Tag Archives: yankee in oz

It Payes to Have Personality

Hiya, kiddos! I’ve done some more rereading recently, so today I’ll be going over the Oz work of Rachel Cosgrove Payes, the fifth official Royal Historian of Oz. The Hidden Valley of Oz – The next-to-last in what I suppose … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Book Reviews, Characters, Eric Shanower, Food, Humor, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Maps, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ray Powell, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Toys | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reasoning with Rulers

According to the introduction to the 2002 Oziana, both health and technical issues prevented Robin Olderman from continuing as editor of the magazine, so Joel Harris in Special Publications temporarily took over the job. The issue wasn’t released until 2002, … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Characters, Games, Gina Wickwar, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Marcus Mebes, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Places, Prejudice, Relationships, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Jinnicky’s Body

We’re now up to the Oziana from the year I was born, 1977. The front cover shows the royal palace of Oogaboo, as drawn by Albert Chronic. The introductory page has a political cartoon by Bill Eubank that isn’t really that … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Characters, Comics, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Melody Grandy, Monsters, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Poetry, Politics, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nonestic Promotion

One thing I think about occasionally is the promotion that the Oz books received in their heyday. L. Frank Baum had been a salesman and a contributor to a magazine about decorating shop windows, so it’s not too surprising that he … Continue reading

Posted in Plays, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fact Within Fiction

It’s a strange thing to me that a world presented in a work of fiction can be basically just like ours, except without that work, and often related ones, existing in it, even if it’s very popular in the real … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Comics, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Humor, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Hiding in Plane Sight

While Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz sets the stage for a sequel with the Wizard and Tin Woodman trying to retrieve the lost Ozpril, such a book was never published. As indicated in Michael Patrick Hearn’s afterword, Ruth Plumly … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Atticus Gannaway, Characters, Chris Dulabone, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, March Laumer, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Companimals

Animal companions are a recurring theme in the Oz books, starting with Dorothy’s dog Toto. Kids reading the books were likely used to pets, so it makes sense. Since animals talk in Oz, however, some animal characters are more equal … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Relationships, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Can Read Your Mind from Half a Mile

To continue on the topic I brought up last week about Ozian magic that affects minds, it’s worth noting that, in The Emerald City of Oz, the Wizard claims to be “working out a magic recipe to fuddle men’s brains, … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Insect Aside

L. Frank Baum is never entirely clear on whether ALL animals in Oz can talk, or whether animals eat each other there. For instance, are insects there sentient? Well, the Wogglebug is, but that’s after he’s been Highly Magnified and … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Chris Dulabone, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments