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Oz #9
The Scarecrow of Oz
Cap'n Bill and Trot journey to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, the former ruler of Oz, overthrow the villainous King Krewl of Jinxland. Cap'n Bill and Trot had previously appeared in two other novels by Baum, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. Based in part upon the 1914 silent film, His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. This was allegedly L. Frank Baum's personal favourite Oz book.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 1915
About the author
L. Frank Baum
2,547 books2,648 followersalso wrote under the names:
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 341 reviews
December 25, 2020
I find myself unable to leave the magical fairyland of Oz for good. There’s always a random time when I go: “Oh, I wonder what’s happening in Oz.” And then BaM in transported there.
This time for the 9th time.
Fun Fact: after a little bit of research I discovered that even after Baum’s death the series kept on going up to about 50 different Oz tales.
+ there’s the famous Macguire’s “Wicked” series. (Yes! That’s series too!)
+there’s that “Dorothy Must Die” series.
+ whatever else I might not have discovered yet.
It looks like I’m going to be returning to Oz for quite awhile and I’m not complaining.
Sometimes that is exactly what I need. Even as an adult. A good, solid, fun fairytale.
This is exactly what this was.
We got Captain Bill, we got Button Bright back, we got a new heroine, we got a bundle of the most random of adventures as per usual + Oz!
If you’ve made it all the way to this book, there really is not much to say here.
Keep at it :)
If this is your first Oz book...WHY???
No, really, WHY???
Go back immediately and start at the beginning!
You don’t want Santa to bring you coals, do you???
Roman
This time for the 9th time.
Fun Fact: after a little bit of research I discovered that even after Baum’s death the series kept on going up to about 50 different Oz tales.
+ there’s the famous Macguire’s “Wicked” series. (Yes! That’s series too!)
+there’s that “Dorothy Must Die” series.
+ whatever else I might not have discovered yet.
It looks like I’m going to be returning to Oz for quite awhile and I’m not complaining.
Sometimes that is exactly what I need. Even as an adult. A good, solid, fun fairytale.
This is exactly what this was.
We got Captain Bill, we got Button Bright back, we got a new heroine, we got a bundle of the most random of adventures as per usual + Oz!
If you’ve made it all the way to this book, there really is not much to say here.
Keep at it :)
If this is your first Oz book...WHY???
No, really, WHY???
Go back immediately and start at the beginning!
You don’t want Santa to bring you coals, do you???
Roman
November 22, 2018
I'll just say for starters that this isn't so much an Oz book as the third part of the Cap'n Bill and Trot trilogy (for the first two parts see 'The Sea Fairies' and 'Sky Island'). I didn't have a problem with this, however, as I really enjoyed the first two books featuring these characters.
Secondly, the title is more than a little misleading, as the titular Scarecrow doesn't even show up until two thirds of the way through and even then it's mainly to act as a deus ex machina to pull the protagonists' fat out of the fire.
Despite this, the book remains thoroughly charming and enjoyable.
Secondly, the title is more than a little misleading, as the titular Scarecrow doesn't even show up until two thirds of the way through and even then it's mainly to act as a deus ex machina to pull the protagonists' fat out of the fire.
Despite this, the book remains thoroughly charming and enjoyable.
May 15, 2021
Decent Oz outing, but becoming quite dated. There is are recurring themes that beauty is coupled to popularity, beauty is coupled to goodness, and ugly is coupled to wickedness. Plot devices are best suited to the pre-tween crowd when the TV is broken. These later Oz books are rapidly emigrating to the realms of scholarship and nostalgia only, with little relevance for today.
Which brings an interesting thought -- what should be the future for Oz the written franchise? Could there be a reinvention, like already happens within graphic novels, movie franchises (ugh) and television? Or does Oz the written canon get put into a glass case in a backwater museum?
Which brings an interesting thought -- what should be the future for Oz the written franchise? Could there be a reinvention, like already happens within graphic novels, movie franchises (ugh) and television? Or does Oz the written canon get put into a glass case in a backwater museum?
April 24, 2013
I like to think of this as Baum's big crossover episode. Not having read a lot of Baum outside of the Oz books, I was a little thrown off by these two characters I was clearly supposed to know already (from Baum's Sea Fairies and Sky Island it turns out) but it's easy enough to recover. Both Trot and Cap'n Bill are hard not to like, and the change of pace is more than a little refreshing after all the sameness in the previous book. There is another shipwreck (of sorts) but it at least happens in a cool and creative way and even though it's kind of another road trip sort of book, the characters feel fresh and so do the adventures. So fresh in fact, that even when Button Bright (sadly, a character we are all too familiar with from before) reappears, he is really a completely different character than we knew before. Apparently he must have cameoed in those other books and had some sense knocked into him. From this point forward, he might be seriously directionally challenged, but he's at least not the same whiny empty-headed boy we knew before.
Hilariously, Baum outdoes himself here with another example of his almost-arbitrary titles. Would you believe that the Scarecrow doesn't even make an appearance until Chapter 13? Truth. Scarecrow's very brief role in this is at least pretty dramatic though--so you can't say that he doesn't ever get his moment in the sun. It does prompt some serious questions about the use---or lack thereof--of Ozma's magic mirror (and Glinda's Book of Records) however, when our good friend finds himself in the most dire straits yet, with no Ozian help on the horizon.
Hilariously, Baum outdoes himself here with another example of his almost-arbitrary titles. Would you believe that the Scarecrow doesn't even make an appearance until Chapter 13? Truth. Scarecrow's very brief role in this is at least pretty dramatic though--so you can't say that he doesn't ever get his moment in the sun. It does prompt some serious questions about the use---or lack thereof--of Ozma's magic mirror (and Glinda's Book of Records) however, when our good friend finds himself in the most dire straits yet, with no Ozian help on the horizon.
February 22, 2012
I'll start with the one flaw: Too much boring stuff at the end when the main plot thread is already resolved. Baum does this a lot. I forgive him in this book because it is just so good. It never used to be a favorite of mine, but now it might be my absolutely favorite of the 9 I've read in a row.
The opening chapters are among my favorite chapters Baum has ever written - when Trot and Cap'n Bill are hanging out waiting to sail. They are languid and warm and everything I want in a book sometimes. Trot is my favorite of the little girls. I figured out a few minutes ago that there is a key to why this is so. Here is where everyone is from in the Oz books:
Dorothy: Kansas
The Wizard: Omaha, Nebraska
Betsy: Oklahoma
The Shaggy Man: Colorado
Trot: California.
One of these things is better than the others!
Anyway.
I think the Ork is super cool, and I like the way he talks about Orkland. Button-Bright has gotten more likable. The whole scene with the Bumpy Man being the Mountain Ear is so weird but great.
Oh! BTW, Button Bright is from Philadelphia, they think. That's ok, I guess, but it's no California.
P.S. I thought Oz was supposed to be completely invisible, not just hidden by pink fog. Oh well - I guess when the kids called Baum's bluff about not writing anymore he had to modify so he could actually get people in and out.
I love that Trot already knows about the Land of Oz. Maybe this is discussed in the other two books about her and Cap'n Bill? I have to check them out ASAP - the Sea Fairies and Sky Island - because I want to read more about Trot.
I love how Baum essentially makes fun of the traditional fantasy world love story with princesses and kings and gardener's boys and the like. "The King wanted her to marry a rich courtier named Googly-Goo, who is old enough to be Gloria's father. She has refused Googly-Goo thirty-nine times..." hahahaha. And I love how Trot is totally scornful of Pon the gardener's boy at all times and keeps trying to convince Gloria to pick someone else to love. And I REALLY love the bit where King Krewl and Googly-Goo smile at each other at the end of chapter 11.
I love that the Woozy reappears at the end.
The opening chapters are among my favorite chapters Baum has ever written - when Trot and Cap'n Bill are hanging out waiting to sail. They are languid and warm and everything I want in a book sometimes. Trot is my favorite of the little girls. I figured out a few minutes ago that there is a key to why this is so. Here is where everyone is from in the Oz books:
Dorothy: Kansas
The Wizard: Omaha, Nebraska
Betsy: Oklahoma
The Shaggy Man: Colorado
Trot: California.
One of these things is better than the others!
Anyway.
I think the Ork is super cool, and I like the way he talks about Orkland. Button-Bright has gotten more likable. The whole scene with the Bumpy Man being the Mountain Ear is so weird but great.
Oh! BTW, Button Bright is from Philadelphia, they think. That's ok, I guess, but it's no California.
P.S. I thought Oz was supposed to be completely invisible, not just hidden by pink fog. Oh well - I guess when the kids called Baum's bluff about not writing anymore he had to modify so he could actually get people in and out.
I love that Trot already knows about the Land of Oz. Maybe this is discussed in the other two books about her and Cap'n Bill? I have to check them out ASAP - the Sea Fairies and Sky Island - because I want to read more about Trot.
I love how Baum essentially makes fun of the traditional fantasy world love story with princesses and kings and gardener's boys and the like. "The King wanted her to marry a rich courtier named Googly-Goo, who is old enough to be Gloria's father. She has refused Googly-Goo thirty-nine times..." hahahaha. And I love how Trot is totally scornful of Pon the gardener's boy at all times and keeps trying to convince Gloria to pick someone else to love. And I REALLY love the bit where King Krewl and Googly-Goo smile at each other at the end of chapter 11.
I love that the Woozy reappears at the end.
August 25, 2016
lol I love these book because to the modern reader, they are so messed up. making fun of people with only 1 eye, turning people's heart to ice... I didn't love this story as much as ozma of oz but it wasn't awful.
August 18, 2024
Our old friend, the famous Scarecrow of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz shines as hero in this book of his name, but only towards the end of the story. For the first two thirds, it is possible to think the book is misnamed because there is nary a mention of him. The characters, Cap' Bill and a little girl named, Trot are swallowed up by a whirlpool and meet a bird known as an Ork, who helps them figure out where they are, and move from one place to another until they end up in an obscure corner of Oz ruled by a cruel King named King Kruel. The king's evil plans soon involve our brave travelers, and they are in danger. Fortunately, nothing happens in Oz which escapes the notice of Glinda the Good or Princess Ozma and the Scarecrow is dispatched to the rescue.
January 23, 2022
This is one of the really good books in the Oz series. I quite loved it from the beginning to the end. It really could hold my attention for a whole day without any trouble. The one thing I can't understand is the title. Scarecrow doesn't make an appearance until 60% of the book is done.
The few new characters introduced here are very agreeable and pleasing. The adventures were very exiting. I loved the Ork. He seemed like a very well groomed bird with a well used brain. The berries however, reminded me of Alice. No harm done there.
I wasn't aware of the books of Captain Bill and Trot's adventures. Looks like I need to read them after finishing the Oz series. I liked those two. Never dull and never boring.
Book #09 of 2022.
Book #09 of Oz series
Around The Year in 52 Books: A book connected to a book you read in 2021
The few new characters introduced here are very agreeable and pleasing. The adventures were very exiting. I loved the Ork. He seemed like a very well groomed bird with a well used brain. The berries however, reminded me of Alice. No harm done there.
I wasn't aware of the books of Captain Bill and Trot's adventures. Looks like I need to read them after finishing the Oz series. I liked those two. Never dull and never boring.
Book #09 of 2022.
Book #09 of Oz series
Around The Year in 52 Books: A book connected to a book you read in 2021
September 29, 2023
*audio book*
Another delightful tale abt oz... the scarecrow gets more attention in this volume. It follows some unique characters.
Another delightful tale abt oz... the scarecrow gets more attention in this volume. It follows some unique characters.
November 30, 2017
I really enjoyed the back half of the book, once they got to Oz. The romantic subplot was delightful and I can always use more Orks
January 11, 2023
a very cute little story in Oz, I did not realize how many of these there are
October 25, 2019
It was so different from the other Oz tales, but definitely one of my favorites.
Thank you my friend for reading this series with me.
Read
June 6, 2024The Scarecrow of Oz
Captain Bill and Trot decide one day to visit one of the Great Caves, Trot wants to begin but the captain thinks something is off. There’s no breeze, Trot says the sky is clear. So, they make their way to the beach. When they’re almost there they come across a whirl pool and it starts to draw them into it. The boat sinks into the hole, When they surface, they’re on a beach. Beside them is a cavern. Trot wants to explore it, but the captain says it’s best to stay there because they don’t know where it’ll lead or what’s inside. But he knows sh e right
Later, they come upon a strange creature coming out of the water that looks similar to a bird (but not really) The creature says it’s on ork. They find out he was in the whirl pool. A bunch of mermaids dragged him there and left him=which is what happened to them-. They left him by a cavern-which he compares to a prison-. He says he barely escaped a sea monster. There are few of them and they’re the kings of their land-Orkland-. This one is restless and likes to stray from his home. He left home to examine men. In his wanderings he lost his way home and has been searching for it ever since.
While exploring the cave, they come to the end of the tunnel and realize it’s on a recipe. So, the Ork offers to go down and check things out, but ut the candle goes out so it has to come back. It then sinks to the depths of the cavern. It comes back and says there’s a lake of black water and a tunnel below and they have to follow it. Captain Bill declares there’s something strange about the tunnel when they’ve made the descent. The Ork goes head to lead the way. Because it’s been a long difficult walk, they all decide to stop for the night. As the others sleep, Captain Bill tries to think of a way out of the situation.
The next morning, they continue on and eventually they come to day light., but they find that they’re at the bottom of a well. S ince the Ork has a mechanical tail, it lifts the two out (with much difficulty). The land they find themselves in is full of fruits and nuts so there’s need to worry about them starving. They discover a shed and go over to see if it’s occupied. A little man with a long beard is sitting there-and he’s not friendly-. He snaps at them to get out of the way. Their obstructing his view. He makes no secret he doesn’t want them there. He says his name is Pesshim “The Observer”. It starts to rain so they head for Pessim’s shed. Pessim wants them to go cover up the fish so they won’t get wet. Once in the shed they come across a bumble bee that turns out to be there’s Ork. He stopped to eat a fruit that shrunk im.
Pessim thinks it’s hilarious! He says it’s happened to him. They find out the neighbors didn’t like him and brought him there to get rid of him. One day he ate a lavender berry and he also shrunk. He found a darker berry that turned him back to his normal size. The Ork begs him to lead him to the tree, but the man says he’s ugly enough and thus probably dangerous. When assured he’s not dangerous, he leads them to the tree. It’s not long before he’s reverted back. The little man makes another attempt to get them to leave, but they end up staying there three more days. After they get sick of him on the fourth day, they come up with a plan to eat the light purple berries so they can be small enough for the Ork to carry off the island and then take some purple berries to get them back to size. So, they tell the man goodbye and take off with the captain and Trot in a sun bonnet. The man telling them all the while they won’t make it. They land on a mountain top and even
when reverted back to the right size decide to keep some of the berries. On top of the slope there’s a house so they go to check it out. A rugged man with bumps all over his face and body opens the door, but he’s kind and invites them in. He warns them that cold is coming (indicated by his bumps). They find out they’re in MO. His name is The Mountainer. He then starts to sing a song about what he does and who he is. Trot thinks he’s a little crazy. LOL I can imagine him like Wonka on the boat just breaking into that eerie song. He then feeds them molasses candy. He doesn’t have water, but he has lemonade which it rained a day ago. After this they get some rest.
Not long after this, it’s begun to snow, but interestingly it’s not cold. And oddly the snow is popcorn. It’s good popcorn (lightly salted and nicely buttered).They find a boy buried in the snow and it turns out to be Button Bright. He’s a long ways from home (Philadelphia) and he’s lost his magic umbrella. The captain does something that seems odd at first. He takes some of the birds and ties their legs together. But then we find out he has a plan and convinces three of the thirds to take them and fly them off the island. In exchange he’ll use the purple berries to make them big. He then makes swings for them to ride in. He tells them to follow the Ork. They decide to fly over the desert,
They fly through a pink mist and come to one of the most beautiful countries Trot’s ever seen. The Ork leaves to search for his own homeland and says if he doesn’t find it, he’ll be back. They meet a lady who tells them they are in Jinx Land (in Oz). She expresses some regret of their king who punishes trespassers heavily. She then feeds them cakes, sandwiches, and cheese. She points out the King’s castle (King Cruel) and they continue on their way. They wonder if the King is as bad as the lady says. But decide to make the best of Jinx-Land. Before long, they hear the sound of soubs.
His name is Pon and he’s the gardeners’ boy. As in his master. He’s fallen in love with Gloria-King Creul’s niece-. He was assaulted for kissing the Princess’s hand. The King has ordered her to marry someone but she only wants to marry him. He says he’s a Prince. His father use to be the King. They had a fight and in the fight his father pressed him down with stones and cast him into a pond. So, Cruel then proclaimed himself King. They tell him they’re headed to King Cruel’s and they’ll put in a good word for him.
When meeting the King, the Captain speaks boldly as if they’re people of importance which intimidates the King. The King and Googlygoo plot on a way to rid the Princess of her love for the gardeners’ boy. The others don’t like it but know they aren’t safe themselves. So, they say and do nothing. Later, the King and Googlygood talk and the King says he can’t do anything with the strangers there. He suspects the man with the wooden leg has magic. So, Gogglygood suggests he call for the Wicked Witch to determine if he has magic. When they go to find her, they find the Princess and the gardeners boy together. The Gardener’s boy escapes. The King locks the Princess in a room.
Trot sees all these and finds a way into her room and unlocks the door. She tells her she can now escape. The Princess starts to vent to her about her love for Pron and says she’ll never love Gogglygood. Trot tells her she’s beautiful and she’ll find someone else. But the Princess tells her when she’s older she’ll understand. The heart often decides. They start to talk about Trot’s adventures. Meanwhile the King and Googlygoo visit Blinky (the witch). She says she can freeze the Princess’s heart. She also agrees to meet with the stranger (who could be a threat to her enchantment). They see the captain sleeping and the witch says he looks powerful and quickly preforms a spell to transform him to a grasshopper. But he escapes and jumps out the window.
Trot can’t find the Captain and Button Bright. When she tries to return, she’s told by a soldier she can’t enter the castle. None of them can. Burron Bright eventually finds her crying. Pon later tells them what he saw. He saw Blinky coming from the castle and fears she did something to the captain. Glinda sees the stranger’s arrival and sends the Scarecrow to go to them to protect them. Pon, sees the soldiers carrying the Princess away and hey follow them. They hide themselves and see Blinky and see them force Gloria into the house. The Gardener’s boy tries to stop them but they hold him back and shut the door. They look through the window and see, three hags that turn into three beautiful maidens. The witch calls them to her aid and they complete the potion. She then pours the liquid onto Gloria who turns transparent. Then they see her heart turn from gray to red and then to white and form icicles. She’s then dismissed.
The witches turn back into hags. They hear Pon and the girl at the window and try to catch them but neither they or Blinky can catch them. Pon says he’ll find a way to melt the Princess’s heart with his love. When they find Gloria, she rejects Pon’s embrace and walks away. She can’t even love Trot because she can’t love anyone that’s human. Since, she no longer loves him, Pon decides to go help Trot find Captain Bill. Gogglygoo tries to approach the Princess with marriage but she can’t love him either. He says he paid to freeze her heart and she must marry him whether she wants to or not, but she just laughs at him and he ends up in a puddle of mud. They come across the Scarecrow and he tells them why he’s there. They ask him to help him find the captain, but they have to run because Blinky comes charging up.
The Scarecrow tries to intervene but finds himself beaten to a pulp. Luckily his fallen head lands by the grasshopper. The Princess comes along and the Scarecrow asks her to help him, but she turns away when she sees Pon and Trot. The grasshopper-who’s hidden himself- calls out to Trot, tells her who he is, and what the witch did. The Scarecrow tells him that Glenda can break the enchantment. They make a plan to conquer King Cruel and put the Princess on the throne. Pon tries to appeal to the King but he just gets thrashed.
Button Bright has wandered off and got lost. Eventually he comes across the Ork (whose found his home). He offers to take him back to the gardener’s boy’s hut. He reunites with the others. The Ork tells them he must go back home and leaves. The Scarecrow makes a proclamation that the king is dethroned and attacks the Scarecrow and sends his men to throw him in prison. He tells his men to make a bon-fire. He’s about to be burnt, but the Orks come and with their tails blow the fire in all directions and blow the King off his throne. The Orks then free the Scarecrow and place the King’s crown on their heads. Blinky is forced to undo the enchantments. (The Scarecrow shrinks her). She’s turned back but the powder has taken her magic. She tries to do a spell but the S
carecrow just sends her home. They want the Scarecrow to rule, but he says he belongs in Oz. So Pon is made the king and Gloria is made the Queen. King is appointed to Gardeners Boy and his name is changed to Gruel. The Orks have to get back, but promise to drop the others off in Oz. There’s a house and food there to greet them. While showing them a waterfall, they discover a cave and explore it. Inside is a tunnel They find the Scarecrow (who feel in). After he’s cleaned up and restuffed, they find their way to the Emerald City and are shown around there’s a reception given where the meet all the others.
My Thoughts
There were less in between trips in this story with made it a little easier to read. I liked that about it. I also liked that in every Oz book there’s a particular land (or lands) that stand out. Usually they’re food related. In this one was the land with “Snow” (popcorn) and falling lemonade from the sky. I can just imagine it to taste like Chick-fil’a’s lemonade (because they have THE best lemonade I’ve ever had and in diet). And I wondered what MO stood for. I also thought about the book “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” which has some of my favorite illustrations of all times. King Cruel tho reminded me of an alternate version of the Gnome King.
Rating: 6
Captain Bill and Trot decide one day to visit one of the Great Caves, Trot wants to begin but the captain thinks something is off. There’s no breeze, Trot says the sky is clear. So, they make their way to the beach. When they’re almost there they come across a whirl pool and it starts to draw them into it. The boat sinks into the hole, When they surface, they’re on a beach. Beside them is a cavern. Trot wants to explore it, but the captain says it’s best to stay there because they don’t know where it’ll lead or what’s inside. But he knows sh e right
Later, they come upon a strange creature coming out of the water that looks similar to a bird (but not really) The creature says it’s on ork. They find out he was in the whirl pool. A bunch of mermaids dragged him there and left him=which is what happened to them-. They left him by a cavern-which he compares to a prison-. He says he barely escaped a sea monster. There are few of them and they’re the kings of their land-Orkland-. This one is restless and likes to stray from his home. He left home to examine men. In his wanderings he lost his way home and has been searching for it ever since.
While exploring the cave, they come to the end of the tunnel and realize it’s on a recipe. So, the Ork offers to go down and check things out, but ut the candle goes out so it has to come back. It then sinks to the depths of the cavern. It comes back and says there’s a lake of black water and a tunnel below and they have to follow it. Captain Bill declares there’s something strange about the tunnel when they’ve made the descent. The Ork goes head to lead the way. Because it’s been a long difficult walk, they all decide to stop for the night. As the others sleep, Captain Bill tries to think of a way out of the situation.
The next morning, they continue on and eventually they come to day light., but they find that they’re at the bottom of a well. S ince the Ork has a mechanical tail, it lifts the two out (with much difficulty). The land they find themselves in is full of fruits and nuts so there’s need to worry about them starving. They discover a shed and go over to see if it’s occupied. A little man with a long beard is sitting there-and he’s not friendly-. He snaps at them to get out of the way. Their obstructing his view. He makes no secret he doesn’t want them there. He says his name is Pesshim “The Observer”. It starts to rain so they head for Pessim’s shed. Pessim wants them to go cover up the fish so they won’t get wet. Once in the shed they come across a bumble bee that turns out to be there’s Ork. He stopped to eat a fruit that shrunk im.
Pessim thinks it’s hilarious! He says it’s happened to him. They find out the neighbors didn’t like him and brought him there to get rid of him. One day he ate a lavender berry and he also shrunk. He found a darker berry that turned him back to his normal size. The Ork begs him to lead him to the tree, but the man says he’s ugly enough and thus probably dangerous. When assured he’s not dangerous, he leads them to the tree. It’s not long before he’s reverted back. The little man makes another attempt to get them to leave, but they end up staying there three more days. After they get sick of him on the fourth day, they come up with a plan to eat the light purple berries so they can be small enough for the Ork to carry off the island and then take some purple berries to get them back to size. So, they tell the man goodbye and take off with the captain and Trot in a sun bonnet. The man telling them all the while they won’t make it. They land on a mountain top and even
when reverted back to the right size decide to keep some of the berries. On top of the slope there’s a house so they go to check it out. A rugged man with bumps all over his face and body opens the door, but he’s kind and invites them in. He warns them that cold is coming (indicated by his bumps). They find out they’re in MO. His name is The Mountainer. He then starts to sing a song about what he does and who he is. Trot thinks he’s a little crazy. LOL I can imagine him like Wonka on the boat just breaking into that eerie song. He then feeds them molasses candy. He doesn’t have water, but he has lemonade which it rained a day ago. After this they get some rest.
Not long after this, it’s begun to snow, but interestingly it’s not cold. And oddly the snow is popcorn. It’s good popcorn (lightly salted and nicely buttered).They find a boy buried in the snow and it turns out to be Button Bright. He’s a long ways from home (Philadelphia) and he’s lost his magic umbrella. The captain does something that seems odd at first. He takes some of the birds and ties their legs together. But then we find out he has a plan and convinces three of the thirds to take them and fly them off the island. In exchange he’ll use the purple berries to make them big. He then makes swings for them to ride in. He tells them to follow the Ork. They decide to fly over the desert,
They fly through a pink mist and come to one of the most beautiful countries Trot’s ever seen. The Ork leaves to search for his own homeland and says if he doesn’t find it, he’ll be back. They meet a lady who tells them they are in Jinx Land (in Oz). She expresses some regret of their king who punishes trespassers heavily. She then feeds them cakes, sandwiches, and cheese. She points out the King’s castle (King Cruel) and they continue on their way. They wonder if the King is as bad as the lady says. But decide to make the best of Jinx-Land. Before long, they hear the sound of soubs.
His name is Pon and he’s the gardeners’ boy. As in his master. He’s fallen in love with Gloria-King Creul’s niece-. He was assaulted for kissing the Princess’s hand. The King has ordered her to marry someone but she only wants to marry him. He says he’s a Prince. His father use to be the King. They had a fight and in the fight his father pressed him down with stones and cast him into a pond. So, Cruel then proclaimed himself King. They tell him they’re headed to King Cruel’s and they’ll put in a good word for him.
When meeting the King, the Captain speaks boldly as if they’re people of importance which intimidates the King. The King and Googlygoo plot on a way to rid the Princess of her love for the gardeners’ boy. The others don’t like it but know they aren’t safe themselves. So, they say and do nothing. Later, the King and Googlygood talk and the King says he can’t do anything with the strangers there. He suspects the man with the wooden leg has magic. So, Gogglygood suggests he call for the Wicked Witch to determine if he has magic. When they go to find her, they find the Princess and the gardeners boy together. The Gardener’s boy escapes. The King locks the Princess in a room.
Trot sees all these and finds a way into her room and unlocks the door. She tells her she can now escape. The Princess starts to vent to her about her love for Pron and says she’ll never love Gogglygood. Trot tells her she’s beautiful and she’ll find someone else. But the Princess tells her when she’s older she’ll understand. The heart often decides. They start to talk about Trot’s adventures. Meanwhile the King and Googlygoo visit Blinky (the witch). She says she can freeze the Princess’s heart. She also agrees to meet with the stranger (who could be a threat to her enchantment). They see the captain sleeping and the witch says he looks powerful and quickly preforms a spell to transform him to a grasshopper. But he escapes and jumps out the window.
Trot can’t find the Captain and Button Bright. When she tries to return, she’s told by a soldier she can’t enter the castle. None of them can. Burron Bright eventually finds her crying. Pon later tells them what he saw. He saw Blinky coming from the castle and fears she did something to the captain. Glinda sees the stranger’s arrival and sends the Scarecrow to go to them to protect them. Pon, sees the soldiers carrying the Princess away and hey follow them. They hide themselves and see Blinky and see them force Gloria into the house. The Gardener’s boy tries to stop them but they hold him back and shut the door. They look through the window and see, three hags that turn into three beautiful maidens. The witch calls them to her aid and they complete the potion. She then pours the liquid onto Gloria who turns transparent. Then they see her heart turn from gray to red and then to white and form icicles. She’s then dismissed.
The witches turn back into hags. They hear Pon and the girl at the window and try to catch them but neither they or Blinky can catch them. Pon says he’ll find a way to melt the Princess’s heart with his love. When they find Gloria, she rejects Pon’s embrace and walks away. She can’t even love Trot because she can’t love anyone that’s human. Since, she no longer loves him, Pon decides to go help Trot find Captain Bill. Gogglygoo tries to approach the Princess with marriage but she can’t love him either. He says he paid to freeze her heart and she must marry him whether she wants to or not, but she just laughs at him and he ends up in a puddle of mud. They come across the Scarecrow and he tells them why he’s there. They ask him to help him find the captain, but they have to run because Blinky comes charging up.
The Scarecrow tries to intervene but finds himself beaten to a pulp. Luckily his fallen head lands by the grasshopper. The Princess comes along and the Scarecrow asks her to help him, but she turns away when she sees Pon and Trot. The grasshopper-who’s hidden himself- calls out to Trot, tells her who he is, and what the witch did. The Scarecrow tells him that Glenda can break the enchantment. They make a plan to conquer King Cruel and put the Princess on the throne. Pon tries to appeal to the King but he just gets thrashed.
Button Bright has wandered off and got lost. Eventually he comes across the Ork (whose found his home). He offers to take him back to the gardener’s boy’s hut. He reunites with the others. The Ork tells them he must go back home and leaves. The Scarecrow makes a proclamation that the king is dethroned and attacks the Scarecrow and sends his men to throw him in prison. He tells his men to make a bon-fire. He’s about to be burnt, but the Orks come and with their tails blow the fire in all directions and blow the King off his throne. The Orks then free the Scarecrow and place the King’s crown on their heads. Blinky is forced to undo the enchantments. (The Scarecrow shrinks her). She’s turned back but the powder has taken her magic. She tries to do a spell but the S
carecrow just sends her home. They want the Scarecrow to rule, but he says he belongs in Oz. So Pon is made the king and Gloria is made the Queen. King is appointed to Gardeners Boy and his name is changed to Gruel. The Orks have to get back, but promise to drop the others off in Oz. There’s a house and food there to greet them. While showing them a waterfall, they discover a cave and explore it. Inside is a tunnel They find the Scarecrow (who feel in). After he’s cleaned up and restuffed, they find their way to the Emerald City and are shown around there’s a reception given where the meet all the others.
My Thoughts
There were less in between trips in this story with made it a little easier to read. I liked that about it. I also liked that in every Oz book there’s a particular land (or lands) that stand out. Usually they’re food related. In this one was the land with “Snow” (popcorn) and falling lemonade from the sky. I can just imagine it to taste like Chick-fil’a’s lemonade (because they have THE best lemonade I’ve ever had and in diet). And I wondered what MO stood for. I also thought about the book “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” which has some of my favorite illustrations of all times. King Cruel tho reminded me of an alternate version of the Gnome King.
Rating: 6
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2015
This book had a bit of a different feel to it, even though it followed the basic Oz book outline (person from earth gets lost in some mysterious/natural disaster-related way, then has sundry adventures as they road-trip their way to the Emerald City).
The two main characters - Trot and Cap'n Bill - appeared in a non-Oz book of Baum's, which I have not read. There are references to that story, but this story is stand-alone enough so that you're not lost if you haven't read the characters' other story. A nice cross-over idea, and Baum handled it well.
Trot and Cap'n Bill were engaging and entertaining characters, as was the supporting cast. And even though the bad guys (King Krewl and Blinkie the witch) didn't show up till the final third of the book, they made for good antagonists, and kept the story from being too much of a "randomly wandering through Oz" tale.
My only complaints were the abrupt ending (a common thing in a lot of the Oz books), and the lack of the titular character (another common issue). The Scarecrow saved the day and was a key figure at the end of the book, but it was really Trot and Cap'n Bill's story, not the Scarecrow's.
Overall, another great addition to the Oz saga.
The two main characters - Trot and Cap'n Bill - appeared in a non-Oz book of Baum's, which I have not read. There are references to that story, but this story is stand-alone enough so that you're not lost if you haven't read the characters' other story. A nice cross-over idea, and Baum handled it well.
Trot and Cap'n Bill were engaging and entertaining characters, as was the supporting cast. And even though the bad guys (King Krewl and Blinkie the witch) didn't show up till the final third of the book, they made for good antagonists, and kept the story from being too much of a "randomly wandering through Oz" tale.
My only complaints were the abrupt ending (a common thing in a lot of the Oz books), and the lack of the titular character (another common issue). The Scarecrow saved the day and was a key figure at the end of the book, but it was really Trot and Cap'n Bill's story, not the Scarecrow's.
Overall, another great addition to the Oz saga.
February 21, 2022
Baum is back in form with this one, with some of my favorite characters - practical Trot, caring Cap'n Bill, lackadaisical Button Bright, and the loyal Ork, a flying creature who uses a propeller to fly and looks down on ordinary birds. Baum put a lot of care into the writing and the adventures, and this is one of my favorites.
Trot, Cap'n Bill and Button Bright also show up in two non-Oz books, the The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. They are worth a read.
Trot, Cap'n Bill and Button Bright also show up in two non-Oz books, the The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. They are worth a read.
March 22, 2019
#OzAThon Book 9
Why are those keep getting worse? Seriously, EXPLAIN!
Collection myself for a second before this turns into a massive rant that involves yelling. A lot of yelling.
Okay, I‘m fine. Let’s get into this like civilized human beings.
Let’s talk about crossovers, shall we?
A crossover is a fine thing. It can introduce fans to new material, it can be a lot of fun to see characters interact that would never interact otherwise and it definitely can connect previously non-related universes and merge them into a whole new world of possibilities. Just ask The Avengers.
The trick however is, to do a crossover right. And this brings me to the central point of why this book is such a failure to me. It is a crossover that doesn’t manage anything beyond general confusion and boredom.
The book starts off with characters Trot and Cap‘n Bill, a little girl and her guardian, on a ship and it is very clear from the first page that something is off. The characters are not introduced in a way we have seen it before in the Oz Universe. You just have to go back to the previous book and the introduction of Betsy and Hank and compare notes. Baum expects you to know these two strange new fellas. Why? Good question, that Google thankfully answered for me. They are the main characters of another series Baum wrote and this book is going to be a crossover, because of fan demands by the way. Yay!
Writing a crossover and introducing crossover characters is a difficult thing, because, as much fun as it is for fans to know both (or more) of the author‘s work, you just can’t expect readers to be familiar with your entire bibliography, you have to do a proper introduction and this is what Baum did not do. Readers are expected to know Trot and Cap‘n Bill and to be invested in them and their journey. For me, who had no idea they even existed, it was already hard to get invested from the first second. And it only got worse from there.
The twosome strolls from one adventure into the next and some Oz characters show up, there is Button-Bright for some fuckin‘ reason, because apparently people missed him.
The title giving Scarecrow is barely in it and makes me question Baum‘s way of naming his books once again. Let alone a few exceptions, he never chooses a title that has anything to do with the book. The Scarecrow shows up around 60% into the book and is more phoned in to justify the title than truly relevant to the story. While The Wizard wasn’t the main character of the first book, he at least was the central focus and reason to bring the characters together, the Scarecrow doesn’t even fulfill that function. Baum literally could have named the book "Bob of Oz" and wouldn’t have made a difference.
It also never even feels like an Oz book. The crossover element is so strong that I wonder if it would have been better for Baum to set the novel as part of his other series and have Oz characters cameo in it than the other way around. Or just write a short story taken out of either continuity.
Whatever. Some stuff happens in the book. Evil King, Wicked Witch, cursed Princess, the usual. I didn’t care enough to really pay attention and it felt like Baum had already worked his way through all of these plot points in previous novels. The only effect it had on me was an outburst of me singing "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. You are very welcome for that information.
At this point I‘m pretty exhausted when it comes to the Oz Series, but I made a commitment and I genuinely hope the series will pick up again.
Why are those keep getting worse? Seriously, EXPLAIN!
Collection myself for a second before this turns into a massive rant that involves yelling. A lot of yelling.
Okay, I‘m fine. Let’s get into this like civilized human beings.
Let’s talk about crossovers, shall we?
A crossover is a fine thing. It can introduce fans to new material, it can be a lot of fun to see characters interact that would never interact otherwise and it definitely can connect previously non-related universes and merge them into a whole new world of possibilities. Just ask The Avengers.
The trick however is, to do a crossover right. And this brings me to the central point of why this book is such a failure to me. It is a crossover that doesn’t manage anything beyond general confusion and boredom.
The book starts off with characters Trot and Cap‘n Bill, a little girl and her guardian, on a ship and it is very clear from the first page that something is off. The characters are not introduced in a way we have seen it before in the Oz Universe. You just have to go back to the previous book and the introduction of Betsy and Hank and compare notes. Baum expects you to know these two strange new fellas. Why? Good question, that Google thankfully answered for me. They are the main characters of another series Baum wrote and this book is going to be a crossover, because of fan demands by the way. Yay!
Writing a crossover and introducing crossover characters is a difficult thing, because, as much fun as it is for fans to know both (or more) of the author‘s work, you just can’t expect readers to be familiar with your entire bibliography, you have to do a proper introduction and this is what Baum did not do. Readers are expected to know Trot and Cap‘n Bill and to be invested in them and their journey. For me, who had no idea they even existed, it was already hard to get invested from the first second. And it only got worse from there.
The twosome strolls from one adventure into the next and some Oz characters show up, there is Button-Bright for some fuckin‘ reason, because apparently people missed him.
The title giving Scarecrow is barely in it and makes me question Baum‘s way of naming his books once again. Let alone a few exceptions, he never chooses a title that has anything to do with the book. The Scarecrow shows up around 60% into the book and is more phoned in to justify the title than truly relevant to the story. While The Wizard wasn’t the main character of the first book, he at least was the central focus and reason to bring the characters together, the Scarecrow doesn’t even fulfill that function. Baum literally could have named the book "Bob of Oz" and wouldn’t have made a difference.
It also never even feels like an Oz book. The crossover element is so strong that I wonder if it would have been better for Baum to set the novel as part of his other series and have Oz characters cameo in it than the other way around. Or just write a short story taken out of either continuity.
Whatever. Some stuff happens in the book. Evil King, Wicked Witch, cursed Princess, the usual. I didn’t care enough to really pay attention and it felt like Baum had already worked his way through all of these plot points in previous novels. The only effect it had on me was an outburst of me singing "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. You are very welcome for that information.
At this point I‘m pretty exhausted when it comes to the Oz Series, but I made a commitment and I genuinely hope the series will pick up again.
December 16, 2016
Review 3
To begin this EXCITING review, I would like to just say that this is by far the weirdest book you will ever read. You have been warned. L. Frank Baum has a VERY unique imagination and way of writing. Although he may be… (let’s just leave it at that), he did write the legendary novel The Wizard of Oz. It is obvious because this book happens to be The Scarecrow of Oz. In fact all his books follow the same title formula “The *Blank* of Oz”. I have already marked that against this book’s star rating. LACK OF IMAGINATION FOR TITLES. That’s a big one for chapter books. He spent all his imagination on really weird characters.
This book happens to be a children's book. That seems odd because it is 288 pages. That is a lot of pages for a kids book. Luckily, the text is big and the grammar is bad so it’s easy to read. This book takes place in the mystical land of Oz. Actually, scratch that, It takes place all over a whole BUNCH of magical lands. Just to excite you to read this book, it’s not that good. To excite you even more, there is hardly a story at all. AND WHAT’S EVEN MORE EXCITING, all the characters don’t learn anything throughout the whole book!
To be entirely honest I still enjoyed this book because it was so lighthearted and had a happy ending. This would actually be a good book for children to read because it is so childish and can open new doors to imagination. Now, unless your children are going to be quoting “But I’ll never love Googly-Goo,” (Pg.152) and, “Because I have no nerves, such as you meat people possess.” (Pg.211) I would not suggest reading this extremely odd book to them because I would hate to be called a Meat Person. That would make me feel fat.
Now we get to the fun part. What would the theme be of such an interesting story? Actually I have no idea so we will move on. The Tone of this book is extremely playful and silly. You can tell by the extremely absurd names such as “Googly-Goo” and “Blinkie” (Pg.153) So if you like approximately 6 hours of silly names, than this is the right book for you. One big thing in this book is the Setting. The setting is VERY ,VERY ,VERY ,unique. The world, that half of the story takes place in is completely separated from Oz making it different from most stories where the entire world is involved. The setting takes place in a more renaissance-ish part of the world. It also has a very interesting mix of magic and made up creatures making it very different (in a good and bad way).
This is a very…let’s just say you need to have very eclectic taste to read this book. But if you do, it’s great.
To begin this EXCITING review, I would like to just say that this is by far the weirdest book you will ever read. You have been warned. L. Frank Baum has a VERY unique imagination and way of writing. Although he may be… (let’s just leave it at that), he did write the legendary novel The Wizard of Oz. It is obvious because this book happens to be The Scarecrow of Oz. In fact all his books follow the same title formula “The *Blank* of Oz”. I have already marked that against this book’s star rating. LACK OF IMAGINATION FOR TITLES. That’s a big one for chapter books. He spent all his imagination on really weird characters.
This book happens to be a children's book. That seems odd because it is 288 pages. That is a lot of pages for a kids book. Luckily, the text is big and the grammar is bad so it’s easy to read. This book takes place in the mystical land of Oz. Actually, scratch that, It takes place all over a whole BUNCH of magical lands. Just to excite you to read this book, it’s not that good. To excite you even more, there is hardly a story at all. AND WHAT’S EVEN MORE EXCITING, all the characters don’t learn anything throughout the whole book!
To be entirely honest I still enjoyed this book because it was so lighthearted and had a happy ending. This would actually be a good book for children to read because it is so childish and can open new doors to imagination. Now, unless your children are going to be quoting “But I’ll never love Googly-Goo,” (Pg.152) and, “Because I have no nerves, such as you meat people possess.” (Pg.211) I would not suggest reading this extremely odd book to them because I would hate to be called a Meat Person. That would make me feel fat.
Now we get to the fun part. What would the theme be of such an interesting story? Actually I have no idea so we will move on. The Tone of this book is extremely playful and silly. You can tell by the extremely absurd names such as “Googly-Goo” and “Blinkie” (Pg.153) So if you like approximately 6 hours of silly names, than this is the right book for you. One big thing in this book is the Setting. The setting is VERY ,VERY ,VERY ,unique. The world, that half of the story takes place in is completely separated from Oz making it different from most stories where the entire world is involved. The setting takes place in a more renaissance-ish part of the world. It also has a very interesting mix of magic and made up creatures making it very different (in a good and bad way).
This is a very…let’s just say you need to have very eclectic taste to read this book. But if you do, it’s great.
April 28, 2016
L. Frank Baum has such a wonderful imagination! The scarecrow wasn't really the main character in this (despite the title), but Trot and her friends are a nice little group. My favorite parts of these books are the different lands/areas that get visited - so fun.
January 24, 2010
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally. This review covers all 14 of the Baum Oz books, which is why it's found on all 14 book pages here.)
I think it's fairly safe by now to assume that nearly everyone in Western society is familiar with The Wizard of Oz, most of us because of the classic 1939 movie adaptation; and many realize as well that author L. Frank Baum ended up penning a whole series of sequels, because of the original book's astounding success back at the turn of the 20th century when it was first published -- 13 sequels altogether, before his death in 1919, which after the movie's success twenty years later became a literal merchandising empire, spawning hundreds more official sequels by various authors and hundreds more unofficial ones once the characters moved into the public domain. And like many others, I've always been interested in what these 14 "canonical" Oz books have to say; and that's why I decided this winter to sit down and read them all in a row for the first time, easy to do because of them being available for free at both Project Gutenberg and the email subscription service DailyLit (which is how I myself read them, and in fact is how I read many of the older books you see reviewed here; I'm a big fan of theirs, and highly recommend them).
But of course, to even approach these books with the right mindset, it's important to understand that like so many other one-hit-wonders, Baum was not only eluded by success in most of his other endeavors but was an active failure at them -- in the 1870s, for example, he unsuccessfully tried his hand at breeding fancy poultry (a national fad at the time), then in the 1880s opened his own theatre and became one of the first-ever Americans to produce modern-style stage musicals, apparently a little too ahead of its time, then in the 1890s moved to the Dakota Territory and opened a dry-goods store that eventually failed, as well as starting a newspaper that folded too. So it was sort of a case of random lightning in a bottle when he decided in the late 1890s to try his hand at children's literature, and ended up with his very first title being the most popular kid's book in America for two years straight, and no surprise that Baum then spent the rest of his life desperately trying to figure out how to bottle that lightning again. Because now that I've read it myself, I can confirm that the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz is astonishingly great, a sort of miraculous combination of traits that makes for an almost perfect children's story; and although most of it follows the same storyline seen in the '39 movie, there are also significant differences, making it worth your while to sit and read the book version if you have the interest. (And by the way, for some really interesting reading, check out the academic analysis that was done of this book in the 1960s, arguing that most of its details symbolically correspond almost exactly to various political and economic issues of the late 1800s, including the yellow brick road representing the much-discussed gold standard of that age, the scarecrow representing the then-hot Populist Party, Toto representing the teetotaler [prohibitionist:] movement, and a lot more.)
But of course, there are a couple of details about this book that have been forgotten over the decades too, which also help explain its record-shattering success -- it was an unusually lavish book for its time, for example, with two-toned illustrations on every page and several full-color plates, and let's also not forget that Baum himself mounted a Broadway-style musical of Oz just two years after the book was published, a huge hit which toured nationally for a decade and that was even more insanely popular than the book itself (including making national stars out of vaudeville performers Fred Stone and David Montgomery, playing the Scarecrow and Tin Man; the stage production left out the Cowardly Lion altogether, which is why he is also barely seen in any of the 13 canonical sequels). And so that's why when Baum attempted starting up other fantasy series in the wake of Oz's success, hoping to turn all of them into lucrative franchises like the original, the audience mostly responded with yawns; and that's why Baum eventually went back to writing more and more Oz books as the 20th century continued, because by now the strength of the brand far outweighed the relative writing skills of Baum when it came to any particular volume.
That's why, at least to adults, it's perhaps actually the introductions to each book that are the most fascinating thing about them; because to be frank, most of the books follow a pretty familiar formula, with a danger-filled quest involving various kooky characters that is usually finished about two-thirds of the way through, followed by a massive parade or party that lets Baum trot out the growing number of main characters added to this universe with each title. (And by the way, prepare yourself for Baum's unending love of the deus-ex-machina plot device; over half the books end along the lines of, "And then our heroes took possession of a super-duper magical device, which they waved in the air and all their troubles went away.") In fact, for those who don't know, that's why the official map of Oz and its surrounding lands eventually grew so large, because Baum still hadn't given up on his dream of having a whole series of kid-lit cash cows out there generating revenue for him, and so would use many of these Oz sequels to introduce entirely new casts of characters who live in entirely new lands, "just over the mountains" or "just past the desert" of Oz itself. By the end of the original 14 books, in fact, Baum had built up a virtual aristocracy of licensable characters, all of whom would have to be dragged out for a cameo at some point in each book to remind the audience of their existence -- not just the cast of the original book and '39 movie but also various other princesses like Ozma and Betsy Bobbin, boy characters like Ojo the Unlucky and Button Bright, adults who help them like the Shaggy Man, Cap'n Bill and Ugu the Shoemaker, and of course a whole litany of quirky fantastical sidekicks, including but not limited to Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Great Jinjin, Billina the Angry Hen, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, and Polychrome the Rainbow Fairy. Whew! And so did the Great Oz Merchandising Experiment keep limping along for two decades, with each sequel selling less and less and getting lazier and lazier (for example, the tenth book in the series, 1916's Rinkitink in Oz, was actually a non-Oz book written a decade previous, published almost unchanged except for a hasty final chapter full of Oz regulars slapped onto the end); and thus did Baum's bad luck in business come back with a vengeance as well, with three more Broadway productions that were all flops, and even the establishment of a film production company in 1914 that eventually went bankrupt.
You can see the progression of all this reflected in Baum's first-person introductions to each book, which like I said is why they might be the most fascinating parts of all for adult readers -- how in the first sequel, for example, he expresses legitimately gleeful surprise and joy at how passionate his fans were, and how thousands of children had literally written to him out of the blue demanding more Oz stories, while with each subsequent sequel his tone becomes more and more snarky, ala "Well, dear and wonderful children, you've yet again demanded another Oz book like the sheep you are, so here it is, you screeching little monsters." In fact, in book six of the series, 1910's The Emerald City of Oz, Baum flat-out states that it's going to be the very last Oz book, and it's no coincidence that many fans actually consider this one to be the best of the original fourteen, because of Baum's extra attention to and enthusiasm for this particular storyline, thinking as he erroneously did that it would be the grand finale of the entire Oz universe; but after his later financial failures forced him back into the Oz business again, the gloves finally come off in his introductions, with most of the rest sounding to today's ears something like, "Well, okay, here again is the sugary teat you all apparently can't get enough of suckling, you infuriating little animals, so open wide and take your medicine." Now, of course, you shouldn't feel too bad for Baum; by the last years of his life, his combined books and plays were generating for him in today's terms roughly a quarter-million dollars a year just in personal royalties.
So all in all, an experience I'm glad I had, reading all fourteen original Oz books in a row, but not something I'd recommend to others; instead, maybe better just to read the first, then skip to the sixth, then skip straight to the 14th, 1920's Glinda of Oz, because of its unusual darkness (probably caused, many scholars agree, by Baum knowing that he was near death). As with many authors I've looked at here at CCLaP, history seems to have correctly adjusted itself in Baum's case, with most of his books now rightfully falling into the obscurity they deserve, even while his one true masterpiece is still rightfully recognized as such.
I think it's fairly safe by now to assume that nearly everyone in Western society is familiar with The Wizard of Oz, most of us because of the classic 1939 movie adaptation; and many realize as well that author L. Frank Baum ended up penning a whole series of sequels, because of the original book's astounding success back at the turn of the 20th century when it was first published -- 13 sequels altogether, before his death in 1919, which after the movie's success twenty years later became a literal merchandising empire, spawning hundreds more official sequels by various authors and hundreds more unofficial ones once the characters moved into the public domain. And like many others, I've always been interested in what these 14 "canonical" Oz books have to say; and that's why I decided this winter to sit down and read them all in a row for the first time, easy to do because of them being available for free at both Project Gutenberg and the email subscription service DailyLit (which is how I myself read them, and in fact is how I read many of the older books you see reviewed here; I'm a big fan of theirs, and highly recommend them).
But of course, to even approach these books with the right mindset, it's important to understand that like so many other one-hit-wonders, Baum was not only eluded by success in most of his other endeavors but was an active failure at them -- in the 1870s, for example, he unsuccessfully tried his hand at breeding fancy poultry (a national fad at the time), then in the 1880s opened his own theatre and became one of the first-ever Americans to produce modern-style stage musicals, apparently a little too ahead of its time, then in the 1890s moved to the Dakota Territory and opened a dry-goods store that eventually failed, as well as starting a newspaper that folded too. So it was sort of a case of random lightning in a bottle when he decided in the late 1890s to try his hand at children's literature, and ended up with his very first title being the most popular kid's book in America for two years straight, and no surprise that Baum then spent the rest of his life desperately trying to figure out how to bottle that lightning again. Because now that I've read it myself, I can confirm that the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz is astonishingly great, a sort of miraculous combination of traits that makes for an almost perfect children's story; and although most of it follows the same storyline seen in the '39 movie, there are also significant differences, making it worth your while to sit and read the book version if you have the interest. (And by the way, for some really interesting reading, check out the academic analysis that was done of this book in the 1960s, arguing that most of its details symbolically correspond almost exactly to various political and economic issues of the late 1800s, including the yellow brick road representing the much-discussed gold standard of that age, the scarecrow representing the then-hot Populist Party, Toto representing the teetotaler [prohibitionist:] movement, and a lot more.)
But of course, there are a couple of details about this book that have been forgotten over the decades too, which also help explain its record-shattering success -- it was an unusually lavish book for its time, for example, with two-toned illustrations on every page and several full-color plates, and let's also not forget that Baum himself mounted a Broadway-style musical of Oz just two years after the book was published, a huge hit which toured nationally for a decade and that was even more insanely popular than the book itself (including making national stars out of vaudeville performers Fred Stone and David Montgomery, playing the Scarecrow and Tin Man; the stage production left out the Cowardly Lion altogether, which is why he is also barely seen in any of the 13 canonical sequels). And so that's why when Baum attempted starting up other fantasy series in the wake of Oz's success, hoping to turn all of them into lucrative franchises like the original, the audience mostly responded with yawns; and that's why Baum eventually went back to writing more and more Oz books as the 20th century continued, because by now the strength of the brand far outweighed the relative writing skills of Baum when it came to any particular volume.
That's why, at least to adults, it's perhaps actually the introductions to each book that are the most fascinating thing about them; because to be frank, most of the books follow a pretty familiar formula, with a danger-filled quest involving various kooky characters that is usually finished about two-thirds of the way through, followed by a massive parade or party that lets Baum trot out the growing number of main characters added to this universe with each title. (And by the way, prepare yourself for Baum's unending love of the deus-ex-machina plot device; over half the books end along the lines of, "And then our heroes took possession of a super-duper magical device, which they waved in the air and all their troubles went away.") In fact, for those who don't know, that's why the official map of Oz and its surrounding lands eventually grew so large, because Baum still hadn't given up on his dream of having a whole series of kid-lit cash cows out there generating revenue for him, and so would use many of these Oz sequels to introduce entirely new casts of characters who live in entirely new lands, "just over the mountains" or "just past the desert" of Oz itself. By the end of the original 14 books, in fact, Baum had built up a virtual aristocracy of licensable characters, all of whom would have to be dragged out for a cameo at some point in each book to remind the audience of their existence -- not just the cast of the original book and '39 movie but also various other princesses like Ozma and Betsy Bobbin, boy characters like Ojo the Unlucky and Button Bright, adults who help them like the Shaggy Man, Cap'n Bill and Ugu the Shoemaker, and of course a whole litany of quirky fantastical sidekicks, including but not limited to Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Great Jinjin, Billina the Angry Hen, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, and Polychrome the Rainbow Fairy. Whew! And so did the Great Oz Merchandising Experiment keep limping along for two decades, with each sequel selling less and less and getting lazier and lazier (for example, the tenth book in the series, 1916's Rinkitink in Oz, was actually a non-Oz book written a decade previous, published almost unchanged except for a hasty final chapter full of Oz regulars slapped onto the end); and thus did Baum's bad luck in business come back with a vengeance as well, with three more Broadway productions that were all flops, and even the establishment of a film production company in 1914 that eventually went bankrupt.
You can see the progression of all this reflected in Baum's first-person introductions to each book, which like I said is why they might be the most fascinating parts of all for adult readers -- how in the first sequel, for example, he expresses legitimately gleeful surprise and joy at how passionate his fans were, and how thousands of children had literally written to him out of the blue demanding more Oz stories, while with each subsequent sequel his tone becomes more and more snarky, ala "Well, dear and wonderful children, you've yet again demanded another Oz book like the sheep you are, so here it is, you screeching little monsters." In fact, in book six of the series, 1910's The Emerald City of Oz, Baum flat-out states that it's going to be the very last Oz book, and it's no coincidence that many fans actually consider this one to be the best of the original fourteen, because of Baum's extra attention to and enthusiasm for this particular storyline, thinking as he erroneously did that it would be the grand finale of the entire Oz universe; but after his later financial failures forced him back into the Oz business again, the gloves finally come off in his introductions, with most of the rest sounding to today's ears something like, "Well, okay, here again is the sugary teat you all apparently can't get enough of suckling, you infuriating little animals, so open wide and take your medicine." Now, of course, you shouldn't feel too bad for Baum; by the last years of his life, his combined books and plays were generating for him in today's terms roughly a quarter-million dollars a year just in personal royalties.
So all in all, an experience I'm glad I had, reading all fourteen original Oz books in a row, but not something I'd recommend to others; instead, maybe better just to read the first, then skip to the sixth, then skip straight to the 14th, 1920's Glinda of Oz, because of its unusual darkness (probably caused, many scholars agree, by Baum knowing that he was near death). As with many authors I've looked at here at CCLaP, history seems to have correctly adjusted itself in Baum's case, with most of his books now rightfully falling into the obscurity they deserve, even while his one true masterpiece is still rightfully recognized as such.
August 30, 2022
[3.5 stars, I really liked it, and will probably read the series again]
The Scarecrow of Oz really is really concerned more with Trot and Cap'n Bill than the Scarecrow, though the stuffed brainiac figures prominently. Trot and Cap'n Bill are lost and through several interesting adventures and with the help of the Scarecrow, finally wind up in the land of Oz. Sadly, it is decidedly less interesting once there, as the conflict has been resolved before, rendering the ending bloated and weak.
My favorite character is probably the Ork (no connection to those of Tolkien infamy), which said: "California! Pooh! there isn't any such place." The best quote (which reminds me of the Dufflepods) is "the sun shines in the daytime, when there's no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark."
Baum is an imaginative author, though I don't think planning was ever his forte. He continues to build new interesting characters and mix them with the old in a tower of personality resembling a game of Jenga.
Playing with the idea of an essentially good land, he struggles to bring in new sources of conflict that are resolved with the assistance of beings of near omnipotence and omniscience. Yet the overlords of Oz fall short of true godhood, and much like ancient mythologies the essential capriciousness of the result probably leaves a true believe puzzling. It also illustrates how difficult it is to conceive what omniscience and omnipotence must be like.
As a model for society, it leaves a lot to be desired, but as a children's tale, it is excellent.
The Scarecrow of Oz really is really concerned more with Trot and Cap'n Bill than the Scarecrow, though the stuffed brainiac figures prominently. Trot and Cap'n Bill are lost and through several interesting adventures and with the help of the Scarecrow, finally wind up in the land of Oz. Sadly, it is decidedly less interesting once there, as the conflict has been resolved before, rendering the ending bloated and weak.
My favorite character is probably the Ork (no connection to those of Tolkien infamy), which said: "California! Pooh! there isn't any such place." The best quote (which reminds me of the Dufflepods) is "the sun shines in the daytime, when there's no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark."
Baum is an imaginative author, though I don't think planning was ever his forte. He continues to build new interesting characters and mix them with the old in a tower of personality resembling a game of Jenga.
Playing with the idea of an essentially good land, he struggles to bring in new sources of conflict that are resolved with the assistance of beings of near omnipotence and omniscience. Yet the overlords of Oz fall short of true godhood, and much like ancient mythologies the essential capriciousness of the result probably leaves a true believe puzzling. It also illustrates how difficult it is to conceive what omniscience and omnipotence must be like.
As a model for society, it leaves a lot to be desired, but as a children's tale, it is excellent.
July 20, 2019
This is perhaps my favorite Oz book. Trot and Cap'n Bill, whom we meet for the first time, are delightful while the Ork is a hoot. (Side note: For years I imagined Tolkien's orcs as looking vaguely birdlike, with beaks and claws, because of this book.) I adore the Land of Mo, where rain is lemonade and snow is popcorn; the berries that grow and shrink whatever eats them (much like Alice's "Eat Me" and "Drink Me"), the idea of a tiny grasshopper with a tiny wooden leg... and Old Mombi the Witch! I want to know more about her. There has to be a great backstory there.
December 16, 2024
I love the fact that two new characters appeared from another one of L. Frank Baum's book outside of the Oz collection. The book is titled after the Scarecrow but he doesn't appear until the last half of the book. This books was okay but not one of my favorites. It's important to note that one of the chapter's title has the "m" word when referring to little people so it may be triggering for some.
December 8, 2022
This is one of my new favorites of the Oz series. Several of its predecessors have dragged and seemed unnecessarily wordy and detailed just for the sake of chapters. This book had the perfect tempo - plenty of characters and plot development without dragging. The reader of the audiobook also did a fantastic job with the voices!
November 9, 2017
80/100
Supposedly this was Baum's favorite of his Oz books. I can understand why, particularly if you're a fan of the Scarecrow but it follows a similar pattern to the rest of the series. Some new character shows up, familiar characters meet them, they have adventures in a new place and finally get to the Emerald City.
Supposedly this was Baum's favorite of his Oz books. I can understand why, particularly if you're a fan of the Scarecrow but it follows a similar pattern to the rest of the series. Some new character shows up, familiar characters meet them, they have adventures in a new place and finally get to the Emerald City.
January 20, 2022
There's always a lot of hoops to jump through for Baum to get something out of the rules and abilities related to Ozma, but this was a charming story
March 28, 2023
2.00
Noioso
Noioso
December 4, 2024
one of my least fav oz books
May 26, 2017
Doma Publishing's Wizard of Oz collection has taken me several years to read with my son at bedtime. It was interesting revisiting the texts that I read swiftly through my youth, as I was about his age when I read them and remembered little beyond some of the characters that don't appear in any of the books. I picked up a copy of this version since, for 99c, I could have the complete series along with "All the original artwork by the great illustrator W.W. Denslow (over 1,000 classic illustrations)", and to read the complete 14-book text at bedtime with all original color illustrations on my Kindle Fire knowing that there would be cross-linked tables of contents and no layout issues, it was worth my buck rather than taking them all out of the library. We read these books before bed at home and under the stars by a campfire in the forest, in a hotel in Montreal and in a seaside cottage in Nova Scotia, on a boat and in a car. We read it everywhere, thanks to the Kindle's mobility.
You may be reading this review on one of the individual pages for the original books on Goodreads or Amazon, and if so, all I did was cross-link the books along with the correct dates we read the original texts. The only book I did not cross-link with original dates was the Woggle-bug book, which if you know, is short. Instead, I counted that final book as the review for Doma's Kindle version. You may notice that some books have longer reading spans – probably for two reasons. One, I traded off reading with my wife sometimes, and two, sometimes we needed a little Baum break and read some other books. It did get a little old sometimes, and there are fourteen books totaling 3500 pages in their original library printing.
The first thing I think is worth mentioning is that when I first read these books, it was as a child would read them. I remember them being repetitive but familiar. Comforting and revealing. An antiquated adventure, but a serial adventure with recurring characters unparalleled in any other literature. As an adult with an MA in literature (and soon and MFA in fiction), I am actually somewhat unimpressed with the series. Baum wrote a whimsical set of tales, but they are torturously repetitive and would be easy to plug-and-play by replacing characters and moments with a computer to make an entirely new book. But, they are children's books, and we are completely enthralled and comforted by the familiar. Is not Shakespeare the same play-to-play structurally? Are not Pixar or Star Wars movies definitively archetypal in timing, execution, structure, and character so that they can be completely replaced and reapplied to a new story? Even the films – heck, even the trailers - are cut the same, and if you play them all at once, magic happens (see: youtube, "all star wars movies at once").
I suppose where the real magic of these books happens is in their origin. Baum wrote something completely original that took the world by storm and continues to be a whimsical American bellwether for children's fantasy. It is one of the original series specifically for children, spanning fourteen books written almost yearly and gobbled up by a hungry public. It still remains at the forefront of American culture in many revisits in Hollywood (let no one forget the horrific beauty that is Return To Oz) and capitalizing on nostalgia (as recently as six months ago I received a mailing from The Bradford Exchange that was selling original library-bound volumes signed by – get this – Baum's great-grandson... I love an autographed book if only for the idea of the magic it transmits even though it is somewhat meaningless, but maybe someone can convince me where the magic is in having it signed by a probably elderly great-grandchild who likely never met his great-grandfather?).
So, while some of the books were awesome and some of them were difficult to slog through, I have my favorites. I will also say that the introductions that each volume opens with were sweet letters from the author to his fans, and it was easy to tell that he truly, truly loved his job writing for children. He knew his audience, he knew what worked, and he sold books. Furthermore, I imagined with great sentimentality mailbags upon mailbags arriving at his house filled to the brim of letters from children all over the world, and the responsibility he probably felt to personally respond to each of them. For my career, that is the best anyone can hope for.
What follows is my (and my son's) short reviews of the individual books in the series.
The Original and Official Oz Books by L. Frank Baum
#1 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) READ November 26, 2013 – December 1, 2013
My Kid – At first I thought it was crazy, but then it started getting awesome. I remember the movie, but there's a lot of parts that are different.
Me – I mean, classic, right? The book pretty much follows the film almost entirely with few exceptions. In hindsight after finishing the entire series, it is worth nothing that it is considerably one of the best books in the series, while many others are of questionable quality.
#2 The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) READ December 1, 2013 – January 9, 2014
My Kid – It was scary... Jack Pumpkinhead and Tip escaped and it was really cool.
Me – This is one of the books Return to Oz was based from, The Gump and The Powder of Life coming into play to help Dorothy and Jack Pumpkinhead outwit Mombi. An enjoyable book, quite different than the first book but engineered beautifully with plot and characterization. Enjoyed this one. What was most engaging about this text was Ozma and Tip, and what this book says about gender and youth. I think there is a lot that can be examined about gender at birth and the fluidity of gender as a social construct, witch curse or no.
#3 Ozma of Oz (1907) READ January 9, 2014 – February 22, 2014
My Kid – The boat crashes and they have to ride in the box with the chicken... I like TikTok. They saved the Queen.
Me – This is the second book that Return to Oz was conceived from and a very engaging book. This one requires more understanding and construction of the Oz Universe including the transformation of several of our characters into ornaments and the outwitting of the Nome King in order to save our friends. This was one of my final favorites before the quality of the books fell, as far as I am concerned.
#4 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) READ February 22, 2014 – August 12, 2014
My Kid – I kinda forgot this one. There was the vegetable people underground and nothing really happened?
Me – Yeah, this one was a bust for me. I think Baum was making some kind of satirical point lost to history... Or maybe the obvious non-referential one, but still, just seemed like the episodic nonsense that didn't have a point most of the time. Keep the beginning, I guess and then skip to the final third, and there's your story.
#5 The Road to Oz (1909) READ August 12, 2014 – February 22, 2015
My Kid – The love magnet was pretty awesome, and Dorothy meets the rainbow girl and Shaggy man... I guess I'll leave off there.
Me – Another one that I thought was a little redundant and repetitive without much of a point. They get lost, they make it back, there are some weird artifacts that help them... Meh. I did like the new characters, however, who make many more appearances in the future books. Shaggy Man and Polychrome are great.
#6 The Emerald City of Oz (1910) READ February 22, 2015 – September 14, 2015
My Kid – The Emerald City was cool and Dorothy was in charge. If I lived there I would sell it all and be rich. There was a war.
Me – This one was pretty good until the end, where everything was buttoned up (apologies, button bright) pretty quickly without there being much of a solid reason. The conflicts were all contrived and there were some more ridiculously ridiculous new characters who never showed up again in the series. A great diversion, but with little substance toward the end.
#7 The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) READ September 14, 2015 – December 22, 2015
My Kid – It was pretty weird how the quilt doll became a patchwork girl and she was really funny. In the end, it didn't matter that they found all the stuff, so it was kinda crazy and funny.
Me – This was relatively silly. I enjoyed it, and the Patchwork Girl is a character I can really get behind as a foil to some of the other characters and somewhat mischievous. The plot is ridiculous, but the powder of life and the glass cat are somewhat illuminating elements of this text. Scraps made this a fun one.
#8 Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) READ December 22, 2015 – April 2, 2016
My Kid – The whole story of the shaggy man's brother being missing and ugly didn’t make sense, but... there was a war and Tik Tok was rescued. There was a man who was not as evil as the other army general guys. It was weird.
Me – This one was primarily about The Shaggy Man and his adventure to resolve a variety of political and interconnected issues happening surrounding everyone's messing around with the Nome King. There is a huge tube that goes through the center of the earth that everything centers on, and Shaggy is trying to get the Nome King to release his brother the whole time. There are a lot of characterization, detail, and plot errors in this that postdate some facts from the earlier books – which is kind of weird – and the intrigue surrounding the plot is somewhat complicating for kids. What I thought was the coolest element was the character of Quox, who passes more than a coincidental resemblance to Catbus from Miyazaki's Totoro.
#9 The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) READ April 2, 2016 – September 1, 2016
My Kid – First of all, there's a lot of people getting lost. Second, if I was in Jinxland, I think I would rather be back in oz.
Me – This one was interesting as it had little to do with The Scarecrow and was mainly about Button Bright, Cap'n Bill, and Trot. This one is probably the height of the ridiculousness, with little shallow plot item after little shallow plot item heaped upon one another. At the end, The Scarecrow has to (and succeeds) in recapturing Jinxland for Gloria, its rightful ruler, and returns to the Emerald City for a celebration. Eh...
#10 Rinkitink in Oz (1916) READ September 1, 2016 – December 1, 2016
My Kid – All these books have someone wicked in them and it's so crazy. I liked the name Kaliko, and the way Dorothy comes to the rescue of everyone being clever solves the problem. What's with all the problems? I feel like there's thousands.
Me – This one was pretty good, as it seemed to deviate from the regular universe of Oz and focus on a different set of locations and characters. It had a very Tolkienian feel in terms of plot, structure, and internal political commentary. It felt very different from the others, and most elements in the text had a point and a long-term purpose. I enjoyed this one.
#11 The Lost Princess of Oz (1917) READ December 1, 2016 – January 19, 2017
My Kid – First of all, they've gotta be responsible for the diamond pan, and that's why they lost it. They weren't responsible. At the end they searched for the tools and didn't need them and it was useless.
Me – Lost Princess was fun. It surrounded the story of Ozma being kidnapped and the Wizard, Button Bright, Trot, and Betsy Bobbin to go rescue her. Everything in this one felt a little random, but it all ties back together in the end. This one was pretty diversionary but not as bad as some of the others.
#12 The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918) READ January 19, 2017 – March 13, 2017
My Kid – Woot is a weird name, and everyone was changed to animals and monkeys and none of them matched up. It was all pretty weird because they all had their new needs as animals and it didn't match with what they were. The love story was kinda weird since the girl didn't want the tin woodmen anymore and the fact that they left and it was all for nothing didn't make sense.
Me – A lot of randomness in this one as well, but there is a love story at its core as we learn of a twin brother that the Tin Woodman had all along who shares the love of a long lost young lady named Nimee Amee. A lot of diversionary stories, adventures, and one cool twist by the end, and everyone arrives back where they started. Not the best, but entertaining. This one, while random at times, was a quality read.
#13 The Magic of Oz (1919) READ March 13, 2017 – April 25, 2017
My Kid – I wish you could transform yourself. Like... What if you wanted to turn yourself into a pea shooter from Plants Vs Zombies? I don't even know how to pronounce the word. I never heard of it, this nonsense word.
Me – This one had a funny gimmick in it with a secret word that when spoken could turn anyone into anything. There is a war on, and a secret force is transforming monkeys into superhuman soldiers (and there is a complication that no one in oz can be hurt but what happens when someone is chopped into a hundred living pieces?). This one was enjoyable, but the gimmick is honestly the only thing holding it all together.
#14 Glinda of Oz (1920) READ April 25, 2017 – May 23, 2017
My Kid – This one was kinda like a world of them figuring out what is going on with the big glass house-world under-water. The opposite of everything and they couldn't figure out how to get it back to normal, so what was going on with the war the whole time? Then they fix it. Everything is all set.
Me – This posthumous volume seemed to be pieced together from notes, as there is a clear difference between the tone of prior volumes and this one. The cadence and structure of the language and story is quite different in parts, and I found it takes itself seriously by comparison. Beautiful art and architecture present this journey, and I have to say, the fact that this was in new hands really shows because there is some wonderful structure that is absent in the other volumes, as well as even reintroductions to the characters when they show up. The end was a little too tidy with another deus ex machina, but the fact that it came from something that was surprising and there all along was different.
*BONUS Oz Works by L. Frank Baum, 'the Royal Historian of Oz'
The Woggle-Bug Book (1905) READ May 23, 2017 – May 24, 2017
My Kid – Actually, I don't have a review for my kid... See below.
Me – This book started cute and had a cute premise. When I began reading it at bedtime, the kid had fallen asleep. I tend to keep reading and save our spot, and then pick it up where he fell asleep the next night. Lucky for me, the terrifyingly racist parlance in this book started after he fell asleep. I read through to the end, with no intention of going back with him tomorrow... It was... shockingly indifferent to complete disregard for everyone. From switching between "Oriental" and "Chinaman" and having a character with a dialect that wasn't just a stereotype but also a stereotype of a racist's impression wasn't nearly as bad as the way Baum used the N-word (and had the character as a monkey's monkey). It was offensive and seemed ridiculously gratuitous for even the time it was published. Not a shining moment for his work at all... But it was pretty cool to learn the Woggle Bug was from Boston, anyway. This one was pretty awful.
You may be reading this review on one of the individual pages for the original books on Goodreads or Amazon, and if so, all I did was cross-link the books along with the correct dates we read the original texts. The only book I did not cross-link with original dates was the Woggle-bug book, which if you know, is short. Instead, I counted that final book as the review for Doma's Kindle version. You may notice that some books have longer reading spans – probably for two reasons. One, I traded off reading with my wife sometimes, and two, sometimes we needed a little Baum break and read some other books. It did get a little old sometimes, and there are fourteen books totaling 3500 pages in their original library printing.
The first thing I think is worth mentioning is that when I first read these books, it was as a child would read them. I remember them being repetitive but familiar. Comforting and revealing. An antiquated adventure, but a serial adventure with recurring characters unparalleled in any other literature. As an adult with an MA in literature (and soon and MFA in fiction), I am actually somewhat unimpressed with the series. Baum wrote a whimsical set of tales, but they are torturously repetitive and would be easy to plug-and-play by replacing characters and moments with a computer to make an entirely new book. But, they are children's books, and we are completely enthralled and comforted by the familiar. Is not Shakespeare the same play-to-play structurally? Are not Pixar or Star Wars movies definitively archetypal in timing, execution, structure, and character so that they can be completely replaced and reapplied to a new story? Even the films – heck, even the trailers - are cut the same, and if you play them all at once, magic happens (see: youtube, "all star wars movies at once").
I suppose where the real magic of these books happens is in their origin. Baum wrote something completely original that took the world by storm and continues to be a whimsical American bellwether for children's fantasy. It is one of the original series specifically for children, spanning fourteen books written almost yearly and gobbled up by a hungry public. It still remains at the forefront of American culture in many revisits in Hollywood (let no one forget the horrific beauty that is Return To Oz) and capitalizing on nostalgia (as recently as six months ago I received a mailing from The Bradford Exchange that was selling original library-bound volumes signed by – get this – Baum's great-grandson... I love an autographed book if only for the idea of the magic it transmits even though it is somewhat meaningless, but maybe someone can convince me where the magic is in having it signed by a probably elderly great-grandchild who likely never met his great-grandfather?).
So, while some of the books were awesome and some of them were difficult to slog through, I have my favorites. I will also say that the introductions that each volume opens with were sweet letters from the author to his fans, and it was easy to tell that he truly, truly loved his job writing for children. He knew his audience, he knew what worked, and he sold books. Furthermore, I imagined with great sentimentality mailbags upon mailbags arriving at his house filled to the brim of letters from children all over the world, and the responsibility he probably felt to personally respond to each of them. For my career, that is the best anyone can hope for.
What follows is my (and my son's) short reviews of the individual books in the series.
The Original and Official Oz Books by L. Frank Baum
#1 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) READ November 26, 2013 – December 1, 2013
My Kid – At first I thought it was crazy, but then it started getting awesome. I remember the movie, but there's a lot of parts that are different.
Me – I mean, classic, right? The book pretty much follows the film almost entirely with few exceptions. In hindsight after finishing the entire series, it is worth nothing that it is considerably one of the best books in the series, while many others are of questionable quality.
#2 The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) READ December 1, 2013 – January 9, 2014
My Kid – It was scary... Jack Pumpkinhead and Tip escaped and it was really cool.
Me – This is one of the books Return to Oz was based from, The Gump and The Powder of Life coming into play to help Dorothy and Jack Pumpkinhead outwit Mombi. An enjoyable book, quite different than the first book but engineered beautifully with plot and characterization. Enjoyed this one. What was most engaging about this text was Ozma and Tip, and what this book says about gender and youth. I think there is a lot that can be examined about gender at birth and the fluidity of gender as a social construct, witch curse or no.
#3 Ozma of Oz (1907) READ January 9, 2014 – February 22, 2014
My Kid – The boat crashes and they have to ride in the box with the chicken... I like TikTok. They saved the Queen.
Me – This is the second book that Return to Oz was conceived from and a very engaging book. This one requires more understanding and construction of the Oz Universe including the transformation of several of our characters into ornaments and the outwitting of the Nome King in order to save our friends. This was one of my final favorites before the quality of the books fell, as far as I am concerned.
#4 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) READ February 22, 2014 – August 12, 2014
My Kid – I kinda forgot this one. There was the vegetable people underground and nothing really happened?
Me – Yeah, this one was a bust for me. I think Baum was making some kind of satirical point lost to history... Or maybe the obvious non-referential one, but still, just seemed like the episodic nonsense that didn't have a point most of the time. Keep the beginning, I guess and then skip to the final third, and there's your story.
#5 The Road to Oz (1909) READ August 12, 2014 – February 22, 2015
My Kid – The love magnet was pretty awesome, and Dorothy meets the rainbow girl and Shaggy man... I guess I'll leave off there.
Me – Another one that I thought was a little redundant and repetitive without much of a point. They get lost, they make it back, there are some weird artifacts that help them... Meh. I did like the new characters, however, who make many more appearances in the future books. Shaggy Man and Polychrome are great.
#6 The Emerald City of Oz (1910) READ February 22, 2015 – September 14, 2015
My Kid – The Emerald City was cool and Dorothy was in charge. If I lived there I would sell it all and be rich. There was a war.
Me – This one was pretty good until the end, where everything was buttoned up (apologies, button bright) pretty quickly without there being much of a solid reason. The conflicts were all contrived and there were some more ridiculously ridiculous new characters who never showed up again in the series. A great diversion, but with little substance toward the end.
#7 The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) READ September 14, 2015 – December 22, 2015
My Kid – It was pretty weird how the quilt doll became a patchwork girl and she was really funny. In the end, it didn't matter that they found all the stuff, so it was kinda crazy and funny.
Me – This was relatively silly. I enjoyed it, and the Patchwork Girl is a character I can really get behind as a foil to some of the other characters and somewhat mischievous. The plot is ridiculous, but the powder of life and the glass cat are somewhat illuminating elements of this text. Scraps made this a fun one.
#8 Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) READ December 22, 2015 – April 2, 2016
My Kid – The whole story of the shaggy man's brother being missing and ugly didn’t make sense, but... there was a war and Tik Tok was rescued. There was a man who was not as evil as the other army general guys. It was weird.
Me – This one was primarily about The Shaggy Man and his adventure to resolve a variety of political and interconnected issues happening surrounding everyone's messing around with the Nome King. There is a huge tube that goes through the center of the earth that everything centers on, and Shaggy is trying to get the Nome King to release his brother the whole time. There are a lot of characterization, detail, and plot errors in this that postdate some facts from the earlier books – which is kind of weird – and the intrigue surrounding the plot is somewhat complicating for kids. What I thought was the coolest element was the character of Quox, who passes more than a coincidental resemblance to Catbus from Miyazaki's Totoro.
#9 The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) READ April 2, 2016 – September 1, 2016
My Kid – First of all, there's a lot of people getting lost. Second, if I was in Jinxland, I think I would rather be back in oz.
Me – This one was interesting as it had little to do with The Scarecrow and was mainly about Button Bright, Cap'n Bill, and Trot. This one is probably the height of the ridiculousness, with little shallow plot item after little shallow plot item heaped upon one another. At the end, The Scarecrow has to (and succeeds) in recapturing Jinxland for Gloria, its rightful ruler, and returns to the Emerald City for a celebration. Eh...
#10 Rinkitink in Oz (1916) READ September 1, 2016 – December 1, 2016
My Kid – All these books have someone wicked in them and it's so crazy. I liked the name Kaliko, and the way Dorothy comes to the rescue of everyone being clever solves the problem. What's with all the problems? I feel like there's thousands.
Me – This one was pretty good, as it seemed to deviate from the regular universe of Oz and focus on a different set of locations and characters. It had a very Tolkienian feel in terms of plot, structure, and internal political commentary. It felt very different from the others, and most elements in the text had a point and a long-term purpose. I enjoyed this one.
#11 The Lost Princess of Oz (1917) READ December 1, 2016 – January 19, 2017
My Kid – First of all, they've gotta be responsible for the diamond pan, and that's why they lost it. They weren't responsible. At the end they searched for the tools and didn't need them and it was useless.
Me – Lost Princess was fun. It surrounded the story of Ozma being kidnapped and the Wizard, Button Bright, Trot, and Betsy Bobbin to go rescue her. Everything in this one felt a little random, but it all ties back together in the end. This one was pretty diversionary but not as bad as some of the others.
#12 The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918) READ January 19, 2017 – March 13, 2017
My Kid – Woot is a weird name, and everyone was changed to animals and monkeys and none of them matched up. It was all pretty weird because they all had their new needs as animals and it didn't match with what they were. The love story was kinda weird since the girl didn't want the tin woodmen anymore and the fact that they left and it was all for nothing didn't make sense.
Me – A lot of randomness in this one as well, but there is a love story at its core as we learn of a twin brother that the Tin Woodman had all along who shares the love of a long lost young lady named Nimee Amee. A lot of diversionary stories, adventures, and one cool twist by the end, and everyone arrives back where they started. Not the best, but entertaining. This one, while random at times, was a quality read.
#13 The Magic of Oz (1919) READ March 13, 2017 – April 25, 2017
My Kid – I wish you could transform yourself. Like... What if you wanted to turn yourself into a pea shooter from Plants Vs Zombies? I don't even know how to pronounce the word. I never heard of it, this nonsense word.
Me – This one had a funny gimmick in it with a secret word that when spoken could turn anyone into anything. There is a war on, and a secret force is transforming monkeys into superhuman soldiers (and there is a complication that no one in oz can be hurt but what happens when someone is chopped into a hundred living pieces?). This one was enjoyable, but the gimmick is honestly the only thing holding it all together.
#14 Glinda of Oz (1920) READ April 25, 2017 – May 23, 2017
My Kid – This one was kinda like a world of them figuring out what is going on with the big glass house-world under-water. The opposite of everything and they couldn't figure out how to get it back to normal, so what was going on with the war the whole time? Then they fix it. Everything is all set.
Me – This posthumous volume seemed to be pieced together from notes, as there is a clear difference between the tone of prior volumes and this one. The cadence and structure of the language and story is quite different in parts, and I found it takes itself seriously by comparison. Beautiful art and architecture present this journey, and I have to say, the fact that this was in new hands really shows because there is some wonderful structure that is absent in the other volumes, as well as even reintroductions to the characters when they show up. The end was a little too tidy with another deus ex machina, but the fact that it came from something that was surprising and there all along was different.
*BONUS Oz Works by L. Frank Baum, 'the Royal Historian of Oz'
The Woggle-Bug Book (1905) READ May 23, 2017 – May 24, 2017
My Kid – Actually, I don't have a review for my kid... See below.
Me – This book started cute and had a cute premise. When I began reading it at bedtime, the kid had fallen asleep. I tend to keep reading and save our spot, and then pick it up where he fell asleep the next night. Lucky for me, the terrifyingly racist parlance in this book started after he fell asleep. I read through to the end, with no intention of going back with him tomorrow... It was... shockingly indifferent to complete disregard for everyone. From switching between "Oriental" and "Chinaman" and having a character with a dialect that wasn't just a stereotype but also a stereotype of a racist's impression wasn't nearly as bad as the way Baum used the N-word (and had the character as a monkey's monkey). It was offensive and seemed ridiculously gratuitous for even the time it was published. Not a shining moment for his work at all... But it was pretty cool to learn the Woggle Bug was from Boston, anyway. This one was pretty awful.
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