Review: “The Marvelous Land of Oz” by L. Frank Baum

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(Oz book 2)

🎃 TMLO has whimsy, satire, and a dash of radical identity themes that makes it a thoughtful choice for a read-along with kids during this turbulent time. The Wizard and Dorothy are long gone. Meet young Tip who journeys on great adventures through Ozian lands (indeed, they are marvelous!) with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends. En route, they’ll have to quell a rebellion of put-upon young women, and thwart the evil witch Mombi.

🎃Self-identity: a gentle introduction

Tip spends most of the story improvising clever solutions and forming loyal friendships, which quietly reveal courage and innate leadership. Self-knowledge is not about becoming someone new, but uncovering who one has always been. All the adventures and mishaps the friends encounter were not accidents, but expressions of Tip’s true nature which is revealed at the end. More on this after the spoiler jump below.

🎃 Political satire in a children’s book?

While Baum was writing a children’s fantasy rather than overt political satire, he occasionally inserts observations about power, control, and the dangers of blind loyalty. General Jinjur overthrows the Emerald City government (ahem…Scarecrow?!). She swans in easily. It’s not much of a coup because the citizens are remarkably compliant.

Unlike Orwell or Huxley, Baum presents this humorously. To an adult, the underlying message is clear: systems can persist not because they are just, but because people are used to them. People obey simply because they are conditioned to do so. If citizens follow without scrutiny, this is the real danger point. Whoever holds visible (albeit superficial) control commands obedience (I’m not drawing parallels, you are!). 

It’s unexpected coming from a children’s novel. TMLO echoes the same cautionary thread found in later dystopian literature, but in a much softer, fairy-tale register.

🎃 Enter Gregory Maguire…

In Gregory Maguire’s “Out of Oz” Tip is an alias used by Rain to disguise her identity. She chooses it to escape the burden of expectations she feels as Elphaba’s granddaughter. 

🚨 🚨 🚨 spoiler🚨 🚨 🚨

In MLO Tip is a boy eventually revealed to be Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz. Both Baum’s Ozma and Maguire’s Rain undertake journeys of self-realization to embrace their legacies. I love how Maguire finds ways to link his reimagining of Oz to its literary roots.

🎃 Notes in the Margin

Granted, it’s not that deep, but it’s fun to ponder. What do you think?

I think it’s Baum’s way of winking at grown-up readers. It definitely sailed over my head as a child. I’ve noticed that Baum often sprinkles real world cultural references into Oz. It’s a charming example of Baum’s tonal blend of satire and whimsy.