In writing Before Dorothy, the author enjoyed weaving in a number of “Easter eggs” as references to The Wizard of Oz. Which did you spot?
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I remember the reference to the Wicked Witch. And another one - I “think” the Wizard.
I read it a while ago.
Dorothys red shoes, the mean woman that Dorothy thought looked lile a witch, a dream about flying monkeys, reference to not wanting a heart because they only get broken, the little tin soldier she carried.
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Oh gosh, there were so many. I thought the references were perfectly well done!
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This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Two references that came very early in the book (and not yet mentioned) were the toy lion and the gingham. I liked that these happened early so it told me to be on the lookout for the upcoming ones. So fun!
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Agreed! I loved finding them dispersed throughout the book!
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Without a doubt I think Dorothy’s father was the wizard of oz!
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Yes! There were so many. A few others I noticed was the yellow brick in Chicago and emerald.
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I honestly mostly did not enjoy the “Easter eggs” There were too many of them, they were way too obvious, and they flattened the magic of Dorothy’s upcoming strange trip to Oz. I did like the female aviator becoming the Good Witch. That added some depth to the story in the way the little toys did not.
Tons. The use of “muddle”, themes of courage, ruby, the silver shoes (from the book), scarecrow, lion, tin, witchy woman. Etc
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Ohhhh…I forgot about the red shoes. 
Yes…he was the Wizard!!
Ohhhhh…totally forgot about that.
I loved all the references! I cannot think of any that have not been mentioned already. My favorite was the toy lion because of the way Auntie Em gave it to Dorothy right after she was born and Dorothy kept it with her. But each one seemed wonderful to me, connecting me to the original story of the Wizard of Oz.
There were so many. My favorites were the toy loin, tin man and scarecrow.
I agree that there were lots of references to the Wizard of Oz and that my favorites were the toy lion, the tin man, and the straw doll. I think the references were necessary, because otherwise it would just a book about the Depression-era Dust Bowl.
I loved how Toto got his name!!
I think we all enjoyed the references to the characters in the Wizard of Oz. I thikn the most interesting was how Dorothy had dreams of a black cloud. As soon as she got to Kansas it was obvious what was going to happen. I think that made it such fun to read. Isn’t that called premonitions?
I so agree. It reminded me of the doll clothes chestt my grandpa made out of a orange crate. I kept forever and when my granddaughter was little, got it out and gave it a coat of paint and decoupage some of my childhood greeting cards on it. I often wonder if it would have survive as well as it did if it had been any other wood but an orange crate???
I so enjoyed the references to them! The shoes, the toy lion come to mind. There were so many that tied to the classic story