Fiction Friday (142)

 

I'm lucky enough that my child is now album to listen to a novel every now and then at bedtime. Sometimes she amazes me with how well she retains the story. The best part is that I get to read some of the children's novels that I've always wanted to read. Last year we read a few of the Oz books and they are delightful. Recently picked up this Baum book that isn't Oz related, though the characters from this book eventually find their way to Oz and have other adventures outside.

The Sea Fairies by L. Frank Baum

Reilly and Lee, 1911

Nobody has ever met a mermaid and lived to tell the tale, or so Cap'n Bill tells his child friend, Trot. She doesn't believe the old sea captain. While the two are on a short boat trip, she is proven correct by when several brightly colored mermaids come to the surface and invite them to visit their underwater kingdom.

The ocean, it turns out, is populated with imaginative beings that one might encounter in Baum's Oz books or in a flooded Wonderland. As with both of those worlds, this one is the kind that takes a resourceful, brave girl to navigate safely through. 

This book is fun for any Baum fan, but unless your a die-hard, or a completist, stick with the first few Oz titles. Trot and Cap'n Bill would eventually star in two other Baum novels, and eventually visit the Oz series with book nine, The Scarecrow of Oz. 

Fiction Friday (105)

My daughter will turn 5 years old tomorrow, and one of the things that I'm really pleased about as she gets older is that I can actually read novels to her and she is engaged. A few months ago, we embarked on reading the Oz books, which I'd always meant to read but never had. Now I'm totally hooked. These books have earned their place in children's literature and right up there with the best of fantasy classics.

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
(North South, 1999)

Everyone knows the tale of the young Kansas girl who gets caught in a twister and is transported to the fantasy land of Oz. While the movie version follows the book fairly faithfully, the book is slightly different, most notably the slippers are silver and not ruby.

The cast of characters are delightful. The Scarecrow who desires a brain, though he's always the most sensible. The Tin Woodman who desires a heart, but is always caring. And the lion who is hardly as cowardly as he believes himself to be. Together, this band of lost souls is able to free the enslaved people of OZ.

This is an interesting edition, illustrated by one of the finest illustrators of the last 30 years. She brings a unique perspective to the story, having never seen the film, or the original illustrations. 

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Illustrated by John R. Neil
(Reilly & Britton, 1907)

The third book in the Oz series (originally 11 stories), was the basis for the 80's Return to Oz film. This story finds Dorothy back in the fantasy world, this time the Land of Ev, a neighboring kingdom to Oz. She is reunited with old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Woodman, and some new friends like the copper mechanical man named Tic Tock. 

Dorothy joins her friends, and Ozma, the current ruler of Oz, on an adventure to the underground kingdom of the Nome King to free the Queen of Ev. 

This novel shows Baum's growth as a writer. Far more comfortable with the children's format, the story moves at a pace that is far more entertaining. I was completely enchanted with this book and can't wait to read the rest of the original books.