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Oz Continued #28
Speedy in Oz
Book 28 in The Wizard of Oz
298 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
1 person is currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Plumly Thompson
100 books51 followersAn avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote a weekly children's column for the newspaper. She had already published her first children's book, The Perhappsy Chaps, and her second, The Princess of Cozytown, was pending publication when William Lee, vice president of Baum's publisher Reilly & Lee, solicited Thompson to continue the Oz series. (Rumors among fans that Thompson was Baum's niece were untrue.) Between 1921 and 1939, she wrote one Oz book a year. (Thompson was the primary supporter of her widowed mother and invalid sister, so that the annual income from the Oz books was important for her financial circumstances.)
Thompson's contributions to the Oz series are lively and imaginative, featuring a wide range of colorful and unusual characters. However, one particular theme repeats over and over throughout her novels, with little variation. Typically in each of Thompson's Oz novels, a child (usually from America) and a supernatural companion (usually a talking animal), while traveling through Oz or one of the neighboring regions, find themselves in an obscure community where the inhabitants engage in a single activity. The inhabitants of this community then capture the travelers, and force them to participate in this same activity.
Another major theme has elderly characters, most controversially, the Good Witch of the North, being restored to "marriageable" age, possibly because Thompson herself never married. She had a greater tendency toward the use of romantic love stories (which Baum usually avoided in his fairy tales, with about 4 exceptions). While Baum's child protagonists tended to be little girls, Thompson's were boys. She emphasized humor to a greater extent than Baum did, and always considered her work for children, whereas Baum, while first and foremost considering his child audience, knew that his readership comprised all ages.
Thompson's last Oz story, The Enchanted Island of Oz(1976), was not originally written as an Oz book.
Thompson's contributions to the Oz series are lively and imaginative, featuring a wide range of colorful and unusual characters. However, one particular theme repeats over and over throughout her novels, with little variation. Typically in each of Thompson's Oz novels, a child (usually from America) and a supernatural companion (usually a talking animal), while traveling through Oz or one of the neighboring regions, find themselves in an obscure community where the inhabitants engage in a single activity. The inhabitants of this community then capture the travelers, and force them to participate in this same activity.
Another major theme has elderly characters, most controversially, the Good Witch of the North, being restored to "marriageable" age, possibly because Thompson herself never married. She had a greater tendency toward the use of romantic love stories (which Baum usually avoided in his fairy tales, with about 4 exceptions). While Baum's child protagonists tended to be little girls, Thompson's were boys. She emphasized humor to a greater extent than Baum did, and always considered her work for children, whereas Baum, while first and foremost considering his child audience, knew that his readership comprised all ages.
Thompson's last Oz story, The Enchanted Island of Oz(1976), was not originally written as an Oz book.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 20, 2021
What I appreciate a lot about the series, especially Ruth Thompson's continuation books, is that they are episodic. They have unique stories but they still fall into place with how Baum wanted his series to be told. She definitely doesn't disappoint in Speedy in Oz. We see the return of the boy from the United States come back into the world of Oz, this time stumbling upon Umbrella Island. Along for the ride, we have a skeletal dinosaur named Terrybubble, who I found to be a delightful character in the ever-growing series.
I really hope Speedy comes back in subsequent stories in this series!
I really hope Speedy comes back in subsequent stories in this series!
December 20, 2020
Not a great story but it gets a point for the fact that I like the dinosaur Skelton he wasn’t bad. But in this one we meet the Umbrella people. The people who live under the umbrella and have little umbrella hats, figure out who the bad guys in this one are yet? You guessed it Jewish people. And all people from Norroway are all Vikings. And there is a land of giants that might eat you.
A note for anyone reading these and sees that I have made it to book 28 why am I still reading these? Well I had the curiosity to read the Oz books because I could not when I was a child. I thought that this would be something to read now that I was an adult. I was warned of light racism in the later books but figured that was just terms or something like a lot of books from the 30’s and before, i did not expect this much. Also I tracked these books down and bought them so now that I own them I’m going to read them. But my recommendation to any new readers, from a few obvious ones by Ruth (ex. Tin man of oz) don’t bother reading past Frank. Only read if you are studying a subject.
A note for anyone reading these and sees that I have made it to book 28 why am I still reading these? Well I had the curiosity to read the Oz books because I could not when I was a child. I thought that this would be something to read now that I was an adult. I was warned of light racism in the later books but figured that was just terms or something like a lot of books from the 30’s and before, i did not expect this much. Also I tracked these books down and bought them so now that I own them I’m going to read them. But my recommendation to any new readers, from a few obvious ones by Ruth (ex. Tin man of oz) don’t bother reading past Frank. Only read if you are studying a subject.
January 27, 2018
Speedy in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson is the twenty-eighth Oz book and the 14th written by Thompson who took over as the "Royal Historian of Oz" upon Baum's death in 1920.
According to the Oz Club's site, Thompsons Oz books usually have an American child acting as companion to a magical creature (usually a talking animal) to an obscure corner of Oz or one of the surrounding nations. There is also an element of romance, something that is more typically devoid of in the Baum books. Speedy in Oz certainly fits this description, being about a teenaged boy, "Speedy" who is thrust into the atmosphere along with a dinosaur skeleton after the unexpected eruption of a geyser at Yellowstone National Park.
Like the whale and petunia who suddenly come into being in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the dinosaur bones on realizing its hurdling through the sky, comes to life as an animated, thinking, talking skeleton. Speedy and he, expecting to plummet to their deaths (or the dinosaur's second death), become friends on the way down.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
According to the Oz Club's site, Thompsons Oz books usually have an American child acting as companion to a magical creature (usually a talking animal) to an obscure corner of Oz or one of the surrounding nations. There is also an element of romance, something that is more typically devoid of in the Baum books. Speedy in Oz certainly fits this description, being about a teenaged boy, "Speedy" who is thrust into the atmosphere along with a dinosaur skeleton after the unexpected eruption of a geyser at Yellowstone National Park.
Like the whale and petunia who suddenly come into being in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the dinosaur bones on realizing its hurdling through the sky, comes to life as an animated, thinking, talking skeleton. Speedy and he, expecting to plummet to their deaths (or the dinosaur's second death), become friends on the way down.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
February 1, 2023
Don’t fly your island into a giant
Wading through a very dense Anthropology tome, written for the 527.3 academics who might read it plus me (why did I begin?), I needed a break, a plunge back into the past when I read Oz books for relief from thesis writing. Why not do it again? I hadn’t read this one since 1968, a mere 55 years ago, so I climbed up into the musty old attic here in the New England house I grew up in and retrieved Speedy from its shelf of oblivion because nowadays we have computers, smartphones and Goodreads. Radical! Who is going to read “Speedy in Oz” anymore?
Well, I admit this Oztome is not the most ozspicious of all the many volumes of Oz lore. In fact, the beloved Oz characters don’t appear till chapter 18 (out of 19), so it’s something of a stretch to call this an Oz book despite the title. Yes, it’s only oztensibly about that magical land of Scarecrows and Tin Woodmen. We’ve seen islands floating in the air in “Avatar”, the movie, but Umbrella Island preceded that imagination by many years. Everything is going along hunky-dory until the island bangs into a giant’s forehead. The giant demands compensation in the form of the King’s son, who is actually a girl. She likes to read, not tie giants’ boots. At the same time, Speedy, the usual white bread, all-American kid, but one who appeared in an earlier Ozstory, gets blown up into the sky by a sudden geyser in Yellowstone National Park, along with the bones of a large dinosaur which come to life. They are about to fall back down to earth, when---just like the song “Along Came Jones”—along came Umbrella Island and the pair lands. Fat wizards, skinny schemers, a talking, petulant feline, and a Viking-style warrior king are some of the characters you’ll meet besides the bad-tempered giant. If you decide to find this not-so-hot kid's classic from the 1930s, you will find out what happens. Ozma is something of a mother figure, despite being youthful in appearance.
If you are less than 12 years old, that would help you enjoy it more, but in that case you most likely are not reading this review! Or, if you read it 55 years ago, you will find old memories and recall the world back then. The same illustrator, John R. Neill did the numerous illustrations in this book as in all the previous volumes of Oziana.
Wading through a very dense Anthropology tome, written for the 527.3 academics who might read it plus me (why did I begin?), I needed a break, a plunge back into the past when I read Oz books for relief from thesis writing. Why not do it again? I hadn’t read this one since 1968, a mere 55 years ago, so I climbed up into the musty old attic here in the New England house I grew up in and retrieved Speedy from its shelf of oblivion because nowadays we have computers, smartphones and Goodreads. Radical! Who is going to read “Speedy in Oz” anymore?
Well, I admit this Oztome is not the most ozspicious of all the many volumes of Oz lore. In fact, the beloved Oz characters don’t appear till chapter 18 (out of 19), so it’s something of a stretch to call this an Oz book despite the title. Yes, it’s only oztensibly about that magical land of Scarecrows and Tin Woodmen. We’ve seen islands floating in the air in “Avatar”, the movie, but Umbrella Island preceded that imagination by many years. Everything is going along hunky-dory until the island bangs into a giant’s forehead. The giant demands compensation in the form of the King’s son, who is actually a girl. She likes to read, not tie giants’ boots. At the same time, Speedy, the usual white bread, all-American kid, but one who appeared in an earlier Ozstory, gets blown up into the sky by a sudden geyser in Yellowstone National Park, along with the bones of a large dinosaur which come to life. They are about to fall back down to earth, when---just like the song “Along Came Jones”—along came Umbrella Island and the pair lands. Fat wizards, skinny schemers, a talking, petulant feline, and a Viking-style warrior king are some of the characters you’ll meet besides the bad-tempered giant. If you decide to find this not-so-hot kid's classic from the 1930s, you will find out what happens. Ozma is something of a mother figure, despite being youthful in appearance.
If you are less than 12 years old, that would help you enjoy it more, but in that case you most likely are not reading this review! Or, if you read it 55 years ago, you will find old memories and recall the world back then. The same illustrator, John R. Neill did the numerous illustrations in this book as in all the previous volumes of Oziana.
August 22, 2024
THIS IS HOW RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON SHOULD HAVE HAD WRITTEN ALL OF HER PREVIOUS BOOKS FROM THE BEGINNING. One straightforward story and without pushing her characters into a trip going in circles, visiting all sort of random/weird [sometimes poorly imaginative] countries in Oz, using her formula of "as many as possible" that make you want to shut the book when you're already at the middle of the story.
Actually, this is the less Oz story from Thompson (like Rinkitink was the less Oz story from Mr. Baum.) There's not much connection to Oz at until the last couple of chapters. Speedy is hardly in Oz... Yet, I like it.
(Up to this point, it's obvious Thompson was running out of ideas after too many random fairy countries in [and out of] Oz in all her previous books.)
So... On this roller coaster that Thompson's books became, Speedy in Oz turned out to be a success, a very entertaining story from the beginning. I liked the people of the Umbrella Island and their dilemma when they crashed the island in Loxo's head; such as when the island falls into the Nonestic Ocean, between the two islands at war.
I enjoyed Speedy's character more in this book (The Yellow Knight of Oz and all the events in that book, to me, they remain among the least favorites in the Oz series so far.) And what what can I say about Terrybuble? Having a dinosaur as a pet/friend is every child's dream... or, at least, most of them. So, having a living fossil of a strange sort of dinosaur like Terrybubble in this story was so cool.
There wasn't a better name for this book since Speedy is the true hero and real star of the story.
Actually, this is the less Oz story from Thompson (like Rinkitink was the less Oz story from Mr. Baum.) There's not much connection to Oz at until the last couple of chapters. Speedy is hardly in Oz... Yet, I like it.
(Up to this point, it's obvious Thompson was running out of ideas after too many random fairy countries in [and out of] Oz in all her previous books.)
So... On this roller coaster that Thompson's books became, Speedy in Oz turned out to be a success, a very entertaining story from the beginning. I liked the people of the Umbrella Island and their dilemma when they crashed the island in Loxo's head; such as when the island falls into the Nonestic Ocean, between the two islands at war.
I enjoyed Speedy's character more in this book (The Yellow Knight of Oz and all the events in that book, to me, they remain among the least favorites in the Oz series so far.) And what what can I say about Terrybuble? Having a dinosaur as a pet/friend is every child's dream... or, at least, most of them. So, having a living fossil of a strange sort of dinosaur like Terrybubble in this story was so cool.
There wasn't a better name for this book since Speedy is the true hero and real star of the story.
June 13, 2023
Here we have more of the same old same old. I mean, we’re at the 28th book in the Oz series by this point, and so what can I say that I haven’t said before in one of the previous 27 reviews?
I suppose that what I can say is that I loved the archaeological angle on this story, as well as the fact that one of our characters is essentially a dinosaur that’s been somehow resurrected through the power of a geyser like the one I saw when I went to Iceland. Speedy is here too, and his uncle is there at the beginning. The uncle could well have been my favourite character of the lot.
The plot plods along as they usually do in the Oz books, and while there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, it’s an engaging enough read with plenty of cool stuff for both kids and adults. The puns are on top form and there are a ton of cracking characters for you to enjoy.
You wouldn’t want to read the Oz books out of order if you can avoid it, but if you do then this would actually be a decent one to dip into. It’s kind of the archetypal later Oz book, a shining example of what the series can be like when it’s handled well. So yeah!
I suppose that what I can say is that I loved the archaeological angle on this story, as well as the fact that one of our characters is essentially a dinosaur that’s been somehow resurrected through the power of a geyser like the one I saw when I went to Iceland. Speedy is here too, and his uncle is there at the beginning. The uncle could well have been my favourite character of the lot.
The plot plods along as they usually do in the Oz books, and while there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, it’s an engaging enough read with plenty of cool stuff for both kids and adults. The puns are on top form and there are a ton of cracking characters for you to enjoy.
You wouldn’t want to read the Oz books out of order if you can avoid it, but if you do then this would actually be a decent one to dip into. It’s kind of the archetypal later Oz book, a shining example of what the series can be like when it’s handled well. So yeah!
July 10, 2024
3.85, This book was fine, obviously not for adults, but true to L Frank Baum's vision. As a knockoff it closely resembles the original. I loved the talking animated Dinosaur Bones (I adore Skeletons.)
The illustrations are by the same artist that did the original Oz books and added a great deal to this story seeming authentic. Well done, Ruth Plumly Thompson.
The illustrations are by the same artist that did the original Oz books and added a great deal to this story seeming authentic. Well done, Ruth Plumly Thompson.
February 4, 2025
I did not like this book at all. The story was so simple- wait, what am I talking about. There was basically no story. But the entire book was so simple and it used difficult words to describe something so effortless. It was boring and I want my hours of living back. The only character that I liked was the dinosaur. Speedy... no kid talks like that. And I know that because I'm a kid. Give me back my hours of childhood.
September 24, 2011
Nowhere close to the charm, magic, and inventiveness of the originals. These books should not be considered Oz canon.
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September 1, 2013Book 28
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews