2.5 stars

I don't think I've ever actually read the original series, though I have seen the Judy Garland film many times and one of my childhood favorite books (but also recurring nightmare fodder) was a picture book edition in Chinese; I'm probably biased since both were introduced to me by my parents.

This was a quick, fairly simple/easy read; the messages and morality are clear-cut, and the narrative gratification is almost instant — or maybe there just isn't much in the way of suspense when I'm so familiar with the broad strokes, though that's unavoidable in this case. Not what I usually go for, but also not a surprise (or unjustifiable/uncalled for) given the target audience and era.