The Magic Dishpan of Oz facts for kids

The Magic Dishpan of Oz is an exciting children's book from 1994. It was written by Jeff Freedman and has cool pictures by Denis McFarling. As the name suggests, this book is part of the amazing world of Land of Oz, which was first created by L. Frank Baum. Many other writers have added to the Oz stories over the years.

The book was published by Emerald City Press, a part of Books of Wonder. This publisher is known for its special collection of Oz books.

Freedman's story uses ideas from the general Oz mythos (which means the shared stories and beliefs of Oz). It especially connects to two older Oz books: The Lost Princess of Oz (1917) by L. Frank Baum and The Silver Princess in Oz (1938) by Ruth Plumly Thompson. The special "magic dishpan" in Freedman's book is the same golden dishpan covered in diamonds that belonged to Cayke the Cookie Cook in Baum's book.

The Adventure Begins: Finding the Magic Dishpan

The main characters in The Magic Dishpan of Oz are two sisters: Rebecca, who is seven, and Shoshanna, who is three. They live in Oregon. One day, while playing by a stream near their home, they find a very unusual frog. The frog seems to want to talk to them, and Shoshanna thinks she can understand it!

The frog, which they name "Froggie," also seems to want them to follow it. The girls do, and Froggie leads them to a shiny, partly hidden object. It's a golden dishpan covered in sparkling gems! The girls take their new treasure home. At one point, Rebecca wishes out loud, "Oh, I just wish I knew where this dishpan came from!" Suddenly, the magic dishpan grants her wish and transports the girls (and Froggie) all the way to the Land of Oz!

Trouble in Oz: Escaping the Magicians

Rebecca and Shoshanna know a lot about Oz from books, but they are surprised by their welcome. They land in the Winkie Country, where the local people are not friendly. In fact, they are so suspicious that they lock the girls in a barn overnight! They plan to hand them over to "our illustrious Magician" the next day.

Luckily, some friendly talking sheep help the girls escape with the dishpan and Froggie. The girls realize Froggie must be under a spell because he can't talk in Oz like other animals. Shoshanna even tries to kiss him, hoping to break the spell, but he quickly moves away! The children then head towards the Emerald City by following the famous yellow brick road.

Meeting Old Friends and New Villains

In an old, empty house, the girls find some familiar Oz characters: Scraps the Patchwork Girl, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman. But they are all taken apart! The girls quickly put them back together, and the Oz friends are normal again.

The children learn that bad magicians have entered Oz and are causing a lot of trouble. The group (the girls and their Oz friends) decides to go to Glinda's palace. But they are soon stopped by a Magician and a hundred of his followers! This enchanter calls himself the Magician of Suspicion. His special power is to spread distrust and bad feelings among people.

By making the guards argue with each other, the group manages to escape from their captors, still with the dishpan and Froggie. They then decide to go to the Gillikin Country to find Planetty, the Silver Princess. After more adventures and challenges, the girls and their Oz friends meet up with Planetty and her followers. Together, they all head towards Glinda's palace in the Quadling Country.

Froggie's Secret and Oz's Rescue

Along the way, Froggie starts to show special attention to Planetty, giving her gifts of flowers. The Princess is touched and kisses him. And just like in a fairy tale, Froggie turns into the Frogman from The Lost Princess! It turns out the Frogman had been put under a spell and sent out of Oz with the dishpan by the Magician who took over the Emerald City.

When they finally reach Glinda's palace, she isn't there. The group looks in her Great Book of Records to find out how to save Oz. They discover a big secret: the main leaders of Oz — Glinda, Princess Ozma, and the Wizard — have been turned into the emeralds and rubies that decorate the magic dishpan!

In a true fairy tale ending, it's Shoshanna, the youngest and smallest of the group, who figures out how to bring the missing leaders back. She does it just in time for Glinda to defeat the Magician of Ignorance and bring Oz back to its peaceful, normal state.

The Magicians of Mischief

The bad guys in this story are called the Magicians of Mischief. They don't just cause problems in Oz; they bother the whole world! They came to Oz because they had some "temporary setbacks" (meaning they failed a bit) in the outside world. They found the innocent people of Oz easy to trick. The Magician of Ignorance claims to be the strongest of his group. Glinda can't completely destroy them, but she takes away the Magician of Ignorance's magic staff. Without his staff, he won't be able to cause nearly as much trouble!