Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz facts for kids
Cover of Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz.
|
|
| Author | Ruth Plumly Thompson |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | John R. Neill |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Oz Books |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Reilly & Lee |
|
Publication date
|
1939 |
| Media type | print (hardcover) |
| Preceded by | The Silver Princess in Oz |
| Followed by | The Wonder City of Oz |
Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz is an exciting fantasy book published in 1939. It is the thirty-third book in the popular Oz series, which was started by L. Frank Baum. This particular adventure was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, and it was her nineteenth and final Oz book. The amazing pictures inside were drawn by John R. Neill.
The book's title, "The Wizard of Oz," was chosen because a famous movie called The Wizard of Oz was also released in 1939 by MGM. Because of the movie, this story focuses on characters who were important in the very first Oz book. One main character is Jellia Jamb, a castle housemaid, even though she wasn't named in the first book or shown in the movie.
Contents
An Oz-some Adventure Begins
The story kicks off with a fun dinner party. Seven characters from L. Frank Baum's first Oz book are there, including Jellia Jam. After dinner, the Wizard of Oz shows his guests a special glass building. Inside are two shiny silver aircraft, which he calls "ozoplanes." He named them the Ozpril and the Oztober. Everyone is super excited and jumps into the planes to check them out.
Suddenly, the Soldier with the Green Whiskers gets a bad stomachache from eating too many pickles. He accidentally bumps into the control panel of the Oztober, and it takes off! The Wizard is shocked. He quickly gets into the Ozpril with Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow. They fly off to chase the runaway Oztober.
Lost in Stratovania
The Oztober has a wild flight, but the clever Tin Woodman eventually gets it under control. He manages to land the plane in a new, unexplored sky-country called Stratovania. The Tin Woodman, being very enthusiastic, quickly announces that this new land now belongs to Ozma and the Land of Oz.
The ruler of Stratovania, Strutoovious the Seventh (or "Strut of the Strat" for short), is furious! He decides to turn the tables and plans to conquer Oz instead. He forces the Tin Woodman to fly him and his army to Oz. Jellia and the Soldier are left behind in Stratovania.
Escaping Red Top Mountain
Meanwhile, the Wizard and his friends arrive in Stratovania in the second ozoplane. But the Stratovanians blow up their plane! To save themselves, the Ozites have to jump off the edge of the sky-land. Luckily, they grab some winged staffs from two Stratovanians and use them to fly to safety. (Everyone in Stratovania uses these winged staffs to get around.)
The Wizard and his group land on Red Top Mountain in the Quadling Country. They soon find out that the rightful ruler of this place, Princess Azarine, is hiding from a bad guy named Bustabo. Bustabo is even worse than Strut! Bustabo captures the travelers. He sends the Wizard to find Azarine, holding the others hostage.
But the hostages escape! They meet up with the Wizard, Azarine, and her protectors: a giant stag named Shagomar and his wife, Dear Deer. The whole group makes it to the palace of Glinda. Glinda and Ozma are away, but the Wizard uses Glinda's magic to fight off the Stratovanian invasion.
Saving the Emerald City
Strut and his army finally reach the Emerald City. The residents quickly hide or run away. Strut tries to get Ozma's Magic Belt from her safe. This belt is the most powerful magic item in Oz. But he can't get it! The Wizard has joined forces with Ozma and Glinda to rescue the Magic Belt.
Once Ozma has the Belt, she uses its power to send Strut's entire army back home. This ends his plan to conquer Oz. She also turns the bad guy Bustabo into a red squirrel, so Princess Azarine can become the ruler of Red Top Mountain again.
Exploring Lands in the Sky
Many stories imagine lands high up in the clouds, like "castles in the air" or cities in the sky. This idea is often called an "airland" or "skyland." In Ozoplaning, Ruth Plumly Thompson explores this idea, using new terms from science like "stratosphere" and "troposphere." People in Stratovania even drink "air-ade" (a fun play on "air raid") and "liquid air" instead of lemonade!
Stratovania: A Dazzling Sky-Country
When the Tin Man first struggles to control the Oztober, he sees something amazing in the morning light: "Far ahead, between a bank of fog and an arch of platinum sun rays, loomed a long, lavender crescent. Nick even fancied he could see people moving about its glittering surface." However, when he tries to land there, the plane crashes through a "frozen cloud."
Stratovania turns out to be a real, solid place. Thompson calls it an "airland" or "skyland," and the Tin Man calls it an "airosphere." It's located super high up, at 101,867 feet! The weather there is so perfect that people live under canopies instead of in houses. The place is described as incredibly beautiful: "Jellia saw a country of such dazzling beauty, she was almost afraid to breathe lest it vanish before her eyes. The trees were tall and numerous, with gleaming, prism-shaped trunks and a mass of cloudlike foliage. Some bore fruit that actually seemed to be illuminated — oranges, pears, and peaches glowing like decorated electric light bulbs! Moon and star flowers grew in great profusion, and in the distance caves and grottoes of purest crystal scintillated in the high noon sun."
The Amazing Airlanders
The people of Stratovania are just as impressive as their land: "The Airlanders were a head taller than even the Tin Woodman. Their hair grew straight up on end, sparkling and crackling with electricity in a really terrifying manner. Their eyes were star-shaped and shaded by long, silver lashes; the noses and mouths were straight and firm, the foreheads transparent. Some shone as from a hidden sun, while across the brows of others tiny black clouds chased one another in rapid succession. Watching their foreheads would be a good way, decided Jellia Jam, to find out whether they were pleased or angry. Strut and his subjects wore belted tunics of some iridescent, rainbow-hued material, and silver sandals laced to the knee."
Their silver shoes might remind you of the silver slippers worn by the Wicked Witch of the East in the first Oz book. Thompson also uses fun sky-themed puns. For example, the newspaper Strut reads is called a "morning star," and his people live the "high life."
