Your Turn: Dorothy Gale

From The Wizard of Oz. Book by L. Frank Baum, movie directed by Victor Fleming
Nominated by Marta Pelrine-Bacon

At eight, I took a cassette recorder, placed it next to the television and recorded The Wizard of Oz — all so I could hear Dorothy Gale's adventures. I dressed as Dorothy for Halloween, and I shoved favorite toys in my sleeping bag so that if a hurricane hit our house, I'd be ready to stay in the Emerald City.

Dorothy's story changed children's literature. She was one of the first American girls to have adventures and to say "no" to adults without being punished. She explores the unknown frontier, she faces her fears and she exposes fraud. She captures the independent American spirit — and she's a real girl, not a princess!

Dorothy taught me I was as capable as anyone of saving the day. And if you've ever said a variation of "Toto, I have a feeling were not in Kansas anymore," how could you deny her?