Diego Chechi Chechi itibaren Brătești, रोमानिया
I had not only watched the well known Wizard of Oz movie with Judy Garland first, but I'd also read the Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as seen the Broadway musical of Wicked, before getting a chance to read this classic. Well, that's not entirely true, when I was young, my grandfather had started to read the book to me and my brother, but unfortunately we never finished it before my brother and I grew too old to be patient while someone read to us. At any rate, watching the movie, and reading the other perspective, and seeing the Broadway adaption of that other perspective colored my view on the book when I finally did read it. While I am used to Hollywood just bending and rewriting everything to suit their needs first before even considering to be respectful of the story, I really was absolutely amazed by how different the story was compared to the movie. It also amazed me, and gave me a new respect for Gregory Maguire as I saw how many things he did in his book to not only nod to the original book, but respect the twist Hollywood gave it when they did their treatment. This book is a good choice to read to children when they're starting to learn how to sit still for longer periods of time, or if a grandparent or relative wants a book they can read a chapter at a time to a child when they see them. When they get older, it's also interesting to start showing them how Hollywood changes things when making movies, and even changed, it can still be a well respected classic.