The Magical Mimics in Oz facts for kids
Cover of The Magical Mimics in Oz.
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| Author | Jack Snow |
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| Illustrator | Frank Kramer |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Oz Books |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Reilly & Lee |
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Publication date
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1946 |
| Media type | print (hardcover) |
| Preceded by | Lucky Bucky in Oz |
| Followed by | The Shaggy Man of Oz |
The Magical Mimics in Oz is a fantasy book published in 1946. It is the thirty-seventh book in the famous Oz series. The series was first started by L. Frank Baum. This book was the first Oz story written by Jack Snow. Frank G. Kramer drew the pictures for the book. The book is now in the Public Domain in the United States. This means its copyright was not renewed, so anyone can use or share it freely.
Contents
Meet the New Oz Historian
Jack Snow became the fourth official "Royal Historian" of Oz. This special title means he was chosen to write new stories about the magical land. Before him, L. Frank Baum himself, Ruth Plumly Thompson, and John R. Neill held this role.
Snow wanted his Oz books to feel like Baum's original stories. He tried to use only characters that Baum had created. He filled The Magical Mimics with many of Baum's characters. Snow also created some new characters for this book. These include the evil Mimics, the kind fairy Ozana, her kitten Felina, and her wooden puppet friends called the Hi-Los.
Inspired by The Emerald City of Oz
Jack Snow got many ideas for The Magical Mimics in Oz from Baum's earlier books. He especially used The Emerald City of Oz, which was the sixth Oz book.
The Magical Mimics and Phanfasms
Snow based his villains, the Magical Mimics, on creatures called Phanfasms from Baum's The Emerald City of Oz. In that book, Phanfasms are described as powerful and mean evil spirits. Snow made his Mimics another type of these spirits.
The Mimics live inside a hollow mountain called Mount Illuso. This mountain is next to Mount Phantastico, where the Phanfasms live. Like the Phanfasms, the Mimics are ugly and evil. They can also change their shapes. A special trick they have is being able to copy how humans look. They do this by stepping into a person's shadow. When this happens, the real person becomes frozen by magic, but they can still think.
The Mimics are naturally mean. They want to destroy everything good and happy in Oz. The fairy queen Lurline knew they were a danger. So, she placed one of her followers to watch over the Mimics. This was to stop them from causing trouble.
The Story of the Magical Mimics
The story begins with Princess Ozma and Glinda the Good. They are planning to leave Oz for a special meeting. This meeting is the Grand Council of the fairy queen Lurline. It happens every 200 years in the Forest of Burzee.
Dorothy Gale is surprised when Ozma asks her to rule Oz while they are away. Ozma reminds Dorothy that she is a princess of Oz.
The Mimics' Evil Plan
The story then moves to the evil Mimics in their home inside Mount Illuso. The Mimics constantly change their shapes into horrible forms. For example, they might look like an ape with an alligator's head, or a snake with butterfly wings. Their rulers are King Umb and Queen Ra. These names sound like "umbra," which means shadow.
King Umb and Queen Ra plan to stop Lurline's magic. They want to attack Oz. The shape-shifting rulers and their followers fly to Oz as big black birds. They trick Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Queen Ra and King Umb step into Dorothy's and the Wizard's shadows. This makes them look exactly like Dorothy and the Wizard. The real Dorothy and Wizard become frozen by magic. Other Mimics then carry them away to Mount Illuso.
The Mimic King and Queen, disguised as Dorothy and the Wizard, search Ozma's library. They are looking for a way to undo Lurline's magic spell.
Trouble in Oz
Umb and Ra cannot perfectly copy Dorothy and the Wizard. People in Oz start to get suspicious. Toto, Dorothy's talking dog, finally exposes them. But it is too late! The Mimic royals find what they were looking for.
Back in Mount Illuso, they create a giant red spider. This spider spins a magic web. The web cancels out Lurline's spell. This allows the Mimics to launch a huge attack on Oz.
Dorothy and the Wizard are trapped in a cave deep inside Mount Illuso. But then, a bright fairy light appears. It comes from a button on the cave wall. They press the button, and a secret door opens. Inside is an elevator with a helper. Hi-Lo, a living wooden puppet, takes them to the top of the mountain.
There, Dorothy and the Wizard find Pineville. They meet the fairy Ozana. Queen Lurline had asked Ozana to watch over the evil Mimics. Ozana has spent her lonely days creating her Story Blossom Garden and her wooden puppet people. Ozana is shocked that the Mimics have escaped her watch. She leads Dorothy and the Wizard back to Oz, flying on giant swans.
Oz is Saved!
The attacking Mimics arrive in Oz disguised as beautiful birds. They have bright feathers of red, blue, green, and gold. The people of Oz are tricked by their beauty. The Mimics quickly copy and freeze them. This trick only works on humans. Fierce animals like the Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger are magically put to sleep. Non-human creatures like the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl are simply tied up.
The Mimics have almost won when Ozma and Glinda arrive. Ozana, Dorothy, and the Wizard also arrive at the same time. Ozana's magic is strong enough to defeat King Ra and Queen Umb. Her magic also reverses their spells. The Mimics turn back into their ugly forms.
The good magic traps the Mimics in the many mirrors of Ozma's grand ballroom. From there, they are sent back inside Mount Illuso. Order is restored in Oz. Everyone celebrates with a big banquet. Ozana is invited to live in Oz. Her Pineville people and her Story Blossom Garden are magically moved to Oz so she will not miss them.
Ozana's Story Blossom Garden
One special and imaginative part of Snow's book is Ozana's Story Blossom Garden. This garden has magical flowers with human faces. These flowers can talk! They want to be picked so they can whisper their stories into people's ears.
Every flower tells its own unique tale. Different types of flowers tell different kinds of stories:
- Roses tell love stories.
- Rambling roses tell travel stories.
- Tulips tell Dutch stories.
- Pansies tell fairy tales.
- A tiger lily tells "a thrilling story of splendid silken beasts in their sultry jungle lairs."
- A sweet-smelling pink carnation can tell "an exciting story of intrigue and adventure in high places."
- Water lilies tell sea tales.
- Lotus blossoms and poppies offer their own tempting choices.
Even some weeds in the garden tell stories, like one about "Dick Superguy — greatest detective in the world!"
Book's History and Later Editions
The first edition of The Magical Mimics in Oz did not sell very well. Because of this, the next Oz book was delayed until 1949. Some people have also said that the pictures drawn by Frank Kramer for this book were not as good as others.
After many years, the book was out of print. But in 1990, The International Wizard of Oz Club printed it again. This new edition included a helpful Afterword by Michael Gessel. Other versions of the book were also published later, including by Books of Wonder in 1991 and Kessinger in 2007.
