Status Updates From The Marvellous Land of Oz (...

The reemergence of the Queen of Mice was nice. The stereotype that girls are all frightened by mice and that gender roles that they are assigned are interesting in a horrifying sort of way. I hope that Baum is including this stuff to rebuke it rather than encourage it, though I wonder. This was written in 1904 after all. I wouldn't be surprised to find him pushing these roles as the right thing. We'll see.

Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse are equally entertaining while Tip doesn't seem to be a particularly important element despite his being the presumable protagonist. He pushes the plot when it needs pushing, but otherwise he seems to live on the fringe of the plot. Not great main character material, though that could change.

There are a lot of holes in the plot, but the author's use of advanced words makes it ideal for challenging my daughter's reading.

This is an interesting book. Not sure that I would recommend it, but it's great for challenging my kids reading skills.

Pretty good so far.

Next chapter: The Astonishing Flight of the Gump

"Everything in life is unusual, until you get accustomed to it." - the Scarecrow

we're reading this as Kai's bedtime book.

Reading this with my 7-year-old...in some ways, more fun than the Wizard of Oz b/c it's all new!

I just updated my page a few hours ago... but I've gotten far since then! L. Frank Baum has quite an imagination.

Wow, this book is weird. Profoundly weirder than The Wizard of Oz. But it's fun so far!

"Do not, I beg of you, dampen today's sun with the showers of tomorrow."

"Do not, I beg of you, dampen today's sun with the showers of tomorrow."

A little old fashioned fantasy!

"Do not, I beg of you, dampen today's sun with the showers of tomorrow."

Took a break to finish The Time Traveler's Wife, but I want to finish this soon.

"In an emergency," [Scarecrow] announced, "it is always a good thing to pause and reflect. Please excuse me while I pause and reflect."

I love it so far! Too cute.