Tag Archives: tales of magic land

We Are Family

This post on the Merry Old Land of Oz Facebook group got me thinking about how most of the kids who visit Oz tend to be only children. Okay, to be fair, it’s possible they have siblings we don’t know … Continue reading

Posted in Atticus Gannaway, Characters, Dick Martin, Families, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Never Enough Oz

Lost Lands of Oz: The Rain King Is Missing, by Dr. Janet Kelly – This book is intended to teach values to kids, and as an adult reading for fun, I can’t say how successful it is in that respect. … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Book Reviews, Characters, Games, Humor, Jared Davis, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Marcus Mebes, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

This Tornado Loves You

There was a bit of a theme in the early Oz books about Dorothy reaching fairyland by means of natural disasters. We all know about the cyclone, then there was a storm at sea in Ozma of Oz and an … Continue reading

Posted in L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Make My Millennium

I have three book reviews for you today. The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages, by Norman Cohn – I bought this on a whim when I found it at the school bookstore … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Catholicism, Christianity, Cults, France, Germany, History, Holy Roman Empire, Humor, Oz, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Arachna Phobia

The Yellow Fog, by Alexander Volkov, translated by Peter Blystone – The fifth book in the Magic Land series involves a giant sorceress named Arachna, who had been put into an enchanted sleep 5000 years previously by Hurricap, the guy … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Making Life Out of Nothing at All

One thing for which Oz is known is its collection of magically animated beings. In that fairyland, anything from a scarecrow to a footstool to a painting can come to life, always with its own distinct personality. The first book … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Magic Items, Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Urfin Jus Conquers the Marrans

The Fiery God of the Marrans, by Alexander Volkov, translated by Peter Blystone – The fourth book in the Russian Magic Land series is…well, busy. I think the translator was right when he said Volkov tried to pack too much … Continue reading

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We Seven Kings of Ore-Diggers Are

The Seven Underground Kings, by Alexander Volkov, translated by Peter Blystone – This is the third book in the Russian Magic Land series, the earlier ones being The Wizard of the Emerald City and Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers. … Continue reading

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Drink More Urfin Jus

Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers, by Alexander Volkov – This is Volkov’s first original sequel to his translation/rewrite of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and it’s clear that he’s going in a totally different direction with his Magic Land … Continue reading

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The Magic of Russia and Egypt

The Wizard of the Emerald City, by Alexander Volkov – Well, when I say it’s by Volkov, it’s actually mostly by L. Frank Baum. In the late thirties, this Soviet author translated and revised The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Egyptian, Mythology, Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments