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The Wonderful O (Paperback)

by James Thurber (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 1976)
ISBN-10: 0671224239
ISBN-13: 978-0671224233

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From AudioFile

In his witty and provocative way, Thurber creates a land where the letter "o" has been removed from all words in a ploy to punish the townspeople for their noncooperation in helping the villains find the object of their quest. Thurber treats the listener to a myriad of situations and words in the new world without "o's." A sense of drama and distinctive elocution serve Melissa Manchester well as she brings Thurber's whimsical escapade to life. Her melodrama is highly exaggerated as Andrea, Andreus, and the Old Man assist the townspeople in discovering the one lost "o" word that will restore tranquility. Manchester's tongue slides flawlessly from words still containing the letter "o" to ones that are now "o" -less. A.R. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

GRAMMY AWAARD NOMINEE

The Wonderful O tells of a man named Black who despised the letter "O." He deleted it from his language and omitted it from his words. Opals, moonstones, owls and oaks could not possibly be his items of choice. He preferred emeralds, rubies, sapphires and maps. At least they had no "O." Soon he wanted his entire village to omit the letter "O." But the villagers found words they would not do without- HOPE, LOVE, VALOR, and the most important one of all. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

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4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Wordplay!, May 2 2009

By	N. Manning (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Wonderful O (Hardcover)

Two pirates meet in a tavern one with a map, the other with a ship. Off they go to find the island called Ooroo and a hidden treasure. Once they arrive we find that one of them hates the letter "O" and while they take over the small island looking for the jewels they decide to forbid the existence of the letter 'O' in writing and speech by the inhabitants. This causes immense problems as one can imagine.

On the top this is a silly little story with a lot of fun wordplay while underneath it is a story of the fight for freedom. A fun romp that children old enough to manipulate the removal of the 'O's in words will surely enjoy. The message underneath is clear enough and one roots for the islanders to rid themselves of these treasure-hungry dictatorial pirates. Marc Simont is not one of my favourite illustrators as he does get into doing some awfully dark blotchy shadowy paintings but fortunately they appear only a few times in this book. His sketches on the other hand have a delightful comic appeal to them and are completely entertaining. This is a classic children's book and I advise waiting till the child is old enough to read on his own as the wordplay looses its effect when read-aloud. Not Thurber's best children's book, as I can remember that would be Many Moons, but certainly a fun romp for the older kids by one of America's greatest humourists.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous book for those who love language, Dec 17 2008

By	Ginty Burns (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Wonderful O (Hardcover)

This is a cleverly written and entertaining little story for adults and children alike. Adults who enjoy the intricacies of the English language will love what Thurber does with (and without) the letter O, which appears an astounding number of times on the first page. Children will enjoy the story and the silliness as the letter o disappears from the alphabet. A copy of The Wonderful O, along with The Thirteen Clocks, should be in every home.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Chas and cnfusin reign supreme, Dec 30 2003

By	JLind555 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wonderful O (Hardcover)

"The Wonderful O" is a delightful book for our younger readers about a dastardly group of pirates who invade the island of Ooroo looking for treasure. Oh wow, with a name like Ooroo, this place is just asking for trouble. Seems that Black, the pirate chief, hates the letter O, because when he was a child his mother got stuck in a porthole, and he couldn't pull her in, so he had to push her out. Poor Moms. And now Black is about to consolidate his capture and takeover of Ooroo by banishing from speech and print every word and name which contains the letter O. So how are we to pronounce Ooroo? Or Otto Ott, whose name comes out sounding like a terminal stutter? Or consider the case of poor Ophelia Oliver, who, when she lost her O's, vanished from the haunts of men.

Thurber has written a hilarious book showing the pure chas and cnfusin that reign when the language is stripped of its O's. How can you tell a cat from a cat? Or a bat from a bat? Strip the O from the language and we will all be indeed bgne and webegne. Not to mention losing words like hope, love, valor, and the greatest of all, freedom.

Black may have stripped the language of all its O's but he can't break the people's spirit, and eventually he and his crew hoist anchor and sail away into the sunset, leaving the people and their island with all their O's intact. Kids will love this book for the hilarious play on words, as well as for the message it gets across. A wonderful bk (oops, I mean book) for youngsters and oldsters alike. How could there be youngsters, or oldsters, or books, if there weren't any O?

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5.0 out of 5 stars N_ _h! What are we t_ d_?
...THE WONDERFUL O is a charming book. It's full of wit, wisdom, and social commentary. It's a great story and plays around with the English language in a most interesting way... Read more

Published on Nov 17 2003 by tvtv3