The Gnome King of Oz

Oz Continued #21

by Ruth Plumly Thompson, John R. Neill (Illustrator), Michael Herring (Painter)

Return to L. Frank Baum’s wonderful world of Oz with this illustrated children’s book series.

Ruggedo, the wicked old Gnome King, escapes from Runaway Island and sets out to reclaim his own kingdom and ravage Oz. Together with Peter, an unsuspecting lad from Philadelphia, he discovers the magic casket of Soob the Sorcerer and a flying cloak of Invisibility.
 
Meanwhile, Scraps, the extraordinary Patchwork Girl of Oz, has been kidnapped from the Emerald City. Along with Peter, Grumpy the Bear, and Ozwold the Oztrich, she tries to save the capital of Oz before Ruggedo’s new sorcery can take effect. But it’s up to Peter and his baseball pitching skill to make the final stand against the Gnome King of Oz!
 
Praise for the Oz series
 
“Where the young stay young and the old grow young forever—these books are for readers of all ages.” —Ray Bradbury
 
“The land of Oz has managed to fascinate each new generation. . . . The Oz books continue to exert their spell . . . and those who read [them] are often made what they were not—imaginative, tolerant, alert to wonders.” —Gore Vidal
 
“I was raised with the Oz books, and their enchantment, humor and excitement remain with me. They are still a joy and a treasure. I welcome this Oz revival.” —Stephen R. Donaldson

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Middle Grade, Adventure, Juvenile

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

An 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.

Reviews

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Those whose only familiarity with Oz comes from the MGM film and/or the first Oz book (or even the "Wicked" series and Broadway show and the recent James Franco "Oz" movie) likely believe that the arch-enemy in the Oz series is the Wicked Witch of the West. Not so. The Wicked Witch was only in the first book, and, truth be spoken, she was really kind of minding her own wicked business when the humbug Wizard decided to send the travelers to kill her. (And, in a later book, L. Frank Baum decided that you *can't* be killed in Oz!)

The main villain in the Oz series is Ruggedo the Nome King, who first appeared in the third book, "Ozma of Oz", and has returned several times to recover his magic belt, take over the Emerald City, and get revenge on the series' heroes. In this story, he is back again, this time as the title character, and Ruth Plumly Thompson has changed "Nome" to "Gnome".

The Thompson stories of Oz follow a similar pattern. A new kingdom is introduced. Something or someone needs to be found. Some characters -- mostly new ones, throwing in a few of the old favorites -- go on a journey or journeys. Strange characters and lands are passed through, sometimes not even moving the plot forward, with lots and lots of puns. (Example: There's a Bookman in this one. A book who walks like a man. But he is in and out of the story with little reason for having shown up.)

This is a pleasant enough story, although not an outstanding one in the Oz series.

One criticism on something that is getting on my nerves: Up to this point, Thompson has not gotten a hang of where east and west are. If the Wicked Witch of the West ruled over the Winkies in the first book, then why does she keep referring to Winkie Land as being in the East? Ugh!

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a character named Plumly featured in future Ebooks of my children's fantasy series. I'm honoring Ruth Plumly Thompson, who carried on with the Oz books after L. Frank Baum's death. The Scraps storyline was excellent in this one.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first* actually good RPT book! it's no wonder the cover is falling off my copy, this was one of my favorites as a child and i see why.

unlike a lot of her books, this one has neutral and friendly side characters as well as malevolent ones, and even (in the spirit of baum) some side characters who cause conflict but don't really seem malevolent (like bushes and rocks that dance around you dizzyingly but don't hurt you). like a lot of her books, this has puns, but it also has some non-pun-based people and places which is a relief. i feel like baum's type of whimsy is more creative and sometimes RPT just throws puns together... but this was better, with actually creative people and places like the man who can send his body parts on missions away from his body or sea-quakes that bring the hidden kingdoms under the ocean to its surface.

also loved seeing more of my favorite scrappy heroine, Scraps.

the patchwork kingdom formed like 50% of my aesthetic sense when i was a child. tbh "kingdom that looks like a quilt" still sounds beautiful to me and i keep meaning to paint something like that someday. it's not portrayed as particularly beautiful in the book but something about it struck my imagination

finally... there was OVERALL less sexism in this book than in RPT's others (possibly because you can't possibly make Scraps timid, like she did to dorothy and ozma) but one incredibly annoying line: the stone of silence was previously used by ancient emperors of oz to keep their wives quiet in times of war? what???

baum was so much more normal about women.

*i love kabumpo but that's at least partly nostalgia

[Dane Cobain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the latest in my read through of the Oz series, and at this point I’m at the 21st book and counting. I was reading these as a buddy read with Joel Swagman, but he’s dropped out because he was reading the royalty free versions and by now, I think it’s back under copyright.

Thompson did a good job of continuing L. Frank Baum’s work to begin with, but it feels as though she’s already ran out of steam. This book is pretty much as derivative as they come, which is fine as long as you know that that’s what you’re getting into. But if you’re expecting something new and exciting then you’re in for a disappointment.

I guess the good thing is that there are a lot of familiar faces to enjoy, from the gnome king to the Patchwork Girl of Oz. The plot feels super familiar though, because it’s yet another instalment that focuses around a country losing its ruler and trying to find a replacement. There are only so many times you can get away with doing that.

I think that if I wasn’t 21 books into the series and pretty determined to finish it off, I would have bailed by now. But oh well, that’s life I guess.

[Derek L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing entry in the Oz series! I have always appreciated the work done by both Baum and Thompson with Ruggedo the Gnome. I think Ms. Thompson really shines in this installment, not just with the storyline, but with the title character in particular. What I particularly enjoy about the series is that you could pick up one book out of order, and you already know what's going on, who is who, and everything in between.

I also she thinks she does a wonderful job at the Patchwork Girl in this story as well. The story begins with her kidnapping, where she becomes the Queen of Patch, but this new title for Scraps is misleading. Instead, she is treated like a slave and eventually escapes her situation. Ruggedo, of course, is still a crazy little gnome bent on escaping Runaway Island so he can seek revenge on Ozma and steal back his Magic Belt.

This was probably the best installment I have read so far with Thomson's contributions to the series. As always, the characters are whimsical and fun to spend time with.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot. Firstly, no racism! Secondly, Ruggedo is back! Best villain ever. Thirdly, a male protagonist? No way! This is unusual in Oz books, and I like to see it for my boys. I felt like Peter had a little more personality than Bob Up in the Cowardly Lion book. Fourthly, we also have Scraps as the secondary protagonist, and she is always great. Fifthly, Kuma Party is an excellent character. I wonder if this is the first living dismembered limb in literature. It's certainly not the last.

This is your standard journey from place to place in Oz and nearby lands book. But the added threat of the Gnome King makes it a lot more exciting. Will Peter realize this guy is evil? Will he be able to stop him? It keeps you guessing all the way. And it ends with an Oz party! Which is the best ending. Maybe my favorite Thompson so far.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*"Bear stories are the most exciting."

So a country of Quilties the Queen has fallen into scraps and they need a new ruler. Obviously this leads to the Patchwork Girl of Oz being kidnapped by them. There she meets Grumpy the Bear. Peter, a boy from Philadelphia who is kidnapped by a balloon and dropped right on the head of the banished Gnome King. Luckily they come across an Ozstrich with an egg, which is important, because gnomes are scared of eggs.

[Mh Weyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t remember if I had read this one previously. But equally as creative and entertaining as the earlier ones…if a little light on plot. Couldn’t help see some similarities with Phantom Tollbooth.

[Pierce Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had very high expectations for this book, so this is going to be an extensive review.

It's not necessarily a bad story, but better things could have come out of this book, but... First, I want to discuss the name of this book. The GNome King of Oz. Why bother to change the name at this point of the series? That G bothers me. I want to believe that Ruth Plumly Thompson did it because it was more grammatically nicer/correct, and not because she suddenly forgot it. This is absurd, I get it, burlt this is the way it had been spelled for over nineteen years by the time this book was published.

Although there are some good ideas/elements, there's nothing new or really exciting about this story.  And that's a little discouraging, considering this is the 7th book [of nineteen] written by Ruth Plumly Thompson.

There was a whole chapter with some Disney movie vibes, with everybody singing and dancing. I liked it. I also liked Peter's character, more than I liked Bob Up from The Cowardly Lion of Oz.

Ruggedo is treacherous and wicked, while Peter is pure and innocent, yet I'd have liked to read more about the rise and fall of this queer relationship between these two characters. I mean, Peter is a 9 years old boy who's more worry to come back to Philadelphia just in time for his baseball game. I get it. But Ruggedo offers him richness and a status of general of his armies... and the first thought of Peter is to reach to the Emerald City and warn Ozma, and that's fine, but it's too early to think about that. I'd have liked to read more about the disappointment of meeting your heroes, about how these ones can fail you and betray you, just like Ruggedo did to him.

Finally, some good things about this story were the idea behind the Kingdom of Patch, I didn't like it at first, but I ended up liking it a lot. Although I keep thinking that this was more a story about the Patchwork Girl than the Gnome King. Kuma Party and Wumbo, the sorcerer, were good choices of ideas for this book.

[hpboy13 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nowhere close to the charm, magic, and inventiveness of the originals. These books should not be considered Oz canon.

[Shoshana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya know, cute and fun and fine. I'll keep reading them, but I'm a hair disillusioned on my memories of RPT.

[Rugg Ruggedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites in the RPT run of Oz books.