The Scarecrow of Oz (Oz, #9) in The Wizard of Oz Group

Feb 25, 2017 Jeff rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The next stop on my journey of reading the Oz books with my children.

The Scarecrow of Oz does several great things and is such a better read than its predecessor "Tik-Tok". Baum attempts to sidestep the demands of his fans, but making an Oz book that: focuses more on characters from another of his series (Trot & Cap'n Bill), much does not take place in Oz (or at least "Oz proper"), and even has hints of a traditional fairy tale woven in.

I really feel that Baum was smart to bring Trot and the C The next stop on my journey of reading the Oz books with my children.

The Scarecrow of Oz does several great things and is such a better read than its predecessor "Tik-Tok". Baum attempts to sidestep the demands of his fans, but making an Oz book that: focuses more on characters from another of his series (Trot & Cap'n Bill), much does not take place in Oz (or at least "Oz proper"), and even has hints of a traditional fairy tale woven in.

I really feel that Baum was smart to bring Trot and the Cap'n to Oz, as they are endearing characters and seem to fit in just fine with the others. This book also features the return (at least to the Oz series) of Button Bright. This young boy, who last journeyed to Oz in "The Road" has expanded his vocabulary quite a bit. While I own both books, I have never read "The Sea Fairies" or "Sky Island" in which Trot and Cap'n Bill are featured and is actually the first reintroduction of Button Bright. I plan to read them later this year, maybe even read them with my children so that we can experience them together for the first time.

Other things I enjoyed about this book: The character of Pessim, the cranky old man marooned on an island because of his negative attitude. The Ork, strange flying creature and loyal companion. That the party visits the land of Mo, another of Baum's fairy lands that never gained the popularity or recognition that Oz did.

Things that are not as strong: Like "Tik-Tok", our title character is not featured as much as some of the others. I understand the thinking behind it though, to pique interest and help prove it is an Oz book, you go for name recognition. At least when the Scarecrow shows up, he does quite a bit. Baum's inconsistencies. It's clear that while Baum was truly a creative and gifted writer, he either didn't reread his books for continuity or just plain did not care. These weren't quite as bad as others in the series, but it is hard to believe that residency in Oz is freely offered to Trot and Bill, whereas in the last book Shaggy Man's brother was almost shut out. However, like I said this book was better with the consistency and to be fair, I've read and loved these books for so long, his here and there rememberings and retellings have their own sense of charm.

The kids seemed to like this one, despite being one of the longer ones, and I would agree that there is some great storytelling at play here. A must for Oz fans and worth a peek for children's fantasy readers as well! ...more

Like · see review