frumiousb

This was a reread for me. I pulled Arthur and Henrietta out of a packing box, and just had to sit down and reread the book. At 92 pages, it's a nice short reread, and still a great deal of fun.

Pinkwater was a pretty influential character for me as a kid-- his books were exactly the kind of inspired nonsense that I really enjoyed. A 266 pound chicken terrorizing New Jersey is right up that alley.

Recommended for kids and grownups alike.

If you read the thinking of serious Oz-types, you will hear that this is widely considered one of the weakest Oz books. I do see the point. There is not much of a plot. The plot is really only this: Dorothy gets lost, meets curious characters along the way, ends up in Oz after a series of fun and/or strange adventures. That's it. That's really all there is to it.

All the same, as a child it was my favorite book in the Oz series, and it still keeps a lot of its luster now when I reread it as an adult. I really enjoy Button-Bright and the Shaggy Man as counterpoints to Dorothy. I'm always happy to see Polychrome. The odd characters that they meet along the way are among the best. I used to have nightmares about the Scoodlers, and Johnny Dooit has stayed firmly in memory-- both as a memory and a role model. And Ozma's birthday party! Well, that made quite an impression on me. Particularly the chapter on "Important Arrivals" stayed in my mind (and eventually it sent me scrambling for other books by Baum that featured these lesser-known characters.)

In short, this may not be the strongest book in the series, but I have always found it one of the most enjoyable entries. Read it yourself and judge!

This book holds a special place in my life because it is the first book that I ever read by Louisa May Alcott. I suspect that I stole it from my grandmother's library. As the first, it was my favorite for a long long time-- particularly since it didn't make me cry buckets the way that Little Women did (does). It left me with an enduring love for idea of little gifts from foreign lands-- one of the things that happened to Rose that just seemed to me so very wonderful.

Over time, this book has been a little bit eclipsed for me by the other Alcott works. Although I still enjoy reading Eight Cousins I have to admit to the occasional sigh of annoyance at how didactic Dr. Alec manages to be. It seems clear to me that Alcott was using this book to work out a lot of her notions about how to raise a child-- a common enough theme in fiction of that time. Although this is more or less an issue in everything that she wrote, it is perhaps a little stronger here than the plot can manage?

None of this, however, should dissuade the reader-- particularly not the younger reader. The usual lovely Alcott moments are all here to be unwrapped. I'm going to see if I can get my hands on a copy of Rose in Bloom because I realize now that I remember it much more vaguely than I do Eight Cousins.

It's funny what stays with you from books.

First of all, let me say that I'm aware that Tik Tok of Oz is generally considered to be a weak Oz book. There are a number of character inconsistencies. Betsy is a poor Dorothy substitute. The Shaggy Man and Polychrome have met each other before this. Reading this as a grown-up who is currently re-reading the whole series, I see these errors and acknowledge the point.

Still, I have to say that as a child, this was one of the Oz books that stuck with me the most strongly. First of all, Polychrome was one of my favorite Oz characters, and I loved every book in which she made an appearance. Second of all, I was secretly quite sympathetic with Ann of Oogaboo. Even at a young age I wasn't very fond of Ozma, absolute ruler. Third of all, I was absolutely fascinated with the Rose Princess, and the idea of a royal family grown on vines. I was heartbroken on behalf of poor Ozga by the reception of her subjects. Something about that bit stayed with me quite strongly, entering my personal mythology.

I do think that the plot is reasonably well-formed in this book, compared to others in the series. While adults may take issue with some of the errors, there are many aspects that I believe would appeal strongly to children. At least, I can say that it certainly appealed strongly to me. As a kid I was reading these from the library, and I must have checked this particular book out twenty times. That's certainly got to earn it some points.

To readers who may be coming from SundaySalon (thanks to Cottontimer for the tip) then let me apologize in advance and warn you that I don't really go in for witty chat about the books as I read them. My book talk is largely about reviews of what I have been reading

The Tin Woodman of Oz (book 12)is easily the most surreal of the Oz books. While they all have a pretty healthy dose of strange locked inside their pages, this book is so odd that I can distinctly remember that it disturbed me as a child. It was not one of the Oz books that I returned to over and over. Reading it again made it clear just what was so strange.



( read more/ SundaySalon )

I don't automatically call speculative fiction, mystery, or any other kind of genre a junk book. I try to treat nearly everything that I read with the respect that it deserves. But on vacation, I tend to take books that have been collecting which I won't mind leaving in a hotel room somewhere. I take light reading, stuff that I'm only picking up for nostalgic reasons.

( Henry and Beezus, Beverly Cleary )

( Ars Magica, Judith Tarr )

( Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares )

( Centaur Isle, Piers Anthony )