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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
For my second reading of this book I decided to go with the audio version. Boy was that a mistake. This was quite possibly the worst narration I've ever listened to. Weird voice inflections that made no sense.
In this installment we meet Tip, H.M. Woggle-bug T.E, Jack Pumpkinhead, Mombi, the Saw Horse, and General JinJur.
I found that I enjoyed this book but not as much as when I was a child. Aside from a very loose quest, this book has a few uncomfortable aspects, namely JinJur and her army of knitting needle carrying girls. JinJur is vain and selfish and a very bad female stereotype. I squirmed just a bit when the female "army" was told several times to return to their mothers so that they could cook and clean.
I will forgive Baum, since it seems to be a product of the time it was written. After all we get several very strong female characters throughout his series with Dorothy, Ozma, and Glinda just to name a few.
Part of my 2015 Special 50 Book challenge- A Book More than a 100 years old
In this installment we meet Tip, H.M. Woggle-bug T.E, Jack Pumpkinhead, Mombi, the Saw Horse, and General JinJur.
I found that I enjoyed this book but not as much as when I was a child. Aside from a very loose quest, this book has a few uncomfortable aspects, namely JinJur and her army of knitting needle carrying girls. JinJur is vain and selfish and a very bad female stereotype. I squirmed just a bit when the female "army" was told several times to return to their mothers so that they could cook and clean.
I will forgive Baum, since it seems to be a product of the time it was written. After all we get several very strong female characters throughout his series with Dorothy, Ozma, and Glinda just to name a few.
Part of my 2015 Special 50 Book challenge- A Book More than a 100 years old
Tip is a young boy living in Oz, servant to a nasty witch. He fashions a pumpkin head that comes to life, and they travel to the Emerald City to meet the Scarecrow and Tin Man, falling into the middle of a revolution along the way.
I didn't really enjoy this book, maybe because I listened to it as an audiobook, and I didn't like the narrator. Usually I love the Oz books, but this one fell flat. The characters are so dry, the jokes aren't funny, and even the imaginative setting of Oz felt like a rehash of the same old things from every Oz book. Maybe it was the narrator. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this book. Maybe because I've been reading the Oz books out of order, so I already knew some of the plot points. It's a good story, but I somehow couldn't enjoy reading it.
I didn't really enjoy this book, maybe because I listened to it as an audiobook, and I didn't like the narrator. Usually I love the Oz books, but this one fell flat. The characters are so dry, the jokes aren't funny, and even the imaginative setting of Oz felt like a rehash of the same old things from every Oz book. Maybe it was the narrator. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this book. Maybe because I've been reading the Oz books out of order, so I already knew some of the plot points. It's a good story, but I somehow couldn't enjoy reading it.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Thankfully there's an introduction explaining why this book exists. From a 21st century perspective, this book is sexist nonsense that's boring at best. I'd be surprised if any kids still read this as entertaining given what stories are like today.
In a lot of ways, this is a far better book than the original. The story is no weirder than the first, really, although it probably seems stranger given that the basic details of the first are well-known. It is, however, so much better written, as this book has a very standard plot structure that the first lacked. This book doesn't have the same moral lessons as the first, if you are expecting that; it is more of a standard adventure. Generally harmless overall, though it is interesting to note that, given the way it ends, if this book were written today it would probably be banned as unsuitable for children. It's not bad, though, just unintentionally radical from a modern perspective. In a couple of decades, it will probably become more popular than the first for the same reason.
adventurous
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I don't feel that the second Oz book has the same whimsical charm as the first, partly because its plot is even more arbitrary and meandering, but also because some of the "humour" really does show every one of its hundred-plus years of age. Yes, as an adult I can pick up hints that Baum may have been lampooning sexist attitudes to some extent, but kids are very literal readers, so I doubt many of them got that.
I think I would have enjoyed this book more as a stand alone book instead of a sequel since it didn't resemble the first book at all. Once I quit comparing it to the first book, I enjoyed it a lot more. A few slow spots but also a lot of good one liners that had me laughing. The ending genuinely surprised me and I think it would be a really fun book to read with my children one day.