BOOK CLUB: THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ BY L. FRANK BAUM.
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Hey there
Earthlings, Alternatives and Trollers. Put down that mouse and lend
an ear. Welcome to The Bandersnatch blog where we talk weird, wacky
and wondrous. I'm Mama Ogre and I have no idea what I'm doing.
Book blog
day boo yah. As you should know Tuesdays is book blog day were we
talk anything and everything and pretty much run with it. Today's
blog is on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
Dorothy
is
a young girl who lives with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and dog, Toto,
on a farm on the Kansas prairie. One day, she and Toto are caught up
in a Cyclone that deposits them and the farmhouse into Munchkin
Country in the magical Land of Oz. The falling house has killed the
Wicked Witch of the East, the evil ruler of the Munchkins. The Good
Witch of the North arrives with three grateful Munchkins and gives
Dorothy the magical silver shoes that once belonged to the Wicked
Witch. The Good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way she can return
home is to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and ask
the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her. As Dorothy embarks
on her journey, the Good Witch of the North kisses her on the
forehead, giving her magical protection from harm.
On
her way down the yellow brick road, Dorothy attends a banquet held by
a Munchkin named Boq. The next day, she frees a scarecrow from the
pole on which he is hanging, applies oil from a can to the rusted
joints of a Tin Woodsman and meets a cowardly lion. The Scarecrow
wants a brain, the Tin Woodman wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion
wants courage, so Dorothy encourages them to journey with her and
Toto to the Emerald City to ask for help from the Wizard. After
several adventures, the travellers arrive at the Emerald City and
meet the Guardian of the Gates who asks them to wear green tinted
spectacles to keep their eyes from being blinded by the city's
brilliance. Each one is called to see the Wizard. He appears to
Dorothy as a giant head, to the Scarecrow as a lovely lady, to the
Tin Woodman as a terrible beast, and to the Cowardly Lion as a ball
of fire. He agrees to help them all if they kill the Wicked Witch of
the West, who rules over Winkie Country. The Guardian warns them that
no one has ever managed to defeat the witch.
The
Wicked Witch of the West sees the travellers approaching with her one
telescopic eye. She sends a pack of wolves to tear them to pieces,
but the Tin Woodman kills them with his axe. She sends wild crows to
peck their eyes out, but the Scarecrow kills them by breaking their
necks. She summons a swarm of black bees to sting them, but they are
killed while trying to sting the Tin Woodman while the Scarecrow's
straw hides the others. She sends a dozen of her Winkie slaves to
attack them, but the Cowardly Lion stands firm to repel them.
Finally, she uses the power of her Golden Cap to send the Winged
Monkeys to capture Dorothy, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion, un-stuff the
Scarecrow, and dent the Tin Woodman. Dorothy is forced to become the
witch's personal slave, while the witch schemes to steal her silver
shoes.
The
witch successfully tricks Dorothy out of one of her silver shoes.
Angered, she throws a bucket of water at the witch and is shocked to
see her melt away. The Winkies rejoice at being freed from her
tyranny and help re stuff the Scarecrow and mend the Tin Woodman.
They ask the Tin Woodman to become their ruler, which he agrees to do
after helping Dorothy return to Kansas. Dorothy finds the witch's
Golden Cap and summons the Winged Monkeys to carry her and her
friends back to the Emerald City. The King of the Winged Monkeys
tells how he and his band are bound by an enchantment to the cap by
the sorceress Gaylette from the North, and that Dorothy may use it to
summon them two more times.
When
Dorothy and her friends meet the Wizard of Oz again, Toto tips over a
screen in a corner of the throne room that reveals the Wizard. He
sadly explains he is a humbug—an ordinary old man who, by a hot air
balloon, came to Oz long ago from Omaha. He provides the Scarecrow
with a head full of bran, pins, and needles ("a lot of bran-new
brains"), the Tin Woodman with a silk heart stuffed with
sawdust, and the Cowardly Lion a potion of "courage". Their
faith in his power gives these items a focus for their desires. He
decides to take Dorothy and Toto home and then go back to Omaha in
his balloon. At the send-off, he appoints the Scarecrow to rule in
his stead, which he agrees to do after helping Dorothy return to
Kansas. Toto chases a kitten in the crowd and Dorothy goes after him,
but the ropes holding the balloon break and the Wizard floats away.
Dorothy
summons the Winged Monkeys and tells them to carry her and Toto home,
but they explain they can't cross the desert surrounding Oz. The
soldier with the green whiskers informs Dorothy that Glinda, The good
witch of the south may be able to help her return home, so the
travellers begin their journey to see Glinda's castle in Quadling
Country. On the way, the Lion kills a giant spider who is terrorizing
the animals in a forest. They ask him to become their king, which he
agrees to do after helping Dorothy return to Kansas. Dorothy summons
the Winged Monkeys a third time to fly them over a hill to Glinda's
castle. Glinda greets them and reveals that Dorothy's silver shoes
can take her anywhere she wishes to go. She embraces her friends, all
of whom will be returned to their new kingdoms through Glinda's three
uses of the Golden Cap: the Scarecrow to the Emerald City, the Tin
Woodman to Winkie Country, and the Lion to the forest; after which
the cap will be given to the King of the Winged Monkeys, freeing him
and his band. Dorothy takes Toto in her arms, knocks her heels
together three times, and wishes to return home. Instantly, she
begins whirling through the air and rolling on the grass of the
Kansas prairie, up to the farmhouse. She runs to Aunt Em, saying "I'm
so glad to be home again!"
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Wiki
The Book
was Published by George M. Hill Company with an advanced publication
date of September 1900. The public heard of it at a book fair in
Chicago around July 5th to 20th with its
copyright registered by August 1st. The books sold out
quickly and the second editions went just as quickly as the first.
When Hills company became bankrupt in 1901, Bobbs-Merrill Company
resumed publishing the book. By 1933 there were more than a million
copies printed and by 1956 the sales had grown to three million
printed. Because The Wizard of Oz was so popular it became the first
in a thirteen book series.
I had known
about the wizard of oz ever since I was a child but this was due to
the 1939 Movie by MGM of the same name starring Judy Garland. As such
I didn't read the book until I was nearly an adult. The book is
highly different to the movie with Dorothy having to do more to get
home and for both the Wizard and Oz as a whole. The major differences
between book and movie is the fact that the Ruby slippers from the
movie are silver in the book and the flying monkeys are controlled by
a magical cap and Dorothy having protection from Glinda the good
witch of the north. I have to admit I am a stickler for details and I
prefer the book rather than the movie, despite the movie being good.
I recommend this book to everyone and give the book a 9/10
Lyman Frank
Baum was born May 15th 1856 in Chittenango, New York to a
devout Methodist family the seventh of nine children of Cynthia and
Benjamin Baum. Only Baum and five of his siblings survived to
adulthood. Lyman hated his first name despite being named for an
uncle and liked his middle name better, he was known as Frank for
most of his life. Baum married his wife Maud Gage on November 9th
1882 and by 1888 had moved to Aberdeen, Dakota Territory where he
operated his own store for a while before turning to writing full
time which he loved to do since he was a child. By the time of his
death on May 6th 1919 Baum had written the thirteen book
Oz series, a plethora of other books and several musicals and radio
plays. Baum had died of a stroke and passed away in his sleep, he's
buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. L. Frank
Baum certainly has my respect for both his writing of the Oz series
and the craziness that his life had been.
WEBSITE
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
And there
you have it a decent book for all the ages. So we'll be leaving this
here for today please leave a comment, share with others if you want
or not Friday is random blog day and remember keep it sensible in the
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people.
THIS IS
THE BANDERSNATCH, I'M MAMA OGRE AND REMEMBER STAY WEIRD, STAY WACKY,
STAY WONDEROUS AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON...
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