The Marvelous Land Of OZ!

The Marvelous Land of OZ was written in 1904. Baum had been busying himself by trying to turn in the original novel The Wizard of OZ into a play and a movie. Eventually he created this sequel specifically with an eye to making it into a stage production and a film. Dorothy Gale is not in this story, rather her place is taken by another innocent young child, albeit on born in OZ to begin with. This is the first of the OZ books to be illustrated by John R. Neill, but not the last as he'd remain with the franchise even after Baum's untimely passing many years later. There is a note appended to the beginning of the book which says that Baum wrote this novel fulfill a promise he made to one little girl. 

Without spoiling too many of the charming turns in this tale let me begin. We meet a boy named Tip who lives with an untrustworthy witch named Mombi. Using some magic powder he brings to life Jack Pumpkinhead, a creature made of wood and a salvaged jack-o-lantern. These two head off to OZ to escape punishment and soon use the powder to bring a sawhorse to life to help them travel. They get to OZ and meet the Scarecrow who is in charge just in time for a revolt by girls led by General Jinjur. Soon enough they head off to get help from Nick Chopper (the Tin Woodman) and before you know it the whole gang head back to OZ, but not before meeting the Woggle-Bug. There are lots more magic and many secrets as they seek yet more help to wrest OZ back from the girls who have put men to doing the housework. 

This is a charming story, filled with wit and lots of fantastical creatures. Perhaps there are in fact a few too many. The traveling troup seems to get quite crowded with at least seven. Pages go by and some don't even speak, especially Tip who gets increasingly overshadowed by the weirder aspects of the story as it unrolls. It he was writing this to supply himself with characters which could be translated to stage and screen, I can imagine why Baum throws so much stuff against the wall. Without the framework of the gray remote Kansas to give it additional zest, OZ feels a little out of focus at times. 

But these are minor quibbles. This ia fun run full of imagination and turns. There are some good secrets if not great ones. This one, like its predecessor would work wonderfully as a nighttime reading. 

Next time it's three years later and Ozma of OZ. 

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