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| Ozma of Oz, The Books of Wonder edition |
Written by L. Frank Baum
Illustrated by John R. Neill
Originally published by Reilly & Lee, 1907
Wiliam Morrow/Books of Wonder, 1989
Ages 8-12, Lexile 1070L
272 pp, 37000 words
Themes:
Fantasy Adventure
Opening:
"The wind blew hard and joggled the water of the ocean, sending ripples across its surface. Then the wind pushed the edges of the ripples until they became waves, and shoved the waves around until they became billows. The billows rolled dreadfully high: higher even than the tops of houses. Some of them, indeed, rolled as high as the tops of tall trees, and seemed like mountains; and the gulfs between the great billows were like deep valleys.
"All this mad dashing and splashing of the waters of the big ocean, which the mischievous wind caused without any good reason whatever, resulted in a terrible storm, and a storm on the ocean is liable to cut many queer pranks and do a lot of damage.
"At the time the wind began to blow, a ship was sailing far out upon the waters. When the waves began to tumble and toss and to grow bigger and bigger the ship rolled up and down, and tipped sidewise—first one way and then the other—and was jostled around so roughly that even the sailor-men had to hold fast to the ropes and railings to keep themselves from being swept away by the wind or pitched headlong into the sea."
Thoughts:
Dorothy, accompanied by Billina the hen, travel to Ev to battle the Nome King and free the royal family.
I was surprised how much I liked this book. Though I like Oziana, I would not consider myself a fan of the original series. In general I find I like the ideas more than the stories themselves. Ozma is an exception. Perhaps I've grown wiser or perhaps this book is just funnier. I loved the writing style better than previous books. Of course, I saw the movie when I was in high school (do the math) and absolutely fell in love with many of the characters from Ozma. The movie played in my head as I read.
Have you read any of the other Oz authors? Most people say the sequels are inferior to L. Frank Baum's stories, but I am fond of John Neill's The Purple Prince of Oz.
You'll find my review of the movie Return to Oz on last Friday's Summer Drive-In.
Bonus:
1. Fans can join the International Wizard of Oz Club.
2. Ben, of My Comfy Chair, reviewed Rinkitink in Oz for MMGM way back in 2011.
3. Other MMGM bloggers recommend
Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms, by Chris Colfer, reviewed by Reading Violet.
The Ever Afters: Of Sorcery and Snow, by Shelby Bach, reviewed by Green Bean Teen Queen.
The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell, reviewed on That's Another Story
No Passengers Beyond This Point, by Gennifer Choldenko, reviewed here on Middle Grade Mafioso.
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C. S. Lewis, reviewed by BookishAmbition.
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| The Land of Stories book 4, by Chris Colfer and Brandon Dorman |
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| Ever Afters book 1, by Shelby Bach and Cory Loftis |
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| The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell Cover by Molly Bosley |
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| No Passengers Beyond This Point, by Gennifer Choldenko and Tyson Mangelsdorf |
Check out the Summer Drive-In review of Return to Oz partially based on Ozma of Oz, from
August 18, 2017.
View all the Summer Drive-In reviews for 2017.
Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for August 21, 2017August, 21, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.
