The Wonderful World of Oz

I don't really know how it started, though it might have been when we visited the fairy tale birdhouses at the Florence Griswold Museum.  There was a birdhouse of the Wizard of Oz and, since we hadn't seen the movie, I told them the story, as I knew it from the film (which I loved as a little kid and apparently told people my name was Dorothy; I haven't seen it in decades, finding it creepy as a teenager).  And they loved the story and the birdhouse.  So, now, we're reading the actual Frank L. Baum novel from 1899, which is new to me, too.  I'd read that the book isn't as scary as the movie, with its flying monkeys and cackling witch.  And it's true; we're halfway through and the Wicked Witch of the West hasn't made her first appearance, though she's about to.  And there are many scenes that aren't in the movie, with Kalidahs and the Mouse Queen and more.  But I do keep hearing the songs in my head, which are, of course, not in the book.  The kids love it so far and, as with so many things, they're adapting to their play--mainly, drawing their own illustrations of the book (we're reading a copy with the early line illustrations) and writing their own versions.  It's been really enjoyable so far--and I can't wait to show them the movie over Christmas.