The Marvelous Land of Oz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Marvelous Land

First edition book cover
Author	L. Frank Baum
Illustrator	John R. Neill
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Oz books
Genre	Children's novel
Publisher	Reilly & Britton
Publication date	July 5, 1904
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Preceded by	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Followed by	Ozma of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz is an exciting children's book. It was written by L. Frank Baum and published on July 5, 1904. This book is the second story in the famous Land of Oz series. It continues the adventures after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The book was illustrated by John R. Neill. He also drew pictures for 34 more Oz books. The Marvelous Land of Oz has been adapted many times. It became an episode of The Shirley Temple Show in 1960. An animated TV series in 1986 was also based on it. Marvel Comics even made it into comic books. Parts of the story were used in the 1985 Disney movie Return to Oz.

Discover the Story: A Summary

This story happens soon after Dorothy returns to Kansas. The main character is an orphan boy named Tip. He lives in the northern part of Oz, called Gillikin Country. A mean witch named Mombi takes care of him. Mombi is very unkind to Tip.

Tip's Escape and New Friends

One day, Tip tries to scare Mombi with a wooden man. He carves a big Jack-o'-lantern for its head. He calls his creation Jack Pumpkinhead. Mombi is not scared. Instead, she shows Tip a new magic "Powder of Life." She plans to turn Tip into a marble statue.

To avoid this, Tip runs away with Jack that night. He also takes the magic Powder of Life. Tip uses the powder to bring a wooden Sawhorse to life. Jack rides the Sawhorse, which runs so fast that Tip is left behind.

Walking alone, Tip meets General Jinjur. She leads an army made only of girls. They plan to take over the Emerald City. The Scarecrow has been ruling the city since the first Oz book.

The Emerald City in Trouble

Meanwhile, Jack and the Sawhorse reach the Emerald City. They meet the Scarecrow. General Jinjur and her army invade the city. They cause a lot of trouble and steal things. Tip joins Jack and the Scarecrow in the palace. They escape on the Sawhorse.

They travel to the tin castle of the Tin Woodman. He now rules the Winkie Country. They hope he will help them get the Emerald City back. On their way, Mombi uses her magic to stop them. Jinjur had asked Mombi for help.

New Allies and a Flying Machine

The group meets the "Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated" Woggle-Bug. They also get help from loyal field mice and their Mouse Queen. The Mouse Queen lets the Scarecrow carry twelve mice in his straw.

When they reach the Emerald City, Jinjur's soldiers capture them. They are locked inside the palace. The female soldiers are scared by the field mice. They leave the palace but still surround the city. The travelers are trapped.

The Scarecrow suggests building a clever flying machine. It will have a stuffed Gump's head to guide it. Tip uses the Powder of Life to bring this machine to life. It is made from palace furniture. They fly off, but they cannot control where they go.

Journey to Glinda the Good Witch

They land in a nest of jackdaws. The nest is full of stolen items. The Gump's wings are broken in the landing. The jackdaws attack them, taking the Scarecrow's straw. The nest also has a lot of paper money. The Scarecrow can be re-stuffed with it.

Tip and his friends find Wishing Pills in the Powder of Life container. They use them to escape. They travel to the palace of Glinda the Good Witch. She lives in Oz's southern part, the Quadling Country.

The Secret of Princess Ozma

Glinda tells them a big secret. Many years ago, Oz's king, Pastoria, lost his throne. A long-lost princess named Ozma was hidden away. This happened when the Wizard of Oz took power. Glinda says Ozma is the true ruler of the Emerald City and all of Oz. The Scarecrow did not really want to be king anyway.

Glinda goes with Tip, Jack, the Sawhorse, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Wogglebug, and the Gump. They return to the Emerald City to find Mombi. The tricky Mombi tries to fool them. She disguises a chambermaid named Jellia Jamb as herself. This trick fails. Mombi then hides as they search for her.

Just as time runs out, the Tin Woodman picks a rose for his jacket. He does not know it is Mombi in disguise. Glinda quickly sees through the trick. She chases Mombi, who tries to cross the Deadly Desert. Mombi is caught while disguised as a fast griffin.

Under pressure from Glinda, Mombi admits the Wizard gave her the baby Ozma. Mombi then changed Ozma into the boy Tip. Tip is shocked to learn this. But Glinda and his friends help him accept his duty. Mombi performs her last spell to undo the magic. Tip changes back into the fairy princess Ozma.

Ozma's Reign and New Beginnings

The restored Ozma becomes the Queen of Oz. She defeats Jinjur and her army. The Tin Woodman invites the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead to live with him. The Gump is taken apart as he wished. His head, a hunting trophy, can still speak. Glinda returns to her palace. The Wogglebug stays as Ozma's helper. The Sawhorse becomes Ozma's personal horse. The old prophecy is finally true. Oz is united again, with Ozma as its rightful child Queen.

Adaptations of the Story

The Marvelous Land of Oz has been adapted into many forms. These include stage plays, movies, and TV shows.

Stage Plays and Musicals

The first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, became a very popular stage play. Because of this, parts of The Marvelous Land of Oz were written with a stage show in mind. The book was even dedicated to the actors who played the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow in the first play. These two characters are very important in this book. Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion do not appear.

The story's style was also influenced by stage shows. For example, the Wizard was a good person in the first book. But in the play, he was a villain. This book describes him as having played a bad part in the past. The armies of women, like Jinjur's and Glinda's, were likely meant to be like chorus girls in a musical.

The twist about Tip being Princess Ozma also made sense for the stage. In those days, young male roles like Tip were often played by actresses.

L. Frank Baum wrote a stage musical based on this book. It was called The Woggle-Bug. It opened in Chicago in 1905. The music was by Frederic Chapin. However, the play was not very successful.

Movies and TV Shows

The Marvelous Land of Oz was part of Baum's The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays in 1908. It was also the last Selig Polyscope Oz film in 1910.

A two-reel film called The Land of Oz, a Sequel to the Wizard of Oz was made in 1931. The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969) was another film version. Filmation's Journey Back to Oz (1971) also used parts of this book.

Elements from this book were used in the 1985 film Return to Oz. This movie starred Fairuza Balk as Dorothy. The story was also adapted in the Japanese animated TV series Ozu no Mahōtsukai. A Russian animated film, Adventures of the Emerald City: Princess Ozma (2000), also told the story.

The TV series The Shirley Temple Show aired a one-hour program called The Land of Oz on September 18, 1960. It had a famous cast. Shirley Temple played both Tip and Ozma. Agnes Moorehead was Mombi. Sterling Holloway was Jack Pumpkinhead. Ben Blue played the Scarecrow. Gil Lamb was the Tin Woodman. Mel Blanc voiced the Saw-Horse. The show followed the book closely, but some parts were cut to fit the time.

Later, a new stage production of The Marvelous Land of Oz was put on in Minneapolis in 1981. It had music by Richard Dworsky. This play stayed very true to the novel.

The 1905 Woggle-Bug script has not been published. However, its songs were released.

In 1985, the Windham Classics text adventure game The Wizard of Oz used much of this book's plot. However, it did not include Ozma's transformation. In the game, Tip becomes King of Oz.

The 2007 Sci Fi miniseries Tin Man also borrowed ideas from this book. The main character was a lost princess. She was sent away from Oz and magically made to forget her past.

Gregory Maguire's novel Out of Oz also includes many parts of The Marvelous Land of Oz.

Images for kids

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  Jack Pumpkinhead, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and Tip meet the Woggle-Bug

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  1905 advertisement in the Chicago Record Herald

See also

In Spanish: La maravillosa tierra de Oz para niños