A review by bookbelle5_17
Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Review of The Marvelous Land of Oz

By: Frank L. Baum

            Tip runs away from his cruel guardian, the witch Mombi, accompanied by Jack Pumpkinhead and a saw horse.  He meets the Scarecrow, who lost the Emerald city throne to Jinjur, a woman who doesn’t want to be a servant anymore and offers to help him get it back from her.  They’re helped by the Tin Woodman and a highly educated Woggle-Bug.

            Like Baum’s first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this is a quest story, and our characters are traveling to the Emerald city.  The sequel is fun with an assortment of new colorful characters and old favorites.  The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are just as charming with their unique personalities, but both come off as braggy about the “gifts” that the Wizard gave them.  At one point in the story, another character, who never met the Wizard questions his integrity and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman immediately defend him.  In their mind he’s still great, because he gave them their “gifts”, and they feel they are better than before.  It came off as amusing but at times was a bit annoying.  The Woggle-Bug was the worst of the group, because he constantly points out how much smarter he was then the others.  He didn’t understand how his witticisms came off as insults to the others and had to be told to stop by Tip.  He would feel bad about it but couldn’t help but show off his intelligence.   Poor Jack, he was the most naïve of the group having just been created by Tip and the other characters would comment on his naivety.  He had to worry about his pumpkin head being spoiled, especially since he didn’t know what would cause that. He was very sweet and loved Tip, whom he saw as his father, because Tip created him.  I can understand that the other characters being irritated by his questions, but he was basically a child.  Tip was a different character from Dorothy enough to be his own person and likable.  The Saw Horse was fun with his sarcasm and rolling his eyes at the others.  You get themes of feminism and teaching kids the importance of creativity.  It was entertaining that characters annoyed each other but still knew they had to learn to get along and work together.  The second book also adds a little more world building as he explore a bit more of Oz.  There’s a surprise reveal at the climax that is relevant to an issue of today. Maybe because it is a children’s story, but I wish some of the dangers weren’t fake outs.  It took away some of tension in the plot. It is different enough from the first story but had a familiar plot that made it an enjoyable read.