The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

A Kansas cyclone sweeps Dorothy Gale into a strange new land in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a gentle classic read slowly for sleep.

The storm sets Dorothy's house down hard in the Land of Oz, right on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. The grateful Munchkins and the Good Witch of the North send her off toward the Emerald City, wearing a pair of silver shoes and following a road paved in yellow brick. She only wants to get home, and she's told the great Wizard of Oz might be able to send her there.

On the road she picks up three unlikely friends: a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin Woodman who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants his nerve back. Together they cross poppy fields, dodge fighting trees, and stay a step ahead of the Wicked Witch of the West, who has her own reasons for wanting those silver shoes. When they finally reach the Wizard, he agrees to help — but only if they can defeat the witch first.

This is a coming-of-age fairy-tale quest, warm and a little strange, built around an odd little found family who each turn out to already have what they were searching for. It's perfect for listeners who love old-fashioned fantasy adventure, gentle American folklore, or a story that still feels fresh after more than a century.

The reading is soft and unhurried, made to ease you toward sleep rather than keep you turning pages. Let the yellow brick road and its quiet, tired-out ending carry you off — good odds you'll be asleep in Oz before Dorothy ever finds her way back to Kansas.