The Scarecrow of Oz facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | L. Frank Baum |
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| Illustrator | John R. Neill |
| Cover artist | John R. Neill |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Oz books |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Reilly & Britton |
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Publication date
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1915 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Preceded by | Tik-Tok of Oz Sky Island |
| Followed by | Rinkitink in Oz |
The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth exciting book in the Land of Oz series, written by L. Frank Baum. It was published on July 16, 1915. This book was one of Baum's favorites! It tells the story of Cap'n Bill and a young girl named Trot. They travel to Oz and, with help from the famous Scarecrow, they try to stop the mean King Krewl of Jinxland. Cap'n Bill and Trot were also in Baum's earlier books, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island.
Contents
The Journey to Oz
Cap'n Bill, a sailor with a wooden leg, and his friend Trot, a little girl, start their adventure. They go for a short boat ride from California. Suddenly, a strange whirlpool pulls their boat underwater! Mermaids, though unseen, carry them to a secret cave.
Soon, a flying creature called an Ork joins them in the cave. They all travel through a dark tunnel. This tunnel leads them out of the cave and onto an island. Here, they meet a grumpy man named Pessim the Observer.
Magic Berries and New Friends
Cap'n Bill and Trot eat special shrinking-berries. These berries make them very small. The Ork then carries them away from the island. They fly to the land of Mo. In Mo, they eat another type of magic berry. This makes them grow back to their normal size.
They meet a funny character called the Bumpy Man. He loves serving sugar and molasses. He even looks a bit like them! They enjoy a meal of Mo rain (which is actually lemonade) and Mo snow (which is popcorn). After this, they meet Button Bright. He is a boy from The Road to Oz who has gotten lost again.
Cap'n Bill calls some talking birds from the area. He offers them "growing" berries. This makes the birds big enough to carry him, Trot, and Button-Bright to Oz. Once they cross the desert, the birds gently set them down in a field. The Ork then leaves to find his own home, as he got lost during a flight.
Trouble in Jinxland
Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, and Trot land in a place called Jinxland. This kingdom is cut off from the rest of Oz. High mountains and a deep, bottomless crack surround it. Jinxland has had a difficult past.
The true king of Jinxland, King Kynd, was removed by his prime minister, Phearse. A prime minister is like a chief helper to the king. Then, Phearse was removed by his own prime minister, Krewl. Now, Krewl rules Jinxland.
A Frozen Heart
A rich but unpleasant man named Googly-Goo wants to marry Princess Gloria. She is King Kynd's daughter. But Gloria is in love with Pon, the gardener's boy. Pon is actually the son of Phearse, the first person who took over the throne.
King Krewl and Googly-Goo hire a witch named Blinkie. They want her to freeze Princess Gloria's heart. This way, she will stop loving Pon. Cap'n Bill finds out about their mean plan. To stop him from helping, Blinkie turns Cap'n Bill into a grasshopper.
Then, Blinkie freezes Gloria's heart. Googly-Goo asks her to marry him. But since her heart is frozen, she doesn't love anyone. She even turns down Googly-Goo's proposal!
The Scarecrow to the Rescue
Meanwhile, the Scarecrow is at Glinda's palace. Glinda is a powerful and good witch. The Scarecrow reads Glinda's Great Book of Records. This is a magic book that writes down everything happening in the world as it happens.
The Scarecrow learns about the problems in Jinxland. He wants to help Cap'n Bill, Button-Bright, and Trot. Glinda sends him to Jinxland with some of her magic to help him.
Turning the Tables
The Scarecrow travels to Jinxland. He meets up with Trot, Cap'n Bill (who is still a grasshopper), and the Ork. The Ork flies off to his homeland to get more help.
The Scarecrow tries to remove King Krewl from power. But he gets captured! Googly-Goo even suggests burning the Scarecrow. Just in time, the Ork returns! He brings fifty other Orks with him. They attack the Jinxlanders and defeat King Krewl.
The winning group then goes to Blinkie's house. They make her undo her magic on Cap'n Bill and Princess Gloria. They use a magic powder to shrink Blinkie. Once she undoes her evil spells, the Scarecrow stops her from shrinking more. But she stays small and loses all her magic powers.
Gloria becomes the new queen of Jinxland. She makes Pon her royal consort, which means he will rule beside her. The Scarecrow, Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, Trot, and the Orks all return to the Emerald City for a big celebration!
Behind the Book
The Uplifters and Movies
L. Frank Baum dedicated The Scarecrow of Oz to "The Uplifters" of Los Angeles. This was a special group of important business people and public figures. Baum was a part of this group. He wrote and acted in their shows and played the bass drum in their band.
A small group of these Uplifters helped fund The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. This company was created to make movies based on Baum's books. Baum became the president of the company. He also received company stock for the rights to turn his stories into movies.
The company's first movie was The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Their second movie, His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, came out in 1914. Baum hoped this movie would be a big hit. He thought it would help make the Scarecrow novel, coming out in 1915, very popular.
Book Sales and Story Changes
Things didn't quite work out as Baum hoped. The movie didn't earn enough money to cover its costs. The first edition of the Scarecrow novel sold about 14,300 copies. This was only a little more than the previous book, Tik-Tok of Oz. However, over time, The Scarecrow of Oz became one of the more popular books in the Oz series.
Like Tik-Tok of Oz, Scarecrow of Oz includes a strong love story. In Tik-Tok, it was the Rose Princess and Private Files. In Scarecrow, it's Gloria and Pon. Earlier Oz books didn't usually have such big romantic parts. This might have affected how well the books were received. When Baum made his children's stories into plays and movies, he had to balance what kids and adults would like. This mix-up might have also affected how many books were sold.
This book was the last time Baum wrote about an American child traveling to Oz. After this, no more new children from America would join the Oz series during his time writing.
The Ork, a character from the book, later appeared in an episode of The Oz Kids TV show.
