The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

In the penultimate book in the series – at least by the great and powerful L. Frank Baum – The Magic of Oz, it is Ozma’s birthday again and everyone wants to find her something special. 

However, there is trouble on the horizon in Munchkin Country. A dissatisfied young man from a mountain people called Hyups finds a magical secret involving transformation his father has kept hidden:

Bini Aru had used this secret many times, but not to cause evil or suffering to others. When he had wandered far from home and was hungry, he would say: “ I want to become a cow – P y r z q x g l!” In an instant he would be a cow, and then he would eat grass and satisfy his hunger. All beasts and birds can talk in the Land of Oz, so when the cow was no longer hungry, it would say: “I want to be Bini Aru again: P y r z q x g l!” and the magic word, properly pronounced, would instantly restore him to his proper form.

When Bini’s rebellious son Kiki finds the hidden magic, which Ozma has prohibited in her kingdom, he practices pronouncing P y r z q x g l and then transforms himself into a bird to fly far from his home, over the Deadly Desert which borders Oz. There he meets Ruggedo, the former Nome King, who is eager to take advantage of Kiki Aru’s magic and comes up with a plan for them to conquer Oz together.

In the meantime, Dorothy Gale and her friends, Trot and Cap’n Bill, brainstorm about presents for Ozma’s birthday. Cap’n Bill just heard about an Enchanted Flower that blooms perpetually, showcasing different flowers. The Glass Cat agrees to show him and Trot the island where she saw it. Alas, Trot and Cap’n Bill become trapped there, far from help – their feet rooted to the ground. The island is a deadly trap!

Dorothy is on a separate mission, and persuades the Wizard to accompany her to the Gillikin forest where she plans to capture/borrow some monkeys to perform for Ozma. Kiki Aru and the Nome King are also in the forest planning to incite the animals against Ozma and the two groups clash. Kiki Aru loses his cool when he realizes a real Wizard has arrived and impulsively transforms the Wizard, Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, and even his co-conspirator, the Nome King, into other creatures. It takes some careful listening by the Wizard, in the guise of a fox, and careful flattery of the Glass Cat to effect a rescue of all those enchanted in the forest, then they must hasten to save Trot and Cap’n Bill, who are shrinking every hour they are rooted on the island.

The best part of the book besides saying P y r z q x g l a lot is the description of the Enchanted Flower:

Trot sighed again and watched the wonderful Magic Flower, because there was nothing else to do. Just now a lovely group of pink peonies budded and bloomed, but soon they faded away, and a mass of deep blue lilies took their place. Then some yellow chrysanthemums blossomed on the plant, and when they had opened all their petals and reached perfection, they gave way to a lot of white floral balls spotted with crimson – a flower Trot had never seen before.

Even better, when hungry Trot wishes plaintively it would grow fruit for a while instead of flowers, it does! She and Cap’n Bill are able to grab a peach, a banana, apples, and plums, so they are able to satisfy their hunger while waiting to be rescued.

Baum was in poor health when he wrote The Magic of Oz but would have been delighted that it sold 26,219 copies, more than the 18,600 copies of The Tin Woodman of Oz. His publisher declared it “one of the cleverest books you have written,” and at least one reviewer recognized “the irresistible appeal of a magic word that can that can transform anything” (L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz, pp. 233-4). It was always one of my favorites (I particularly remember my mother reading it aloud to us and I can hear her voice intoning the precise pronunciation of  P y r z q x g l) but I realize now the Enchanted Flower made more of an impression on me than Kiki Aru and the Nome King’s attempt to exploit the animals in the forest by making them dissatisfied with their situation, and thus willing to wage war on the people of Oz.

The Dover edition is a faithful replica of the hardcover (my sister has our Oz books in New York so she could read them to her children) except that the 12 color illustrations are bound in together in the center. While a description and page reference is provided for each, it is annoying when the art is not in the appropriate part of the text.

Off the Blog: Earlier this month, my niece Tess played Dorothy in her school's performance of The Wizard of Oz.  She was excellent.

Please visit Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle for her review of The Magic of Oz. 

Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Dover paperback, originally published in 1919
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series
Source: Library