The Marvelous Land of Oz [Hardcover]

L. Frank Baum (Author), John R. Neill (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: August 15, 1985 | Age Range: 8 and up

Few fantasy lands have captured our hearts and imaginations as has the marvelous land of Oz. For over four generations, children and adults alike have reveled in the magical adventures of its beloved folk. Now, for the first time in over seventy years, the second book about Oz is presented here in the same deluxe format as the rare first edition, complete with all 16 of the original John R. Neill color plates, its colorful pictorial binding, and the many black-and-white illustrations that bring it to joyous life.

First issued in 1904, L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz is the story of the wonderful adventures of the young boy named Tip as he travels throughout the many lands of Oz. Here he meets with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump. How they thwart the wicked plans of the evil witch Mombi and overcome the rebellion of General Jinjur and her army of young women is a tale as exciting and endearing today as it was when first published over eighty years ago.

Afterword by Peter Glassman. A facsimile of the rare first edition, complete with all 16 original color plates, a colorful pictorial binding, and over 125 of Neill's drawings. A Books of Wonder(R) Classic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's well worth your time to stay in Oz for awhile and enjoy the weird, wonderful show. Highly recommended."  —The Fandom Post

"[A] beautiful new collection from Hesperus. . . these beloved stories by Frank L. Baum receive the star treatment with simple and stunning cover art." —The Daily BLAM! --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

This book is in Electronic Paperback Format. If you view this book on any of the computer systems below, it will look like a book. Simple to run, no program to install. Just put the CD in your CDROM drive and start reading. The simple easy to use interface is child tested at pre-school levels.

Windows 3.11, Windows/95, Windows/98, OS/2 and MacIntosh and Linux with Windows Emulation.

Includes Quiet Vision's Dynamic Index. the abilty to build a index for any set of characters or words.

This Electronic Paperback is illustrated.

This Electronic Paperback is read aloud by an actor. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (August 15, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688054390
• ISBN-13: 978-0688054397
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Agreed: The Best of Baum's Oz Books January 9, 2002

By C. Jannuzi

Format:Hardcover

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one that will reel you in to the series April 10, 2002

By 10kbizarredad

Format:Hardcover

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A triumph of fantasy and adventure April 3, 2002

By Michael J. Mazza HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback

I am most familiar with the fantasy world of Oz through the classic musical film starring Judy Garland. "The Marvelous Land of Oz," by L. Frank Baum, could be read as a sequel to the film. Three of the film's most important characters -- the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and good witch Glinda -- are important characters in this book (although Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion do not appear).

Baum creates a marvelous cast of new characters to interact with the three familiar ones mentioned above. Central to this story is Tip, a young boy whose unhappy life with a mean witch will probably remind some readers of Harry Potter's less-than-ideal home life with the Dursleys. Tip's escape from the clutches of the witch Mombi is the start of a fantastic adventure that leads him to the fabulous Emerald City, to an encounter with an all-female army led by a bold conqueress, and to relationships with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and a host of equally fantastic beings.

The new characters are really great, but probably my favorite is Jack Pumpkinhead, an artificially-constructed, pumpkin-headed being brought to life by magic. Jack has a childlike innocence that I found quite endearing. Also memorable is the ornery but courageous Saw-Horse, another magical being.

There is a curious undercurrent of subversive gender politics to the book; although the main party of adventurers are male, the most powerful characters in the book are ultimately its female characters (both heroic and villainous). And one jaw-dropping plot twist (which I will not ruin by revealing!) furthers this theme.

This book is quite simply a wonderfully delightful story, well-told by Baum and superbly complemented by John R. Neill's whimsical illustrations.... And despite the fact that it's a fantasy, I felt that the book has some relevant real world themes, most notably the ideas of respecting diversity and valuing "unusual" folks. And the friendship between the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman is especially heartwarming. "The Marvelous Land of Oz" is a great classic for both adults and young people. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Never a dull moment; also, great pictures February 27, 2009

By Theodore Shulman

Format:Hardcover

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. Read more ›