The Latest Oz Reading

No, I haven't gotten into my latest cycle of Oz reading yet, although that may be starting up very soon. But the annual Dunkiton Press anthology just came from long-time Oz fan Ruth Berman the other day, and so of course I have to give it a plug. Berman finds all kinds of rare and unusual items by Oz contributors in early twentieth century newspapers, and puts them together in themed collections. This year's twenty-ninth issue is the third collection of poems and short stories by Ruh Plumly Thompson, all about mice. It's full of Thompson's usual charm and heart, of course. Go check out what else she has, you may find something you like.

The 31 Days of Halloween, Oz Style: Day 19

After my miss the other day and near-miss yesterday, I figure I'd better do this early today. So let me talk about a little project I have on the side, helping out Ruth Berman with her annual Dunkiton Press series of reprint pamphlets. She finds works by Oz contributors, notably W. W. Denslow, John R. Neill, and Ruth Plumly Thompson, in old newspapers, and republishes them in themed collections. They are not lavish, but they are inexpensive, and just having these readily available is a terrific resource. Naturally, one year—2006, to be precise—is a Halloween collection, with illustrations by Denslow and Neill, and stories, poems, and playlets by Thompson. If you get this, be sure to pick up a couple more while you're at it, as you save when buying in groups of three.

The Latest Oz Reading

I recently received the 2017 edition of Dunkiton Press, the twenty-sixth consecutive annual issue, reprinting old newspaper material by Oz authors and illustrators. This year, it's more of Ruth Plumly Thompson's "Perhappsy Chaps" poems from the Philadelphia Public Ledger. They are very helpful little chaps, finding ways to aid children all over the country and make their lives a little better—or just having their own fun. The Perhappsies deal with Valentine's Day, pirates, a princess, a giant and a baby, and a gingerbread city. And with this issue, the Dunkiton Press series publishes the last of the poems to be reprinted in the book edition. I gather there are a few more, however, that may be appearing in future editions.

The Latest Oz Reading

I'm not in one of my usual cycles of Oz reading right now, but when the latest edition of Dunkiton Press Arrived at my house right before Christmas, I carved out a little time to read this, Ruth Berman's fourth collection of Ruth Plumly Thompson's Perhappsy Chaps stories as they first appeared in the Philadelphia Public Ledger. This time around, the Chaps have adventures at an old mill, help newlyweds make a new home, go to the gym, teach a boy how to swim, and deal with drying laundry. Plus, Kirsten MacLeod reports on the discovery of some previously unknown Frederick Richardson illustrations. Any fans of Oz ephemera, especially Ruth Plumly Thompson, should be a regulap reader of Dunkiton Press. More casual Oz fans, however, probably don't need these — but at the price Berman is charging, it may be worth it anyway!

The latest Oz reading

I'm back on an Oz reading cycle (and since I'm on winter vacation right now, it may go quick), so here are two more Oz things I've just read:

• Dunkiton Press #19 (2010). This is the annual anthology of little known writings and illustrations by Oz contributors, put together by Ruth Berman. This year's theme is "Valentine's Day I" (so I bet there will be a follow up next year), and includes the story "Bunny of Hippety-Hoppety Village" and the poems "The Perhappsy Chaps Send a Valentine", "The Teddy Bear's Song", and "The Perhappsy Chaps and Miss Pozy and Derry Dan" by Ruth Plumly Thompson, all from her pre-Oz time writing for the Philadelphia Public Ledger. The illustrations are by John R. Neill, all from February 1914 edition of The Ladies' Home Journal. If you are interested in the non-Oz work of Oz authors and haven't already discovered the Dunkiton series, I suggest you take a look. For what you get, they're very affordable.
  
• The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull. This is a short, picture-book biography of L. Frank Baum, charmingly illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. It's a nice summing up of Frank's life up until writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (and with quite a bit after that as well), and paints a positive picture of the man, as we would expect. The order of a few events are juggled a bit, but nothing serious. This is a nice little book, a perfect introduction to who L. Frank Baum was and how he came to write The Wizard of Oz.
  

The latest Oz reading

I'm still working on an old sci-fi novel (how's that for a teaser?), but I snuck in the latest edition of Ruth Berman's Dunkiton series. This year's edition is the eighteenth annual edition, and is the second issue to celebrate Thanksgiving. Fun fact I learned from this issue: Football games have been associated with Thanksgiving for over a hundred years. There is a very nice John R. Neill newspaper illustration reproduced here, and a short story and some poems by Ruth Plumly Thompson from her newspaper days, before she started writing Oz books. I highly recommend the Dunkiton series for those who want to see some of the non-Oz work of early Royal Historians and illustrators, and they're pretty darned inexpensive, too.