The Wizard of the Emerald City facts for kids
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| Author | Alexander Volkov |
|---|---|
| Original title | Волшебник Изумрудного Города |
| Illustrator | Leonid Vladimirsky |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
| Genre | Fantasy/Children's book |
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Publication date
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1939, 1959 (revised) |
| Media type | |
| Followed by | Urfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiers (1963) |
The Wizard of the Emerald City (Russian: Волшебник Изумрудного Города) is a children's book from 1939. It was written by the Russian author Alexander Melentyevich Volkov. This book is a retelling of the well-known American story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum.
Volkov changed many character names and added some new parts to the story. He also removed some things from Baum's original book. In 1959, a new version of The Wizard of the Emerald City was released. This updated book featured beautiful drawings by L.V. Vladimirsky. It became very popular in the 1960s. Because of its success, Volkov wrote five more books that continued the story. These sequels were Urfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiers (1963), The Seven Underground Kings (1964), The Fiery God of the Marrans (1968), The Yellow Fog (1970), and The Secret of the Abandoned Castle (1975). These later books were all new stories created by Volkov himself.
Volkov's book series, called the Magic Land series, was translated into many languages. It was very popular with children in countries like Russia, China, and former East Germany. For many kids in these places, Volkov's version of the story is even more famous than Baum's original. The amazing illustrations by Leonid Vladimirski played a big part in why these books were so loved.
Meet the Characters of Emerald City
This section introduces the main characters from The Wizard of the Emerald City. You can see how their names compare to the characters in the original Wizard of Oz book.
| Name in Volkov's Book | Russian Name | Character in Baum's Oz |
|---|---|---|
| Ellie Smith | Элли Смит | Dorothy Gale |
| Totoshka (Little Toto) | Тотошка | Toto |
| Strasheela | Страшила | Scarecrow |
| Iron Lumberjack | Железный Дровосек | The Tin Woodman |
| Cowardly Lion | Трусливый Лев | Cowardly Lion |
| James Goodwin | Джеймс Гудвин | The Wizard |
| Villina | Виллина | Good Witch of the North |
| Stella | Стелла | Glinda the Good Witch |
| Gingema | Гингема | Wicked Witch of the East |
| Bastinda | Бастинда | Wicked Witch of the West |
| Din GeeOr | Дин Гиор | Soldier with the Green Whiskers |
| Faramant | Фарамант | Guardian of the Gates |
| Ramina | Рамина | Queen of the Field Mice |
How Volkov's Story is Different
The Wizard of the Emerald City has many differences from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Here are some of the most interesting changes:
- In the original Oz book, the Winkies' favorite color is yellow. But in Volkov's story, their favorite color is purple.
- In Baum's book, the characters run from fierce half-tiger, half-bear creatures called Kalidahs. Volkov changed these to saber-toothed tigers.
- Some parts from the original story, like the Fighting Trees and the China Country, are not in Volkov's book. Instead, the main characters must cross a river on a raft, and they face a big storm.
- In Volkov's version, before meeting the Cowardly Lion, Ellie is captured by an ogre. The Scarecrow and the Iron Lumberjack then rescue her.
- The Munchkins, Winkies, and Quadlings (who are called Chatters in Volkov's book) have special habits. Munchkins constantly move their jaws as if chewing. Winkies blink a lot. Chatters cannot stop talking.
- The armless Hammer-Heads with long necks from Baum's book are replaced. Volkov's story features a strong group of people called Leapers, also known as Marrans.
- When Ellie and Toto arrive in Magic Land in Volkov's story, Toto gains the ability to speak. He keeps this ability until they leave. In Baum's original book, Toto acts like a normal dog.
- In Baum's story, Dorothy is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle. In Volkov's version, Ellie lives with both her parents, John and Ann.
- In the original book, the Good Witch of the North kisses Dorothy, which protects her. The Wicked Witch of the West is afraid to hurt Dorothy because of this blessing. In Volkov's book, Villina does not kiss Ellie. Instead, Bastinda is afraid to hurt Ellie because Ellie wears the magic silver shoes of Gingema.
- In Baum's story, Dorothy does not know the Wicked Witch of the West is afraid of water until the witch melts. In Volkov's version, Ellie knows Bastinda is afraid of water. Ellie often leaves the kitchen floor wet to annoy the witch.
- Volkov added a new part to the story while Ellie is held captive in Bastinda's castle. Ellie and the cook, Fregoza, encourage the other Winkies to plan a rebellion against Bastinda.
- The beginning of Baum's book tells the story only from Dorothy's point of view. The beginning of Volkov's book starts with Ellie, then switches to Gingema, and then back to Ellie as she runs from the cyclone.
Film Versions
The popular story of The Wizard of the Emerald City has been made into several films and TV shows:
- The Wizard of the Emerald City (1968): A film made with puppets.
- The Wizard of the Emerald City (1974): A TV series using stop-motion animation.
- The Wizard of the Emerald City (1994): A live-action movie.
- Adventures in the Emerald City (1999-2000): An animated TV series with four episodes.
- Fantastic Journey to Oz (2017): A movie made with computer animation.
