There’s been a lot of talk on internet blogs about a spate of Oz based movies reported to be in production. Here’s a link to one of them: http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/05/19/whats-up-with-all-the-wizard-of-oz-spinoff-movies/ It just so happens that I was inspired a few years ago by my little rescue terrier, who came with the name Toto, to begin retelling the tale from his point of view. In Toto’s Tale: an Oz Chronicle, Dorothy’s little dog, the runt of his litter, tells how he runs away and finds Dorothy at a train station when she arrives on an orphan train. (Up to 200,000 orphans were shipped on trains from east coast cities to be adopted by farm families in the late 1800s and early 1900s). Both were adopted by Aunt Em and Uncle Henry and from there Toto continues to tell about the cyclone, the yellow brick road, their friends the scarecrow, tin woodman, and cowardly lion, and how they vanquish the Wicked Witch of the West.
My book is based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book rather than the 1939 Warner Brother’s movie. The story includes some plot twists, lots of sounds and smells from Toto’s point of view, and his inability to distinguish the colors red (poppies) or green (Emerald City).
Toto’s Tale is ready to find a publisher. It seems like a good time for a retelling of this story in book form for children ages six to twelve.
Sylvia Patience, Author 