Tiger in the Intercom

This interconnect collection of stories begins with New Boy a story about what happens when a new boy moves into the Project - and he's blind! As these stories unfold and the 'old kids' get to know the 'new boy', they learn how to get along together. Once they become friends, they have many adventures together.

The stories in this book include: New Boy, Lisa and Sandy, Blind Dates, Space Project, Tiger in the Intercom, How the Tigers Got Into the Intercom, The Drummer Boy, Brenda and the Bears, A Puppy for Georgie, Mr. Mahoney, and The Magic Ice Cream Cone.
See You Later, Elevator

This book consists of six chapters and the story follows 9-year-old Mike as he tries to deliver a note to Mrs. Grant on the 36th floor of a high-rise apartment building. This is a major task for a little boy, and one that is somewhat scary. To make matter worse, Mike is beset by many misadventures along his way, including having to deal with an elevator that doesn't work as it should.

All the stories are narrated by the author, Richard Seltzer. One of the nice things about the stories being offered in both text and audio components is that you have the choice of simply reading or listening to each story. You also have the option of listening to the story as you read along with the narrator. This last option is an excellent choice for youngsters just learning to read, as well as for adults learning English as a second language.

The fanciful stories on this CD were written for elementary school aged readers. The stories are engaging and well written and will captivate readers of all ages. They are also eminently suited to reading aloud, and the short chapters make them perfect for bedtime reading.

This CD runs on any Windows PC. You also need to have a web browser. By default, when you install the CD, the program opens in the Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers. If you don't want to use Internet Explorer, there is a small button on the opening screen that you can click that will enable you to select an alternative browser with which to view these stories. I tired selecting another browser, and I had no trouble at all selecting an alternative browser (Netscape) with which to view the contents of this CD.

To listen to the narrative portion of this multimedia CD you will need the RealPlayer audio player, which can be download from the Internet. The text can also be read using most screen reading programs.

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Related Reviews:

Children's Books, Compiled by Richard Seltzer.
Over 200 Children's classics on one CD, ranging from Aesop's Fables to The Wizard of Oz. (Compact Disc)
What Katy Did, by Susan Coolidge.
This a heartwarming, and at times, heart wrenching story of a little girl, who wants to grow up to be beautiful and to do something really special that will make her famous. But before she can achieve her goal, she meets with a tragic accident that leaves her partially paralyzed. How Katy deals with the accident, and how it matures her, is the main focus of this children's story. (Audio)

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