The Cowardly Lion of Oz (Wonderful Oz Books, No. 17) [Paperback]

Ruth Plumly Thompson (Author), John R. Neill (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (May 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345315863
• ISBN-13: 978-0345315861
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thompson does it again, November 12, 2000

By 

Brenton Brookings (the Great Outside World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cowardly Lion of Oz (Wonderful Oz Books, No. 17) (Paperback)

I found "The Cowardly Lion of Oz" to be among thebest Oz Books ever written. Bob Up, an orphan teams up with Notta BitMore, a circus clown, to steal the Cowardly Lion for Mustafa ofMudge's lion collection. How they manage to run into the Lion andbefriend him, while still trying to fulfill their mission, makes for agreat story.

4.0 out of 5 stars In the Southeast Corner, August 19, 2011

By 

Paul Camp (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cowardly Lion of Oz (Wonderful Oz Books, No. 17) (Paperback)

Let us talk a little about geography. Ruth Plumly Thompson's _The Cowardly Lion of Oz_ (1923) contains two excellent maps of Oz and its environs by James E. Haff and Dick Martin.* Oz itself is a roughly rectangular country surrounded on all sides by deadly deserts. It is divided into four triangular territories: Munchkin Country to the East (where Dorothy's house landed on the wicked witch), Quadling Country to the South (home of Glinda's Palace), Winkie Country to the West (home of the Tin Woodman's castle), and Gillikin Country to the North ( home of the Good Witch of the North). The Emerald City of Oz is in the center of Oz. Beyond the deserts are other countries almost as strange as Oz-- but not quite as pleasant. And beyond these countries is the Nonestic Ocean, filled with all sorts of strange ships, creatures, and islands.

_The Cowardly Lion of Oz_ is set in the little kingdom of Mudge in Munchkin Country, at the very southeast corner of Oz. There our heroes, the boy Bob Up and the clown Notta Bit More, are transported by a magic spell. And there they are forced by Mustafa ("Must Have It"), the spoiled and greedy local ruler to go on a lion hunt for a new lion to add to add to Mustafa's collection-- the Cowardly Lion.

In the meantime, the Cowardly Lion is convinced that he is running out of courage and that he must replenish it by swallowing someone brave. He sets out to find a brave person who will not be missed. Thompson has a great deal of fun showing the Cowardly Lion being hunted by a pair of cowardly lion hunters. Of course, when they meet, they become fast friends.

Thompson also does a good job of showing how Notta is a master of disguise-- but how he always manages to pick the _worst_ disguise possible for a given setting (such as a witch's costume when meeting Dorothy for the first time). And some of the places that our heroes visit are entertaining-- the land of Doors, the Land of Uns, and Stone Mountain.

_The Cowardly Lion_ does not (as do some of Thompson's other books) end with a wedding. But it does end with the formation of a family. I suppose that somewhere out there can be found old fashioned traditionalists who would take offense at the portrayal of such a family. But such objections are likely to come from people who have no more sense of humor than a TVA board.

* At least, they are available in the Del Rey editions of the novel. The maps are credited to Professor H.M. Wogglebug, T.E.