This Week's Oz Short Story

The 1999 edition of Oziana was not completely taken up by "Toto's Tale", it also included a very brief retelling of "How Oz Became a Fairyland" by Marin Elizabeth Xiques. A lot of the details will be known to those who have read many of the books, but this does reconcile the sticky question of how Ozma can be both a member of Queen Lurlinés fairy band and the daughter of the King of Oz. Yes, it makes sense.

There are also a few other parts to this issue:

• The cover challenges the reader to name the artist who drew each portrait of Toto, and from which books.
• There is a "Toto Quizlet", three questions about Dorothy's canine friend.
• The anonymous poem "Canis Heroicus" is a first-person account of Toto's role in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, where he makes the case that he is the hero of the book. And he is very convincing!

So, yes, this is a nearly all-Toto issue. This was a time when Oziana had a particularly difficult time finding artists, so much of the art is reprinted from the book, especially Frank Kramer's work from The Magical Mimics in Oz. (Since that was a particularly Toto heavy book, that makes sense.)

Next week, I delve into the issue from 2000, celebrating the Oz Centennial.