Tag Archives: american fairy tales

Heffalumps and Woozies

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Nathan

After two years when it just wasn’t possible, we finally had an in-person OzCon International this year. It was in Pomona, California again, and it was one day and some change, so I initially thought it wouldn’t make sense to … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Atticus Gannaway, Celebrities, Characters, Eric Shanower, Food, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Plays, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Rest of Nonestica

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Nathan

The International Wizard of Oz Club’s map of the countries surrounding Oz includes a few places, mostly in the southeastern part of the continent (which most likely isn’t technically a continent), that were never directly linked with Oz. They are, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cults, Dick Martin, Fairy Tales, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Maps, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ask the Flowers to Tell You

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Nathan

Yesterday was L. Frank Baum’s birthday, and Tuesdays are my designated days for writing about Oz, although it doesn’t always work out that way. Since I had something more pressing to write about yesterday, I’m going to look at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Magic, March Laumer, Melody Grandy, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Ray Powell, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Button-Bright Illumination

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Nathan

The other day, I came across a link to this bit of Oz fanfiction about Polychrome finding Button-Bright in Philadelphia and taking him to Mo. It fills in some gaps in his story, since The Scarecrow of Oz has him … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Campbell and Irwin Terry, Characters, Jared Davis, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Baum vs. the Bible

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Nathan

When we discussed John R. Neill’s Lucky Bucky in Oz on the old Nonestica mailing list, J.L. Bell mentioned how Bucky recalled the story of Jonah and the Whale when riding inside Davy Jones. Biblical allusions are uncommon in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Things We Did on Glass

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Nathan

I’ve been thinking of the uses of glass in the Oz books, particularly when applied in a magical way. The Mangaboos live in glass buildings that grew out of the ground and can grow back together again if they’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Gina Wickwar, Greek Mythology, Hugh Pendexter, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic Items, Melody Grandy, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How to Succeed in Ozian Politics

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Nathan

When Benny, the living statue from Boston in Ruth Plumly Thompson’s The Giant Horse of Oz, arrives in Oz, he asks the Scarecrow if the country is a republic. The straw man replies, “Indeed not! We are a magic monarchy … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Dick Martin, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Politics, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Living Arts

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Nathan

One of the more bizarre recurring themes in the Oz books, albeit not one without precedent, is that of painted material becoming real when it’s lifelike enough. We first hear about this in Ozma of Oz, in which Tik-Tok reports … Continue reading →

Posted in Dick Martin, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

So Much for My Happy Ending

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Nathan

This comic got me thinking about stock openings and closings for fairy tales, particularly the latter. I’m terrible at coming up with endings. You may have noticed that a lot of my posts end pretty abruptly. Anyway, the “happily ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics, Fairy Tales, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment