Customer Reviews

The Marvelous Land of Oz

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although he was never to enjoy the success he had with his first Oz book, Baum sure tried hard with this one (the second in the series). I like this far better than the first, more famous work. It starts off, if I remember from reading it 30 years ago, with Tip living in a cottage deep in a forest in Oz. The witch who keeps him is set on turning him into stone, so Tip must escape. This sets up a whole series of wonderful adventures and interesting characters. The Pumpkinhead character is my favorite. If only someone like Tim Burton would get a hold of this and turn it into a film, then maybe the whole Baum Oz series would get as much recognition as say the Potter series is now getting.

Baum wrote 14 'Oz' books in the early 1900s. The movie was made from the first in the series. "The [Marvelous] Land of OZ" is the 2nd in the series, and possibly the best. The short chapter from page 71-81 reaches a level of perfection attained only rarely in the history of literature, and is equal to the best passages of Mark Twain or James Thurber. I can't read that passage out loud to my kids without going into a fit of laughing myself to tears. I wish I could reprint it here.

You must try if you can to obtain the wonderful hardcover (or sometimes called 'library binding') edition that goes by the ISBN number of 0688054390. It's a stunning and faithful facsimile of the original 1904 edition complete with its beautiful color-illustrated endpapers, original color plates, and black & white illustrations charmingly integrated with the text. I snapped up a dozen and gave them away as birthday gifts for kids age 7 and up. I don't know if there are any left in print, and it's a good bet these will go up in value. Fine first edition OZ books command a pretty penny.

We have all grown up with the Wizard of Oz movie, book one, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is basically the same story as the movie with some slight differences. Marvelous Land of Oz, the second book of the series is the one that will reel you in and have you wanting to read more. I just finished reading this one, a chapter each night, to my preschool age son. He loved it, especially the surprise ending which I won't spoil for you. Jack Pumpkinhead, the Woggle Bug and a mean witch named Mombi are all new characters, even more colorful than some of those from book one. I loved it, Jonah and I are really looking forward to starting the Ozma of Oz after we finish Black Beauty which we will begin tonight. I hope you will fall in love with the Oz series like we have. It will provide you with a great opportunity for some quality time reading with your children or grandchildren. I think that I look forward to reading time as much as he does.

First of all, in reply to all the reviewers who complain about the "sexism", let me just point out that at the time this was a radically feminist book and LFB a radically feminist author. How many girl-protagonists at the time were as plucky as Dorothy, who smacks a lion in the nose? A male lion. It's hard to imagine Alice doing something like that. In fact LFB was already a serial gender-bender, see for instance JOHN DOUGH AND THE CHERUB and THE ENCHANTED ISLAND OF YEW. He's chock-full of forceful, powerful women from the Good Witch of the North to Glinda to Rosalie and Tormaline (SKY ISLAND) to Mrs. Yoop to Red Reera. Plus the most powerful characters--Ozma, Glinda, and the offstage but nigh-omnipotent fairy Lurline. Is there any good, ruling, MALE authority? One that really rules rather than being a figurehead for a female like King Bud of Noland and Prince Evardo the Fifteenth? OK, the King of Mo gets his own way. Rinkitink, too. (Maybe John Dough--he presumably yields to his Head Booleywag (Chick the Cherub) but we don't know that person's gender.) But these are comic rulers, not serious benevolent forces like Ozma and Glinda. Here's one: Tititi-Hoochoo. And Anko the Sea-Serpent. Gugu the Leopard. Well, if you can find a less sexist author between 1901 and 1919, please leave a comment.

With this book the excitement starts right away, continues until the end, and manages to remain interesting the whole time. When the characters aren't fighting, or flying, or tumbling, or trying out interesting new magic, they're exchanging some of the funniest dialogue in Baum, including punnery equaled only in EMERALD CITY (and parts of JOHN DOUGH). My complaints are trivial: Jack Pumpkinhead is too drippy for a rugged adventure like this; I never understood how Jinjur hooked up with Mombi toward the end; and you cannot count to seventeen by twos starting with one-half; you need to start with one.

One other thing: This was Jno R. Neill's first Oz book and one of his better ones. The illustration of Mombi casting her spell at the end is a masterpiece and so is the flock of jackdaws descending on the travellers.

I seem to say that every Oz book is my favorite, and I suppose that speaks to the strength of the series. What I really enjoyed about this book as a child is that I had actually read "Ozma of Oz" (second in the series) before this one. So I had no idea that this story would tell us how Ozma arrived on the scene. What a fantastic surprise! Once again, Baum shows us why he is the master of fantasy, with this sequel. In many ways, I enjoy this book much more than "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." The scene when the unforgettable character, Jack Pumpkinhead, enters the court of the Scarecrow will split your belly as if you were the straw man himself. It's a scene of intelligently-written laughs, and I always use this chapter of the book as a model with my creative writing students to demonstrate how to craft humor. Of course, as someone who enjoys puns (especially bad ones), I also relish every line of the Wogglebug in this book. With "The Marvelous Land of Oz", I think Baum established that he was a force to be reckoned with, and I highly recommend this book to all young readers.

This is the second novel in the wonderful Oz series. It's about a young boy named Tip. Tip's guardian is a witch. Tip is threatened to be turned in to stone, so Tip tries to run away. He builds a Scarecrow that comes to life. Thus begins an awesome book. It's very funny, the chracters are great. This is a classic. just as good as the first.

We get to see a whole new cast of characters in this installment of the Oz books. We start out with Tip, a young boy who lives with the witch Mombie. Tip runs away, with his creation Jack Pumpkinhead, to explore the lands of Oz, and make his way to the Emerald City to meet the Scarecrow, now crowned King. Many adventures ensue, and at the end, Tip learns a surprising fact about his background.

I have long since been a fan of the Oz stories, and things Oz related. While I loved the old MGM movie, the books go so much deeper into the mythology of the Land of Oz. In fact, fans of the movie would hardly recognize this book as the same setting for Judy Garland's skipping and singing.

Baum created a magic and wonder that few others have been able to capture. In this book, we see some of his previous characters, such as the Scarecrow and Tin Man, but we meet a new protagonist in Tip, and he brings new life to Oz.

One thing I did find quite interesting in the book was the theme on gender. First we have girl rebel soldiers taking over the Emerald City, and forcing the men to do the women's work. The we have a boy who turns out to be a girl, who has been magically transformed. Both examples are relevant to the way gender is handled today.

All in all, I found the book to be a great read, good for children and adults. I cannot wait to continue my Ozian adventures.

I read it a few times . It has more Excitement Then a "super hero " Comic Book! I couldn't keep it down .I even brought it to Work! If Your an Oz fan,this is a must for your bookshelf. Everyone I know has a copy of it somewhere.If you love Oz,you will LOVE this book.

This book has a special place in my heart since it was the first Oz book I ever read. The book was so exciting and fun to read that it started me on a wonderful journey through the many other delighful books in the series. Tip is a great character and his life with the witch Mombi still make me feel anxious just thinking about it. I read this to my neice and she loved it so much that she now asks me to read another Oz book just about every time I see her.

What is wonderful about this book, is that the main character, Tip, the young boy protagonist, is actually a girl, transformed in infancy into a boy, by magic. All children should have an opportunity to exercise their imaginations in this way. The book goes to show how little difference there really is between the spirit of male and female. All the OZ books do this, in an innocent and joyous way, but this one does it the best.