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A review by alleseter
The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum
3.0
L. Frank Baum never meant '[b:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|236093|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)|L. Frank Baum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398003737l/236093._SY75_.jpg|1993810]' to have a sequel, and he only reluctantly wrote one, after many requests from his readers and the success of a 1902 Broadway adaptation. He ended up writing no less than 13 sequels, of which 'The Marvelous Land of Oz' is the first.
This book sees the return of the scarecrow and the tin man, but strangely enough neither of Dorothy nor the cowardly lion. Instead we follow a boy called Tip, who is human yet apparently a native of Oz, and who lives with an evil old sorceress called Mombi. New characters include Jack Pumpkinhead, a wooden saw-horse, a magnified 'Woggle-bug' and a flying construction called 'the gump'.
The narrative is noteworthy for the presence of an all-girl army, but L. Frank Baum is clearly no feminist: the girls are weaponed with knitting needles, they are afraid of mice, and in the end they're all sent back to their mothers.
Much more interesting is Baum's dry wit, which reaches great heights in this book. The Woggle-bug for example, expresses several puns, which are all looked upon with scorn by Tip. But highlight is a conversation between Jack Pumpkinhead and the Scarecrow through a teasing interpreter, while they're both speaking the same language. This is written humor at its best.
A big change is the switch from illustrator W. W. Denslow to John R. Neill. The latter would illustrate all Oz sequels, but his vision on the scarecrow the tin man (and Dorothy) is very different from Denslow's.
Fans of the 1985 film 'Return to Oz' will notice that the characters Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump are taken from this book. The name Mombi was also used, but given to a character from '[b:Ozma Of Oz|8169666|Ozma Of Oz|L. Frank Baum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328311781l/8169666._SX50_.jpg|891152]' called Princess Langwidere there.
This book sees the return of the scarecrow and the tin man, but strangely enough neither of Dorothy nor the cowardly lion. Instead we follow a boy called Tip, who is human yet apparently a native of Oz, and who lives with an evil old sorceress called Mombi. New characters include Jack Pumpkinhead, a wooden saw-horse, a magnified 'Woggle-bug' and a flying construction called 'the gump'.
The narrative is noteworthy for the presence of an all-girl army, but L. Frank Baum is clearly no feminist: the girls are weaponed with knitting needles, they are afraid of mice, and in the end they're all sent back to their mothers.
Much more interesting is Baum's dry wit, which reaches great heights in this book. The Woggle-bug for example, expresses several puns, which are all looked upon with scorn by Tip. But highlight is a conversation between Jack Pumpkinhead and the Scarecrow through a teasing interpreter, while they're both speaking the same language. This is written humor at its best.
A big change is the switch from illustrator W. W. Denslow to John R. Neill. The latter would illustrate all Oz sequels, but his vision on the scarecrow the tin man (and Dorothy) is very different from Denslow's.
Fans of the 1985 film 'Return to Oz' will notice that the characters Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump are taken from this book. The name Mombi was also used, but given to a character from '[b:Ozma Of Oz|8169666|Ozma Of Oz|L. Frank Baum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328311781l/8169666._SX50_.jpg|891152]' called Princess Langwidere there.