Story Book

The Wizard of Oz Story Book is one of the publications issued in Great Britain in 1940, at the time of the MGM film premiere in England. Hutchinson, the English publisher, produced a line of books related to the film, most featuring covers adapted from movie stills.

This particular book is an oversize softcover abridgment of the original L. Frank Baum story. It's interesting to note that Baum receives no author's credit on the cover, or for that matter anywhere in the book. On the other hand, W. W. Denslow is prominently mentioned on both the cover and title page! There are a sprinkling of illustrations adapted from Denslow's originals throughout the book. These must have been very tempting for young hands to color!

The dust jacket flaps of the complete version of the book (one variant shown on the left), list the various styles of the story that were available, or upcoming. This story book is #4 at the bottom of the list. Among the assorted adaptations of the book, there were to be a Colouring Book, a Painting Book, and a Picture Book with cut-out characters; creative choices for the marketing of the film!