Eight chapters in, and I’m at a loss understanding why this book is so beloved. No character has any real personality, and the descriptions are clinical and passionless; the book feels like it was written by an emotionless robot. Maybe the story improves further along, but I really don’t feel compelled to find out.
It’s written to be a fairy tale, which are usually simply told. Baum’s view was that children get bored by detailed descriptions and their imaginations are permitted to work more when the author does less. You have to buy into the concept that this little girl finds herself in a strange land and takes it in stride as she seeks to get home. I wonder if you might like “The Marvelous Land of Oz” or “The Patchwork Girl of Oz,” which do have more dynamic characters I think and a bit more going on.