_The Patchwork Girl of Oz_
by L. Frank Baum
Ojo the Unlucky lived with his Unk Nunky in a small cottage in a dark
wooded area of the Munchkin land of Oz, far from most other people.
Ojo's parents had disappeared, which happens even in fairy lands such
as Oz, leaving him in his uncle's care. But life has become hard. The
trees from which they picked their food were no longer producing more
than a loaf of bread or two a month--certainly not enough for an
elderly man and a boy to live on. So the two of them set off in search
of a better life, first heading off to visit the Crooked Magician who
lived with his wife Margolotte in the mountainous area just outside
their woods. Margolotte had just constructed a patchwork girl that she
intended to bring to life to be the servant for herself and her husband
once the magician finished up his latest batch of Powder of Life. She
was just preparing to put the brains into the patchwork girl's heads
when their visitors arrived, and on learning the magician's wife
intended to be skimpy in providing her new servant with intelligence,
Ojo took advantage of a distraction to add in more than a bit of whimsy
and creativity and curiosity, far more than Margolotte felt was needed
by a mere servant.
And once the newly finished powder of life fell upon her, Scraps proved
far more than the magician and his wife were able to handle. Surprised
to find herself alive, Scraps accidentally knocked some Petrifaction
Potion onto Margolotte and Unk Nunky, and it fell to Ojo to find a
means to bring back life to the woman and his uncle as soon as
possible, as it would be six more years before the magician could
finish another batch of his famous powder!
Accompanied by Scraps and the Glass Cat, he sets out on his quest,
which will take him through all of the major countries of Oz before he
is successful in helping see his uncle and the magician's wife
restored.
This is the first Oz book in which Baum gave a true quest-driven
narrative since his first volume in the series, "The Wizard of Oz." As
a result, it is more compelling than the intervening volumes since that
first book, as it isn't just a travelog of odd little kingdoms visited
while on the way to the Emerald City. We get to see more of the nature
of Oz's politics and policies in this book, and I had to laugh at Ojo's
predicament as the first arrested person known in Oz since Ozma was
first restored to herself as ruling Princess of Oz.
Definitely fun to enjoy, and available as both e-text and audio formats
in collections of all of Baum's Oz stories.
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large
"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise
cannot see all ends." LOTR
"Don't go where I can't follow."
