Reading copies of Oz books, particularly newer reprints, tend to stack up around me. I can’t pass them up when they’re just a few bucks at an estate sale, bundled in an auction “lot,” or gifted to me by people who don’t know what else to do with them. Does that happen to you, too? Don’t hoard them, do what I do; give them away.
Your local Ronald McDonald house likely has a few shelves of books for kids staying there to borrow. These are kids with a hospitalized sibling who would welcome the distraction of a Baum fantasy. They have time for chapter books. Check kids hospitals, community centers, and family homeless shelters to see if there’s a reading corner for kids. My dentist office is a fine place for pop-up versions of Oz; they’re a quick scan to read mixed in with the puzzles and puppets provided for kids waiting with a parent — or to see the dentist themselves. Those “little libraries” popping up in residential areas can always use a paperback Oz book.
As Oz books have occasion to pile up around me, I’ve become accustomed to finding where I can just leave them. No approvals or paperwork, just slide them on the shelf. I’ve sent Oz books to school libraries where I’ve spoken, vacation spots with shared community areas, even senior centers where an elderly friend might enjoy revisiting his or her youth.
Personally, since I like to promote the Oz Club, I put a transparent sticker on the “this book belongs to” page in substantial editions noting that it’s been donated by the International Wizard of Oz Club. But that’s not necessary. Think about what Oz means to you, and consider that copies gifted into this Great Outside World might just find their way into a young reader’s hand, who will find in Oz the place they’ve been looking for, the home of their heart.
