The Top 100 Fantasy Books

When I saw that Time had published a list of "The Top 100 Fantasy Books" yesterday, I will admit to some initial trepidation, as often these lists are put together by high-falutin' literary critics who look down on children's books, and Oz in particular, it seems. But no, this was actually a panel consisting of Time editors and some of today's top fantasy writers. So I was pleasantly surprised to see several children's books on the list, and Oz is indeed represented—but not by the book just about everyone on the planet would expect! No, belive it or not (I won't hold you in suspense, so I'm going to spoil it here; this is your last chance to go look at the list before I let this cat out of the bag), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not on the list, but Ozma of Oz is! Since many Oz readers actually consider Ozma to be the best book in the series (whenever there's a poll for best Oz books, Wizard and Ozma usually battle for the top spot, with Marvelous Land a distant third), but for the rest of the literary world to notice is a testament to just how good it is. Personally, however, if I were to put only one book by L. Frank Baum on that list, it wouldn't even be an Oz book. I still think that Queen Zixi of Ix may be the best thing Baum ever wrote.

One other book I noticed is not on the list: The Hobbit! The entire Lord of the Rings cycle is there, but its prequel didn't make it. I would have also included Edward Eager's Half Magic, but they were limited to only one hundred books. I do think this list may be too heavily weighted towards books of the late twentieth century and the twenty-first (so far), but half the fun of lists like this is the back-and-forth of the reactions.

The Latest Oz Reading

Well, with spring break in the district I'm currently working in extended a few more weeks, I may as well catch up on not only my reading, but telling you about it.

• The Road to Oz: The Evolution, Creation, and Legacy of a Motion Picture Masterpiece by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman. This is the duo's latest book about the famous film version of The Wizard of Oz, and like all the others, it is well-researched and full of all kinds of information. Unlike their previous books, this one has not been licensed by Warner Bros., so they were able to tell the story they wanted to tell without any editorial interference by the current owners of The Movie. There was not a lot in here that was new to me, but I've been reading books on this topic for over forty years now. But that doesn't mean I was totally unsurprised. This book contains the first ever published picture of Hickory's wind machine, for example (cut from the final film), and has details about its early release that I had not heard before. Plus the background information leading up to the production of The Movie was terrific, such as Samuel Goldwyn's plans for a movie (before he ended up selling the rights to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), or the fact that there were actually three radio shows in the 1930s (not the two I already knew about). This is always a good topic to revisit every once in a while, and I'm glad Scarfone and Stillman can still wring a lot of new information out of a movie that's now over eighty years old.
• That was a pretty long book, so I thought I'd temper it with a little one, and A Legend in Straw: The Spirit of My Uncle Ray Bolger by Christianna Rickard fit the bill nicely. This is not a biography of Bolger, although there are some biographical touches. It's much more a remembrance of Bolger by his niece, and what his example taught her, especially when Rickard has to deal with a rare form of cancer. (Spoiler alert: She survives, as I bought this book directly from her at OzCon International two years ago. Of course she was kind enough to sign it for me.) It has a clear, nondenominational spiritual bend to it, so in that it reminded me a lot of The Wisdom of Oz by Gita Dorothy Morena, another memoir by an Oz-related relative (for those who don't know, Morena is L. Frank Baum's great-granddaughter). It's not a crucial book for Oz fans to get, but for those who want to know more about Ray Bolger, this is a good introduction.

A New Book for a Good Cause

I have a little souvenir of this year's Winkie Convention next to me right now that I want to share with all of you. It was my prize for winning the costume contest (another story, maybe I'll tell you about that later), and it's surprising that this book hasn't gotten out there and isn't more well known among the greater Oz community. It's a slim little volume called Tales Told from Oz, it's by Gregory Maguire, and it appears to be to his Wicked Years books what The Tales of Beedle the Bard is to the Harry Potter books. It's a series of old Ozzish tales, told in all parts of Maguire's version of Oz at many different points in its history. What's especially nice about this book is that it's cheap, and it benefits the Friends of the West Hartford Library. This was a library that was devastated by Hurricane Irene, and was forced to close (although I gather it's back in business now). I'm all for this sort of thing, so I thought I'd do what I could to get the word out about this book. So, if you're intrigued, go take a look at the book's page. If you're interested and can help, you can probably afford a copy or two. If not, then at least spread the word.

The Latest Oz Reading

I just finished Sam Steele's Adventures: The Treasure of Karnak by L. Frank Baum (originally published as The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt by "Floyd Akers") just moments ago. It was, like most of Baum's other juvenile adventure books, pretty American-centric. Sam and the boys come in and steal treasures from Egypt! Their justification is that no "true" Egyptians rule there now, so they may as well take it instead. I'm glad that attitudes have become somewhat more enlightened since then. But yes, lots of adventures, lots of treasure, lots of good guys and bad guys and the like. Since Laura and I have also been slowly getting through The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, I could very well see Indy and Sam Steele meeting up; however, Sam would be the bad guy, trying to steel the treasure that Indy is trying to learn about and preserve!

The highlight of this book for me, however (besides the chance to own and read an L. Frank Baum book I didn't have before) is the extra materials. Hungry Tiger Press always does well with the extras, but this one is extraordinary. The introduction is by noted Egyptologist (and my friend and roommate at the 2000 Oz Centennial Convention) David Moyer, who tells us just what Baum got wrong in the book. After the main story is Maud Baum's account of her trip to Egypt with Frank in 1906 (as published in In Other Lands Than Ours), just two years before this books publication. One can tell that Frank looked back at Maud's letters for some of the descriptions. I'd read this before, but it was good to read it again in context.

The latest Oz reading

More! Yes, more Oz and quasi-Oz and pseudo-Oz and Ozzish books! Here's the wrap-up of the latest:

• My classic re-read was The Hidden Prince of Oz by Gina Wickwar. This was published by the Oz Club in 2000 to celebrate the Oz Centennial, and it's clear to see why this won the contest. It's a rip-roaring, very Ozzy treat, with all kinds of great new characters — and that's one of the biggest problems. There are too many characters, and it's hard to keep track of them all, particularly when the three or four main plot threads, and the associated groups of characters, all meet up and join forces. Still, the plot is tight and holds together very well, and all ends satisfactorily. Special kudos for Anna-Maris Cool's illustrations. Her style reminds me of, surprisingly, Frank Kramer, if Kramer knew his Oz better and didn't have some of the weaknesses he's been criticized for. But Cool very much has her own style, while still keeping all of the old familiar characters looking like we know them. One observation, however: Princess Vitrea, in her traveling clothes, looks like she wandered in from an '80s music video. She's still lovely, however.
  
• My old "Baum" story this time around was Mary Louise at Dorfield by "Edith Van Dyne". This was actually the first book where "Edith Van Dyne" wasn't L. Frank Baum; it's Emma Speed Sampson's first stab at it, and it shows! A lot of the characterizations are just off. Josie O'Gorman, who under Baum was the cool, logical girl detective, talks about her instincts and superstitions, and how they've always helped her. And wheelchair-bound Irene MacFarland, who's never let her handicap stand in the way of her accomplishments or esteem before, is now jealous of all of her able-bodied friends and what they can do, and worries what kind of life she can lead. I wasn't impressed. But the big problem with this book is that Mary Louise is barely in it! And the book is supposed to be about her wedding, no less. No, this is the first Mary Louise book in which Josie O'Gorman is the main character, unintended thought that may be. Since the last book, Josie's father has died, and so being on her own and the old house in Washington having too many memories of her father in it, Josie decides to settle in Dorfield. (This makes sense, as she's been to Dorfield in every book in the series so far anyway!) There, she decided to open a shop with one of Mary Louise's friends, Elizabeth Wright, and still be a detective in secret on the side. And what a case she's found in this one — and they've targeted Mary Louise's wedding!
  
• Two more Oz comics. The first is Grimm Fairy Tales Presents The Library #2. Sela manages to escape from the book of dinosaurs she was trapped in at the end of last issue, but a Tyrannosaurus Rex follows her out. Good thing her brother, Thomas, landed in a book of Greek myths, because when he escapes, Hercules comes with him. So, yes, there's a battle between Herculese and a T. Rex! How awesome is that? Also, from out of a Western come some villains, and a good guy who uses a snake like a whip! (More awesomeness!) Finally, just as everyone's catching their breath and trying to figure out what's going on, here come Flying Monkeys! Yup, the Oz content finally enters our story, and the cliffhanger is the Wicked Witch of the West looming over Sela and asking about a key. (What key? Ah, there are three more issues to find out!) My biggest gripe is that this Wicked Witch has two eyes, green skin, and dresses in black. Yup, she's MGM movie based. Couldn't they have used Denslow's version, or one from any other illustrated edition? Still, I doubt the average comics reader would know who she was if she didn't look like Maggie...
  
• And finally, issue #178 of the Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine. It has an Oz cover, so we ordered it. Turns out that was the only Ozzy thing. Oh, well, it still looks good.
  

That's it for this month's comics order, but I still have some more books in my pile, and I'll tell you about them once I finish reading them.

The Latest Oz Acquisitions

I've picked up a few things recently, and thought I'd share:

• First, the comics order came. The only Oz comic was Fables #108 — and this time it really is an Oz comic, at least in part. There are a whole bunch of storylines going on right now, but for this overview, I'll skip the ones about Rose Red returning to the Farm to see what's been happening there (not much, yet), the death of the North Wind and the attempt to find a successor, and Mrs. Spratt's warrior training. In the Restored Pan-Ozian Empire (ruled over with an iron fist by Roquat the Red), Blufkin the No-Longer-Flying Monkey is trying to get Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, and Bugle across the desert and back into Oz. The good news is that there are now roads across the desert. The bad news is that they are heavily guarded, and travelers need passes. It's going to take all of Blufkin's wiles to handle this!
  
• The Witches of Oz. Thanks to my latest bit of credit from Amazon.co.uk and owning a multi-format region-free DVD player, I snagged the DVD of the miniseries version of this story (I gather there will be an American movie release of this in the not-too-distant future). So far, I'm impressed with the background of this version of Oz, as I think the producers tapped into the rest of the books. Hey, when the first character mentioned is Bini Aru, you know someone's paying attention. I hope to get a chance to sit down and really watch this before too long.
  
• And finally, there's a story behind my latest acquisition. I found out about The Uplift of Lucifer from reading The Book Collector's Guide to L. Frank Baum and Oz by Paul Bienvenue (I talked about that book in a recent post). This was a privately printed publication of one of L. Frank Baum's skits for the Uplifters Club, which he belonged to when he was living in Hollywood. From what I gather, Manuel Weltman published only five hundred copies, and gave them to any Oz or Baum enthusiasts who were interested. I'd heard of the story, but hadn't realized it had been published until I read Paul's book. So I idly poked around on the web to see if any copies were available — and more importantly, affordable. Sure enough, they are both. But one copy in particular caught my attention. It wasn't the cheapest out there, but it was still not too bad, considering it was the personal copy of one of my heroes, Martin Gardner. Gardner was one of the sixteen founding members of the International Wizard of Oz Club, wrote many essays and introductions about Oz, wrote The Annotated Alice, and his mathematics column in Scientific American helped to popularize mathematics for everybody. This edition has a postcard from Weltman to Gardner, and Gardner's own annotations. I hemmed and hawed and talked to Laura, and she said, "I'm surprised you haven't bought it already." So I punched a bunch of buttons on my computer, and a few days later it arrived. So now I not only have a rare piece of Baumiana, it also has a history in Oz fandom. And yes, I'll actually read it soon, too.
  

"If You Lived Here" nominations

Hey, kids, go on over to www.ifyoulivedherebook.com. This is a site where a publisher is looking for nominations for the thirty best sci-fi and fantasy worlds, and I suspect Oz would make a great choice, don't you? So feel free to tell them, and then pass the word along about this site to anyone else who you think would agree (or would just enjoy being part of a project like this — but especially the Oz fans you know).

New illustrated edition of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

I got word of this project, and it looks fascinating. Over at blankpages.co.uk, they're compiling a new illustrated edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by providing the text on the left-hand side. The right-hand side is blank, but anyone who wants to draw a picture to go with the corresponding text can contribute. There are a lot of interesting images already, but there are also lots of blank pages left to fill. So if you have the ability for this sort of thing, I suggest you go over there and contribute something. If you don't, just go on over and take a look.

Put the book up on your wall!

I got word from the folks behind a new company, NovelPoster, about what they're doing. They've taken the texts of famous books and rearranged them on a poster in an image that has to do with the book. Pretty neat. And yes, one of them is The Wizard of Oz. I don't recommend trying to actually read the book this way, but it does look pretty cool. They've also arranged some celebrity tweets in the same way. Are you intrigued yet? Then go on over to their page on Kickstarter to see what it's all about.

Help kids ace the SAT with Oz!

My buddy Lynn, who's also vice-president of the International Wizard of Oz Club, often finds interesting Oz-based school projects looking for assistance on donorschoose.org. Well, here's a good one she alerted me to recently that involves getting a bunch of copies of The Wizard of Oz Vocabulary Builder to get high school students ready for the SAT. Great idea, and a worthy project. So if you can, you'll be helping out a bunch of needy students and spreading the word of Oz by donating. And while you're there, feel free to poke around and see if there are other schools looking for help, possibly even in your area!

Those darned Oz reviews!

I just wanted to alert the greater Oz community (that would be you, my readers — I hope) to a major accomplishment that recently wrapped up. Over at tor.com, Mari Ness has read and reviewed all forty Oz books. In order. And she has some fresh insights into a lot of stuff that us long-term Oz fans take for granted. Her reviews are fun, and while she clearly loves Oz, she's also not afraid to tell it like it is. So, have I piqued your interest? Good. Go read them, already. Be sure to read the comments, too, since she has some interesting additional thoughts with her readers, and some of them are pretty big names in the Oz community.

The latest Oz reading, uh huh!

This is a book I've waited a very long time to read. Because I first came up with the title. And that title? Three-Headed Elvis Clone Found in Flying Saucer Over Oz. Many years ago, author Chris Dulabone and I were chatting away and coming up with new Oz titles. It got sillier and sillier, until I finally said, "Three-Head Elvis Clone Found in Flying Saucer Over Oz". And that ended that train of thought, but I didn't think any more of it. But not long afterwards, it started turning up in a list of forthcoming titles from Buckethead Enterprises of Oz! D'oh!

It took a while, but it finally came out last year (now from Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends), and Chris was kind enough to send me a complimentary autographed copy. And lo and behold, it's even dedicated to me. Aww...

As for the book itself, it's a fun little romp with a couple of dogs from the Lunechien Forest who find a spaceship (don't ask, just enjoy), and they travel to the moon, Ramiria (from Volkov's The Secret of the Deserted Castle), and Anuther Planet (from The Silver Princess in Oz). But the Three-Headed Elvis Clone of the title? It's not a clone. Nor do we actually find it in a flying saucer over Oz. Nor, for that matter, does he/they really have much of a part at all in the events. Oh, well. But hey, more of S. P. Maldonado's terrific Oz art, which is not a bad thing. I really like his take on Ximbrina, Planetty's little (in more ways than one) sister.

So I want to thank Chris for finally getting this out and into my hands. Thank you. Thank you very much.

The latest Oz reading

I finally got around to reading The Return of Oz by Daniel H. Sundstrom. For such a short little book, it was really hard to read! First off, this goes where I don't think any Oz book should go: Movie territory. Yes, it's a sequel to the famous MGM movie version — and not a very good one, either. Dorothy's daughter, Emily, has been hearing her mother's tales of Oz all her life. So when she finds a pair of ruby slippers in the attic, she has to try them on, and the next thing she knows she's in Oz helping the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion defeat the Witch of the South. Further throwing things askew is a character called "the profesor," who is clearly meant to be both Professor Marvel and the humbug wizard from The Movie. He helps them out, but it turns out there was a real Wizard of Oz, the rightful ruler of Oz. Oy...

In his author note on the back cover, Sundstrom claims to have researched Baum's early works and incorporated them into this book, but he's extremely circumspect about it. There are a few tiny nods here and there, and an unnamed magic land that Dorothy visits at one point is most likely Mo. Also, somehow Glinda has a sister in the south, who sure sounds like the Glinda of the books, but she isn't given a name. This was just a patchwork hodgepodge of little incidents, it comes to no real resolution (leaving things open to a sequel, I imagine), the Witch of the South is defeated all too easily, there's no strong characterization or growth, the dialog is dull, and the author needs more practice in the general conventions of writing, or at least needs a good copy editor. Most Oz fans can give this one a pass and not miss much of anything at all.

The Wonderful Mother of Oz

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I'd post a little information on a new (to me) book that I don't have yet, and won't be able to get soon, but is all too appropriate. The Wonderful Mother of Oz is a little thing put out by the Matilda Joslyn Gage foundation. It's about Gage's relationship with her son-in-law, L. Frank Baum, and how she help influenced him to become a writer. And since it's by Sally Roesch Wagner, it's going to be both good and accurate. Maybe by next Mother's Day, I'll have a copy and can review it here.

My latest Oz readings

I finally got through my latest big pile of Oz books. I think, after this, I won't tackle quite so many at one time, and I may even blog them as I read them rather than waiting until I'm done reading Oz for a while. Anyway, in no particular order:

• First is the latest (for me) Sisters Grimm book, volume 4, Once Upon a Crime. Daphne and Sabrina are back in New York City and get caught up in the machinations of the Everafter community there. This is the Ozziest book of the series so far, what with the Wizard having a big role. He's now a window dresser at Macy's, appropriately enough considering that L. Frank Baum was also a window dresser (and yes, author Michael Buckley knows this, and it's deliberate). Aside from the Oz content, this is a fun series, and I'm looking forward to where the rest of the girls' adventures take them.
  
• Dunkiton #17, the latest in Ruth Berman's annual series of reprinted material from Oz contributors, is a single story by Paul West, "The Christmas That Was Nearly Missed." It's a fun little story, but the Ozzy part is the many illustrations by West's friend and frequent collaborator, W. W. Denslow. I'm glad Berman is finding these unusual items and making them available to a broader modern audience.
  
• This goaround, I got to enjoy two vintage Oz items, the 1961 Reilly and Lee picture book adaptations of The Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, both illustrated by Dick Martin. They leave out enough of the adventures to jar long-term Oz fans like myself, but they're more tightly plotted as a result, and Dick Martin's pictures are always wonderful. I'd like to see some enterprising publisher take all four of these picture books (they also put out The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz) and reissue them in a large omnibus volume.
  
• I've been sent two books to review, and the first is Lessons from Oz by Julienne La Fleur. I hope I can get the review of this up soon on my website's review page, but I can tell you that this is, at its core, an Ozzy version of Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, with little lessons we can all pick up on from The Movie. It's a charming little book, but not for most hardcore Oz fans, I fear. The second book was a pre-publication copy, so I don't think I can disclose what it is yet, but the review will be appearing in a future issue of The Baum Bugle. Let's just say that this is one a lot of Oz fans are going to want, particularly if they already have the first two volumes of this trilogy of translations (and I may have said too much alaready). I'll try to remember when this book goes on sale so that I can tell you about it.
  
• Comics! In manhwa, I read volume 4 of Dorothy of Oz by Son Hee-Joon. Tin Woodsman has an interesting run-in with one of his own kind, and doesn't necessarily come out all the better for it. And we finally get to meet the lion at the end, too — right before the "To be continued" tag. Well, at least we know there will be a volume 5, and I suspect a few more after that, too.
  
• I also read some manga, with volume 3 and volume 4 of Toto: The Wonderful Adventure by Yuko Osada. Kakashi found out some interesting information about his father, and Dorothy attempts to pass her test for a belt in tornado senjutsu. Then, in a trip to Garrot City, the gang gets wrapped up with Alice and the Wonder Gang (no, Oz is not the only series Osada is tapping in this series, it appears), and as a result, events from early in the series catch up with Kakashi. This is another series that has already promised a volume 5, and I suspect there will be more.
  
• Also continuing (but both with ends in sight) are The Land of Oz: Return to the Emerald City by David Hutchison and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Marvel. Both are terrific adaptations of the books, and I hope they will continue by adapting more books.
  
• And finally, an old-fashioned Oz book again, with Lost in Oz by Joshua Patrick Dudley. Hoo boy, how can I be kind to this one? It's a definite Mary Sue situation, in that the main character is Joshua Patrick Dudley himself, and he's lost in Oz with his twin sister and two best friends. Also, he sets himself up to fulfill a prophecy, but how he gets there would really tick off a lot of Oz fans. He knows the books, even though the Joshua in the book only knows The Movie, but not terribly well, in my opinion. The characters, by the way, are not only lost in Oz, they're lost in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book, and in their attempts to get home, they find Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin woodman, and the Cowardly Lion (and Toto, too!) — and end up getting incorporated into and changing the story! It's a good thing they have a copy of the book with them so they can see what's going on. There is a second book, which I've ordered, so we'll see if changing Oz history is going to have any consequences, or if a parrot-ox is going to help sort things out.
  

That's all for now. I'm not sure if I'll get to read a lot more Oz before my summer break, but if I do, I'll try to remember to blog it here once I've read it rather than waiting.

A book you definitely should NOT buy

This post is a warning to all of you hardcore Oz and Baum fans out there, but it's going to take some background, so bear with me for a bit. The first children's book L. Frank Baum ever wrote, in 1896, was a collection of silly stories called Tales from Phunniland. It was not the first book to be published, however. After his first few minor successes, however, it finally saw print in 1900 as A New Wonderland. Then, after Bobbs-Merrill became his primary publishers, it was re-issued in 1903 as The Magical Monarch of Mo. This book, however, had a few changes. The name of the country was changed from Phunniland to Mo, the ruler was changed from a king to a monarch (mostly for alliteration), and Baum wrote a new introduction. The book has been available as The Magical Monarch of Mo ever since, including a Dover reprint in the late '60s. So I know the stories, but I've never read the original Phunniland versions.

A few months ago, I noticed this listing on Amazon for a new edition of A New Wonderland, and recently ordered it, thinking this would be an excellent opportunity to finally read that original version. It arrived the other day, and what did I find inside? First, it's an unillustrated cheap print-on-demand edition. That didn't bother me much, as I was really just interested in the text. But when I started skimming, I found out that it was not A New Wonderland at all, but The Magical Monarch of Mo. It had the same introduction, and the country was named Mo, not Phunniland. It even carried a 1903 date and a notice on the copyright page, "Also published as The Magical Monarch of Mo." So what was the point of calling it A New Wonderland? Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed, and I did something that I don't think I have ever done before: I am sending the book back. I don't need this at all. It doesn't offer me anything new that I don't already have, and I am quite unhappy at the deceptive labeling.

If you want to read about Mo, get the Dover edition. Yes, it's still in print. It's not only cheaper than this rip-off that I bought, it has the original illustrations by Frank Ver Back, including the color plates. It also has a stronger, higher-quality binding. Most importantly, however, is it's cheaper! Now, however, I still have to wait to read A New Wonderland.

The latest Oz readings and acquisitions

It's been a little while since I've told you what I've been reading, and what I've gotten, so let's take care of all that at once, shall we? First off, what have I been reading?

• Trickster in the Land of Dreams by Zeese Papanikolas. This is an interesting little look at the American southwest, and the various myths that have sprung up in the area (Shoshone, Piyute, and other Native American tribes; the early Mormons; the founding and rise of Las Vegas; believe it or not, the Cold War). It's not quite non-fiction, but it's a lot like an anthropological study. There is a chapter devoted to Oz, but I never really seemed to get the connection or why it was in the book, and that struck me as the weakest section.
  
• Ophie Out of Oz by Kathleen O'Dell. Thanks to a long bus trip, I managed to tear through this short children's novel in about a day and a half, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ophelia Peeler is a fourth grader who has just moved to Oregon, and is having the worst trouble fitting in. She's a dreamer who's a Wizard of Oz fan, and she has a pair of Ruby Slippers that are very important to her. The Oz references are pretty tangential, but they are there and enjoyable. This book reminded me a lot of Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, although I think a big part of this was the Oregon location. Ophie definitely has Ramona-like qualities, however.
  
• Since those weren't terribly Ozzy, I looked through the pile to see if there was something a little truer to form. Sure enough, I also found The Wizard of Oz Movie Storybook, and dipped into that. It's a picture book-style retelling of The Movie, using screen grabs from The Movie. The sophisticated Oz book reader in me would have liked to see this go on longer (it's only 48 pages long), but for what it is, it's quite satisfactory.
  
• I also finally managed to finish Judy Garland: A Portrait in Art and Anecdote by my good friend John Fricke. (You want to know how good? I think the inscription he signed in the front is almost as long as the book itself! And I'm only exaggerating a little!) I read this with my breakfast for several mornings, and it's a treat. Lots and lots of pictures, interspersed with anecdotes from those who knew and worked with Judy, as well as a few bon mots from Judy herself. It's a thorough, even-handed examination of her life and career, and it made me want to go out and watch a bunch of her other movies. (I was, in fact, very pleased to see John Fricke introduce the DVD of In the Good Old Summertime when I checked that one out of the library.)
  

I'm really looking forward to the next two books in my pile: The Oz Odyssey by Roger S. Baum (I know, his aren't the Ozziest of Oz books, but his heart is in the right place, and after the last two not-so-Ozzy books, it will be a pleasure to read this, I'm sure), and Wicked: The Grimmerie. Yes, the big fat hardback about the play that I got signed by Stephen Schwartz last year.

So, what new items have I gotten lately? Thanks to everyone who bought goodies through my website's bookshop last Christmas, I had a lot of credit to spend at Amazon, and I made good use of it!

• A Feast of Crime. This anthology of food-themed murder mysteries includes one set at an Oz convention! It should be fun. (This book was also why I haven't said anything earlier, since it took its sweet time getting here. I wanted to get them all before I posted about them.)
  
• The soundtrack to The Dreamer of Oz. No, it's not out on DVD yet (soon, pehaps, I hear through the grapevine), but at least you can listen to the charming music that ran through this 1990 TV movie about L. Frank Baum and how he created Oz.
  
• The Turner Classic Movies edition of the Scene-It? DVD game. I only saw the expansion pack available on Amazon.com, but I've since found that the full board edition is available directly from the manufacturers (and they're a local company, too). Yes, Turner owns The Wizard of Oz, so there are scenes and questions from The Movie in it. I haven't found anyone to play with yet, however.
  
• Another CD, Harold Arlen Sings Sweet and Hot. As I'm sure you all know, Arlen was the lyricist for The Movie, and this is a disc of him singing some of his famous songs, including "Over the Rainbow."
  
• Journey to the Emerald City: Achieve A Competitive Edge by Creating A Culture of Accountability by Roger Connors and Tom Smith. Yet another Oz-themed guide to life, this one about business. This is actually the follow-up to an earlier book that I've already read. No, it won't really apply much to me, but it will be interesting to see the Oz connections.
  
• A Wizard of Oz wastepaper basket. I'm not usually one to get trinkets and knickknacks and the like just because they have The Wizard of Oz stamped on them, but I thought a wastepaper basket would be a good addition to my room. Well, take a look:
  
  Why do all Oz items these days have to be pink? Hmm, those feet look familiar...
  
• Finally, not an item I got from Amazon, but maybe the most fun. I got an e-mail from the founder of Celebriducks, the folks who make rubber ducks that look like celebrities. They were doing an Oz line, and would I like to comment? Before long, we'd made a deal, and I finally got around to getting them. They look something — well, no, exactly — like this:
  
  Glinda and a Munchkin are in the works, and the preliminaries I've seen look really good. Now if they'd only do the Wizard…
  

And that's about it. Quite a lot, huh? I'll try not to be so long next time.