Purple Prince of Oz (The Wonderful Oz Books, No 26) [Paperback]

Ruth Plumly Thompson (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; First Edition edition (May 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345328698
• ISBN-13: 978-0345328694
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not One of Thompson's Best, May 15, 2005

By 

John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purple Prince of Oz (The Wonderful Oz Books, No 26) (Paperback)

As I lifelong fan of the Oz series, I remember as a child reading and re-reading Baum's womderful works. Back then the dust jackets always made mention of other Oz books written by Thompson but they were always out of print. Now they are available again.

The bad news is that the best of Thompson's books (of the 12 I've read thus far) is not as good as the least of Baum's The early ones especially are fairly weak but they have tended towards improvement. This volume, THE PURPLE PRINCE OF OZ, though, is a throwback to some of her earlier works as to quality and enjoyability.

The story is of Prince Randy who is one a quest. He has been sent out from his kingdom to prove that he is worthy to wear the crown. His quest brings him to the kingdom of Pumperdink where he befriends Kabumpo, the Elegant Elephant of Oz. The Pumperdinkian royal family is abducted by a pretender to the royal throne and it is up to Randy and Kabumpo, with help from the Red Jinn, to secure the realse of the captives and set everything right again. It is this quest which forms the basis of the story.

The story relies almost exclusively on characters that Thompson created herself. In this case, most of them have had at least a passing mention in her previous books. Usually, she seems to do a better job with these but this book is an exception to the rule. Kabumpo is likeably in an ornery sort of way and so are Randy and the Red Jinn. The problem is with their journey. In typical Oz fashion, they encounter many villages with creative themes. The land of the torpedos is an example from this book. These villages, however, do little or nothing to advance the story other than to give the heroes and opportunity to get into trouble and back out again. The source of trouble is usually nothing more than their mere presence. It very much seems like filler material and that the wonderfully creative ideas are not well fleshed out.

Thompson does continue to demonstrate her flair for puns and other plays on words. The book is worth reading to rekindle the longing for all things Oz. It might very well appeal to very young readers and listeners as a story but I still lament the lack of any real meat to the story. I hope some of her others return to the caliber of the immediate predecessors of this book.

Buy this one for the Oz connection but don't hold your expectations too high.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Several interesting characters, September 15, 2010

By 

Theodore Shulman (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Purple Prince of Oz (The Wonderful Oz Books, No 26) (Paperback)

I agree that this book has some weaknesses, including a pretty lame plot, but it also develops some very interesting characters. This is the first book in which Kabumpo really finds his voice, his unique blend of disdainful condescention, wry humor, and underlying good-heartedness.

Jinnicky the Red Jinn, who had a cameo in JACK PUMPKINHEAD OF OZ, is a principal character for the first time here.

I agree that there are a few too many side-adventures, too much wandering around meeting weirdos who yell at you. But one of the weirdos, Torpedora the Glorious, is hilarious.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Purple Price of Oz, December 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Purple Prince of Oz (The Wonderful Oz Books, No 26) (Paperback)

A very wonderful book which is well written and very imaginative. You get to follow the adventures of Randy and Kabumpo as they journey on and on, so that Randy may prove he is a king. Clever and funny it is a very good childrens book.