The Scarecrow of Oz (Books of Wonder Series)

All the Books of Wonder Oz books are fantastic recreations of the originals with all their color plates and cover art. Even the typeface and page counts are the same. If you're a collector and can't afford to drop $300 on a beat-up copy of the original, this series is a must!

The Scarecrow of Oz was chiefly a way for Baum to introduce readers to another one of his book series (The Sea Fairies and Sky Island) to his more lucrative Oz readership. The story itself is a bit uneven, but is easily digested by younger readers as separate segments can be treated as stand-alone stories with a single unifying theme of moving Cap'n Bill and Trot from California to Oz.

Synopsis: Cap'n Bill and Trot (a relationship which probably would not find its way into modern kiddie lit) go for a recreational row and get caught in a whirlpool. The whirlpool transports them to a fairy land which they escape with the help of an orc (a magical flying creature, not the nasties in Tolkein) and some magical shrinking berries. They spend a little bit of time in the Land of Mo (another Oz series) before escaping once again with recurring character Button-Bright (from the Road to Oz), the help of some adventuresome birds and magical growing berries. They land in Jinxland, a semi-autonomous region within Oz, where they accidentally insert themselves into the nuptial politics of the local ruler, an elderly but wealthy courtesan, the daughter of a deposed king, and the son of another deposed king. The three characters are unable to do anything other than get into serious trouble with a local witch and are eventually bailed out by the combination of the Scarecrow's planning, a sudden re-appearance of the original orc with an army of his friends, and a bit of lucky timing. After restoring the king's daughter to her rightful throne and true love, they make their way back to the Emerald City where they meet everyone. The story abruptly ends at this point - the reader can assume Capn' Bill and Trot have found a home in Oz although the story's beginning did not make it seem as if Trot's family was either lost or worth leaving.

Though the delightful 'The Patchwork Girl Of Oz' (1913) may be the overall favorite of dedicated Oz enthusiasts, L. Frank Baum's 'The Scarecrow Of Oz' (1915) is very likely his greatest Oz novel, as its story is warmly and enthusiastically told, moves forward superbly, and the only padding found within its pages is the straw that stuffs the Scarecrow's body.

Baum wanted to transfer characters Trot (real name: Mayre Griffith) and her much older guardian, Captain Bill, of his non-Oz titles 'The Sea Fairies' (1911) and 'Sky Island' (1912), into Oz permanently, and they are the apparent stars of the book until the Scarecrow is introduced on its 173rd page.

Though Trot, like Betsy Bobbin before her, is almost identical to Dorothy Gale in manner and appearance and would in later volumes largely fade into a pale replica of her, Baum here allows Trot to command the narrative and display a number of admirable, heartening qualities.

Perennial lost boy Button-Bright (real name: Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith), who is discovered buried face down in a small mountain of popped corn, is also a key player.

Caught in a monstrous whirlpool that appears out of nowhere while sailing on calm American ocean waters, Trot and Captain Bill awaken in a strangely lit underwater grotto. Though the narrow, claustrophobically confining passage they are obligated to enter and follow does not lead them directly to Oz, it does lead them to another of Baum's fairytale kingdoms.

As in previous titles, readers may question whether Trot and Captain Bill have died and passed into the afterlife; certainly their early travails have a purgatory-like quality.

In a hilarious episode, the twosome find themselves trapped on a small, lush island with the most cantankerous man living, who complains that the trees are too green, the water "dreadfully wet," and that the sun, which unpleasantly "shines in the daytime," is useless, because "it disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark." This "little old man of the island" is in exile, and certainly seems to occupy his own tiny circle in hell.

As in 'Sky Island,' readers are given excellent expository information about Button-Bright; this is important, because Button-Bright, when appearing later in the Oz chronicle, was often portrayed as an annoying idiot with a tabula rasa for a mind ("Some folks think I'm stupid. I guess I am," he goes so far to say in 'Sky Island').

However, in 'The Scarecrow Of Oz,' Baum explains Button-Bright to his audience in almost Zen-like terms. Button-Bright is "almost as destitute of nerves as the Scarecrow...nothing ever astonished him much; nothing ever worried him or made him unhappy. Good fortune or bad fortune he accepted with a quiet smile, never complaining, whatever happened."

Is Button-Bright a young wandering Buddha?

Button-Bright, who has an exceptionally hardy appetite, is enthralled by both the beauties of nature and of happenstance. A junior lord of unforeseen contingency, an open meadow, a hedge of berry bushes, or a fluttering butterfly is all that is necessary to send him dashing off blissfully into spatial oblivion. In 'The Scarecrow Of Oz,' Button-Bright, who lives purely in the moment, seems to possess the secret of happiness, if no longer his magical umbrella, and makes a perfect counterpoint to the more responsible, rational Trot.

'The Scarecrow Of Oz' is also one of the several Baum-composed Oz titles that concerns itself with witches.

One of the book's three main antagonists, Blinkie, who, like the Wicked Witch in the first book, has but a single good eye, is a traditional European folklore witch: she is old, wrinkled, eccentric, power hungry, toadying, and spiteful.

Interestingly, as in medieval drawings, Blinkie and her fellow witches ride their broomsticks with the brush portion forward.

Baum even raises the possibility of witch burning, though, as bad luck may have it, it is the easily consumed Scarecrow and not Blinkie that is eventually tied to a stake and threatened with fire.

Baum counters Blinkie with Gibson Girl look-alike sorceress Glinda the Good, who, the opposite of the witch in every way, is lovingly described: "No one knows her age, but all can see who beautiful and stately she is...her hair is like red gold and finer than the finest silken strands. Her eyes are blue as the sky and always frank and smiling. Her cheeks are the envy of peach-blows and her mouth is enticing as a rosebud. Glinda is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. She wears no jewels, for her beauty would shame them."

Strangely enough, illustrator John R. Neill consistently portrays Baum's sorceress supreme wearing an unusual headdress conspicuously crowned with what looks like a cross between a healthy, long-stemmed, large-capped mushroom and a vigorous phallus.

Here more than in any of other Oz title, the Scarecrow shines, as he rightly should, though the novel is more than half over before he makes his appearance.

Baum tended to dilute even his most popular characters over the course of the series, and in too many Baum titles the Scarecrow is depicted as little more than the Tin Woodman's "heterosexual life partner," though of course the Scarecrow bills and coos with the Patchwork Girl as well as with best friend Nick Chopper.

The Scarecrow, sent by Glinda to rescue Trot and her cohorts from an evil king, is certainly the hero of the book: "As a conqueror I'm a wonder," he says before single-handedly but futilely demanding that King Krewl abdicate his ill-gotten throne. Happily, the sometimes Christ-like Scarecrow survives both burning at the stake and drowning in a waterfall, but not without the help of less overconfident friends.

Gorgeously illustrated in both color and black and white, 'The Scarecrow Of Oz' is excellent in every way and belongs at the very top of the multi-volume Oz heap.

When I was a young Oz zealot, this was one of the books that I found the most disappointing--only because my beloved Scarecrow was not in the book enough for my taste. After all, the title promises that this book will be all about the Scarecrow--but it's not (unlike "The Tin Woodman of Oz," which is completely focused on the title character). Alas, our stuffed man only comes in towards the end of this book to save the day. Of course, as usual with any story written by Baum, there is plenty to recommend this tale. I particularly enjoyed the return of a wicked witch to the series (in the form of Blinkie) and John R. Neill's illustrations are excellent and, as is so often the case with the Oz books, really contribute to the story. I just wish we had a bit more of our Scarecrow in this one!

In this delightful story, a young girl named Trot and her long-time friend, the one-legged sailor Cap'n Bill, are drawn into an adventure that takes them to the magical land of Oz. Readers who are familiar with the works of L. Frank Baum will recognize these two characters from two previous novels that are set outside of Oz, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. While it is not necessary to have read these two works prior to reading this book, the three novels taken together outline the close relationship of this optimistic and courageous young girl and her pragmatic companion, the worldly retired sailor who lost his leg at sea.
The plot is familiar to readers of other Oz books. Mortals from the outside world get hopelessly lost, but retaining their determination and good will, they move forward until they find themselves in the fairy land of Oz. All along the way Trot and Cap'n Bill meet fantastic beings and explore strange countries which the author creates with a joy and imagination that seem boundless. On this trip they meet and become fast friends with a strange flying creature called the Ork, who, although featherless, is equipped with a propeller as well as four wings. Together the three of them continue on to the Land of Mo where they inexplicably come across another beloved Baum character, Button-Bright, a boy who is unflappable and prone to getting lost. These four next find themselves in a remote and inaccessible corner of the land of Oz called Jinxland. Here they fall victim to the cruel plots of King Krewl and the magic spells of the witch Blinkie. Discovering their plight, the Scarecrow of Oz decides to go to their rescue. But what can a man of straw do to fight a corrupt king and an evil witch? Find out for yourself and enjoy every minute of it by reading this wonderful book.
The Books of Wonder edition has recreated the original first edition with all its twelve color plates, over 100 black and white illustrations, and a full color dust jacket by John R. Neill. It also includes a three page essay by Peter Glassman that discusses this work as it fits into the writings of the author, L. Frank Baum. This is a must-read for Oz aficionados and a joy to anyone interested in children's fiction.

This book was a gift to my sister who loves the Wizard of OZ. She did have some of the books and this was one that she didn't have in her collection yet.

"The Scarecrow of Oz" is a great book to have on your bookshelf with the rest of the Oz books in the series. You'll love the Ork and his friends, Pon the gardener's boy and Princess Gloria.

Christmas gift

Fine

great condition, great buy