The Wizard of Oz--best first Novel.

  I've been reading to the kids every night, and tonight we finished the Wizard of Oz.

 Every budding reader should be read that book. 

Afterward, I handed it to Daniel and said, “You can read this to yourself.” He said, “No, I can't.” I said, “Everyone in the story had the power to do what they wanted and they just didn't realize it. You do, too.”

 He thought about it for a moment and then took the book and surprised himself by reading the entire first page without any trouble. And he knew what the page was talking about, too, and said, “I'm going to finish this book and then read it over and over! I'm going to read all day tomorrow, and I might stop to have other fun, too, but then I'll go right back to reading.”

 It really is the best first novel ever.