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Oz Continued #29
The Wishing Horse of Oz
Magic wishing emeralds mysteriously arrive in the little kingdom of Skampavia. King Skamperoo immediately confiscates them and wishes to become the Emperor of Oz, with his magic horse Chalk as his advisor. All the residents of Oz are enchanted to forget Ozma and their own rulers, except for Dorothy and Pigasus the flying pig. Can Dorothy and Pigasus break the enchantment and rescue Princess Ozma? Will they forge an unlikely alliance with the Gnome King? And who is the real owner and possessor of the secret of the wishing emeralds?
The Wishing Horse of Oz is the twenty-ninth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum.
The Wishing Horse of Oz is the twenty-ninth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
3 people are currently reading
341 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Plumly Thompson
108 books51 followersAn avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote a weekly children's column for the newspaper. She had already published her first children's book, The Perhappsy Chaps, and her second, The Princess of Cozytown, was pending publication when William Lee, vice president of Baum's publisher Reilly & Lee, solicited Thompson to continue the Oz series. (Rumors among fans that Thompson was Baum's niece were untrue.) Between 1921 and 1939, she wrote one Oz book a year. (Thompson was the primary supporter of her widowed mother and invalid sister, so that the annual income from the Oz books was important for her financial circumstances.)
Thompson's contributions to the Oz series are lively and imaginative, featuring a wide range of colorful and unusual characters. However, one particular theme repeats over and over throughout her novels, with little variation. Typically in each of Thompson's Oz novels, a child (usually from America) and a supernatural companion (usually a talking animal), while traveling through Oz or one of the neighboring regions, find themselves in an obscure community where the inhabitants engage in a single activity. The inhabitants of this community then capture the travelers, and force them to participate in this same activity.
Another major theme has elderly characters, most controversially, the Good Witch of the North, being restored to "marriageable" age, possibly because Thompson herself never married. She had a greater tendency toward the use of romantic love stories (which Baum usually avoided in his fairy tales, with about 4 exceptions). While Baum's child protagonists tended to be little girls, Thompson's were boys. She emphasized humor to a greater extent than Baum did, and always considered her work for children, whereas Baum, while first and foremost considering his child audience, knew that his readership comprised all ages.
Thompson's last Oz story, The Enchanted Island of Oz(1976), was not originally written as an Oz book.
Thompson's contributions to the Oz series are lively and imaginative, featuring a wide range of colorful and unusual characters. However, one particular theme repeats over and over throughout her novels, with little variation. Typically in each of Thompson's Oz novels, a child (usually from America) and a supernatural companion (usually a talking animal), while traveling through Oz or one of the neighboring regions, find themselves in an obscure community where the inhabitants engage in a single activity. The inhabitants of this community then capture the travelers, and force them to participate in this same activity.
Another major theme has elderly characters, most controversially, the Good Witch of the North, being restored to "marriageable" age, possibly because Thompson herself never married. She had a greater tendency toward the use of romantic love stories (which Baum usually avoided in his fairy tales, with about 4 exceptions). While Baum's child protagonists tended to be little girls, Thompson's were boys. She emphasized humor to a greater extent than Baum did, and always considered her work for children, whereas Baum, while first and foremost considering his child audience, knew that his readership comprised all ages.
Thompson's last Oz story, The Enchanted Island of Oz(1976), was not originally written as an Oz book.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 19, 2021
Purchased for $4 at a used bookstore in Saughteries, NY, near Woodstock. This is the last Oz book reprinted by Del Rey in 1986. There were plans to reprint the remaining four Ruth Plumly Thompson Oz books (they are listed as forthcoming in the first few pages), but I guess the series wasn't selling well enough. I enjoyed this one a great deal. The story was fun and full of the usual unusual characters. Fat, selfish king Skamparoo plots to become Emperor of Oz by means of three magic necklaces and a talking horse. Dorothy (of course) valiantly comes to the rescue with the aid of the flying porker Pigasus. Along the way they meet the Black Witch, the Sandmen, and Bitty Bit, the Seer of Some Summit, a Tower which can expand and take you anywhere in Oz. The scenes in the black forest could be regarded as racist since Dorothy and Pigasus are made black and cry about it, but the dark-skinned inhabitants turn out to be nice people and Thompson does not mock their pigmentation or endow them with stereotypical mannerisms as she has do with Asian-influenced characters in previous Oz works.
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July 23, 2018Probably my least enjoyed Oz book. There was some good fun in the second half of the book with Dorothy, but the first third was rather dull. I think I prefer Baum’s books to Thompson’s.
July 18, 2023
Okay, so I’m now up to the 29th instalment in the Wizard of Oz series, and by this point, I’m pretty sure I’m getting towards the end of the Ruth Plumly Thompson books and getting ready to move on to my third Oz author.
As you can imagine, and as I’ve talked about in my previous reviews, we’re getting to the point at which it’s hard for Thompson to keep on coming up with new surprises. Sure, there’s a storyline, but mostly we’re just dealing with a string of puns put together. And you know what? That’s just fine by me.
For me, one of the most interesting parts was about a third of the way in when we see a sort of parade in which a ton of different characters all came together. It was crazy, Thompson took us through them all and there were people there that I’d completely forgotten about.
And I think that highlights part of the problem that we’re dealing with here. I’ve read so many Oz books now that I forget about the plots while I’m still reading them, and it’s not as though I’m going to be able to remember what happened in the months or years to come.
But despite all of that, I still enjoyed it. So go ahead and read it.
As you can imagine, and as I’ve talked about in my previous reviews, we’re getting to the point at which it’s hard for Thompson to keep on coming up with new surprises. Sure, there’s a storyline, but mostly we’re just dealing with a string of puns put together. And you know what? That’s just fine by me.
For me, one of the most interesting parts was about a third of the way in when we see a sort of parade in which a ton of different characters all came together. It was crazy, Thompson took us through them all and there were people there that I’d completely forgotten about.
And I think that highlights part of the problem that we’re dealing with here. I’ve read so many Oz books now that I forget about the plots while I’m still reading them, and it’s not as though I’m going to be able to remember what happened in the months or years to come.
But despite all of that, I still enjoyed it. So go ahead and read it.
October 4, 2024
At first, when I started to read this book, reading about the King of Skampavia, I was thinking how odd are Thompson's visions/imagine of adults in fairylands, how they're always the same in shape and appearance. Whether they're good, or mean, or wicked, mischievous, or greedy... They're all ugly, very fat, bald, tired whimsical ruler of a poor, unhappy kingdom.
But then, when the story jumped to the Emerald City, to the splendid celebration, with all the celebrities, all of Thompson's characters created by this far... I thought this was the kind of Oz stories I always want to read from her.
Is it a perfect Oz story? Definitely not, yet it is the best within the best from Thompson's. There were several original elements/characters in this book, such as Gloma, the witch queen of the Forest; Bitty Bit, the seer of Some Summit, and his magical.
...and, since this is the last Oz book to include the color plates, whether there are more Thompson's books (sadly), it's definitely the end of an era in the Oz story. So I'm glad this was marked by a good and interesting story, with so many celebrities.
But then, when the story jumped to the Emerald City, to the splendid celebration, with all the celebrities, all of Thompson's characters created by this far... I thought this was the kind of Oz stories I always want to read from her.
Is it a perfect Oz story? Definitely not, yet it is the best within the best from Thompson's. There were several original elements/characters in this book, such as Gloma, the witch queen of the Forest; Bitty Bit, the seer of Some Summit, and his magical.
...and, since this is the last Oz book to include the color plates, whether there are more Thompson's books (sadly), it's definitely the end of an era in the Oz story. So I'm glad this was marked by a good and interesting story, with so many celebrities.
February 21, 2020
Beth Thomas's superb narration in the LibriVox audiobook makes this book a terrific whimsy.
September 18, 2022
Somehow, I missed reading this Oz book back when I was young. For me, it was such a pleasure to leave worries behind & go back in time to Oz & it's wonderful characters.
May 22, 2011
This was a very lovely book. I know some Oz fans have a lot of problems with Ruth Plumly Thompson, though why exactly I don't know. I heard she was chosen by Frank L. Baum himself to take over writing the books and she did a good job of it for years. This is the first book of hers I've ever read and it isn't the first one she's written about Oz, as a matter of fact by the time this one came out there had been 28 previous books, Baum's and her's included. Clearly she was very comfortable by now writing Oz stories.
Many things were different than the books L. Frank Baum wrote, Dorothy for one seemed older and Ozma far wiser, and Glinda didn't play as huge a role as she normally played in the earlier books as the matriarch of Oz. There were many new characters from many other books, and clearly some of the more delightful characters we've come to know before have grown up along with Dorothy and moved on to better things, which isn't directly touched upon in this novel but mentioned in a passing fashion but still shocking to see.
It was a lovely story which neither begins nor ends in Oz, and while Chalk the horse is Ozian he really never lives there for very long. The book is written as a kind of mystery but in reality there is no mystery as to who the true culprit is, and while I wasn't too fond of the treatment Mathias got considering he did nothing but let his monarch swindle him, the story was entertaining and introduced some new interesting characters in Oz. The plot however does suffer a bit of meandering as Dorothy goes off on a quest only to find herself going right back in the middle of the story not having accomplished anything but staying out of trouble and getting the help of a witch who practices black magic. Also Pigasus, the winged pig is arguably one of the most annoying characters to have ever graced Oz. I really did miss Scraps and that glass cat. At times Chalk could be a bit of a scoundrel and he and Skamperoo got off way too lightly considering their atrocious behavior. Their sudden about change in attitude was a little sudden and really without reason.
So clearly the book has its flaws. But I love reading Oz stories and I have to admit that it was an interesting book to read, and I will continue to read more of Miss Thompson's books about Oz in future. THe whimsy was still present and perhaps that and the old loveable characters and the nostalgia painted the book a lot more pretty than it was but I for one loved reading a new Oz adventure with Dorothy and her friends.
As to the artwork John R. Neill's beautiful art seemed at times a bit rushed, perhaps having illustrated so many Oz books he had become tired of it, but even so, while not his best work it is by far better than most illustrators today. A delightful book if perhaps only to the true fans of Oz. I would recommend it to be read but I wouldn't buy an expensive copy online, you'd do much better getting one of the Books of Wonder reprints of L. Frank Baum's books. Still it was a lovely story and a delightful journey back to Oz.
Many things were different than the books L. Frank Baum wrote, Dorothy for one seemed older and Ozma far wiser, and Glinda didn't play as huge a role as she normally played in the earlier books as the matriarch of Oz. There were many new characters from many other books, and clearly some of the more delightful characters we've come to know before have grown up along with Dorothy and moved on to better things, which isn't directly touched upon in this novel but mentioned in a passing fashion but still shocking to see.
It was a lovely story which neither begins nor ends in Oz, and while Chalk the horse is Ozian he really never lives there for very long. The book is written as a kind of mystery but in reality there is no mystery as to who the true culprit is, and while I wasn't too fond of the treatment Mathias got considering he did nothing but let his monarch swindle him, the story was entertaining and introduced some new interesting characters in Oz. The plot however does suffer a bit of meandering as Dorothy goes off on a quest only to find herself going right back in the middle of the story not having accomplished anything but staying out of trouble and getting the help of a witch who practices black magic. Also Pigasus, the winged pig is arguably one of the most annoying characters to have ever graced Oz. I really did miss Scraps and that glass cat. At times Chalk could be a bit of a scoundrel and he and Skamperoo got off way too lightly considering their atrocious behavior. Their sudden about change in attitude was a little sudden and really without reason.
So clearly the book has its flaws. But I love reading Oz stories and I have to admit that it was an interesting book to read, and I will continue to read more of Miss Thompson's books about Oz in future. THe whimsy was still present and perhaps that and the old loveable characters and the nostalgia painted the book a lot more pretty than it was but I for one loved reading a new Oz adventure with Dorothy and her friends.
As to the artwork John R. Neill's beautiful art seemed at times a bit rushed, perhaps having illustrated so many Oz books he had become tired of it, but even so, while not his best work it is by far better than most illustrators today. A delightful book if perhaps only to the true fans of Oz. I would recommend it to be read but I wouldn't buy an expensive copy online, you'd do much better getting one of the Books of Wonder reprints of L. Frank Baum's books. Still it was a lovely story and a delightful journey back to Oz.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2023
One of the better of the Plumly Thompsons.
More plot than usual, and she makes nice use of some bits of Oz history.
Nice to see Dorothy back in action, the villains are kind of sweet in their friendship, I love the resolution of the meeting with the Black Witch.
Bitty Bit the Seer and Piddy Penny, the much put upon prime minister, may be two of my favorite characters from Plumly-Thompson's run.
The ending is rushed, as usual, but I like how we weren't't beaten over the head with the lesson of the book and aside from the painful poetry, the humor actually raised some chuckles.
Loses a star, as I got a cheap edition, that included no illustrations and some issues with crowded text.
More plot than usual, and she makes nice use of some bits of Oz history.
Nice to see Dorothy back in action, the villains are kind of sweet in their friendship, I love the resolution of the meeting with the Black Witch.
Bitty Bit the Seer and Piddy Penny, the much put upon prime minister, may be two of my favorite characters from Plumly-Thompson's run.
The ending is rushed, as usual, but I like how we weren't't beaten over the head with the lesson of the book and aside from the painful poetry, the humor actually raised some chuckles.
Loses a star, as I got a cheap edition, that included no illustrations and some issues with crowded text.
July 30, 2013
By far the best Thompson book so far. The plot wasn't just the standard walking around Oz and meeting new people line we've now read so many times. You couldn't predict how Dorthy was going to solve this conflict right off the bat, so it made you interested in reading to figure out how everything was going to work out. There was good character development for new characters as well as older characters getting developed more.
September 24, 2011
Nowhere close to the charm, magic, and inventiveness of the originals. These books should not be considered Oz canon. With this book, Thompson has written more Oz books than Baum, but I wish she'd stopped after two or three.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews