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Oz Continued #27
Ojo in Oz
Book 27 in The Wizard of Oz
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
319 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 15, 2024
I can't deny this was a fun adventure with everybody's favorite Munchkin boy, Ojo... but, in fact, there's nothing really new in Thompson's imagination. The same formula used in all her previous books are here: a journey in circles through strange and weird towns in Oz. (Not even Dorothy with one of the Wizard's Wishing Pills can get there on time without ending up in one of Thompson' strange imaginary country.)
Probably, this is the weakest part of the story, when Dorothy gets into play, with the Cowardly Lion and Scraps, in their rescue team (While Ozma, the Scarecrow and Unc Nunkie made an unnecessary trip to Glinda's palace). However, I did enjoy their time in Dicksy Land. It was funny!
This was probably the story (from all of Thompson's book) with the happiest ending ever... Was it? 🤔 Although it's difficult ending to absorb. I liked the way Thompson's created this disputation between the characters of Snufferbux and Realbad for Ojo... Realbad and Unc Nunkie' stories matches perfectly well with the story first introduced in The Patchwork Girl of Oz about the old Munchkin and his nephew having lived a lonely existence in the depth of the Blue Forest. But that's it with all the good things of this book.
...The rest of the story wasn't really necessary since there was no need to give Ojo's character a closure as the long lost prince of [another] forgotten country of Oz. Not to mention that this ending, the outcome, felt very rushed.
Probably, this is the weakest part of the story, when Dorothy gets into play, with the Cowardly Lion and Scraps, in their rescue team (While Ozma, the Scarecrow and Unc Nunkie made an unnecessary trip to Glinda's palace). However, I did enjoy their time in Dicksy Land. It was funny!
This was probably the story (from all of Thompson's book) with the happiest ending ever... Was it? 🤔 Although it's difficult ending to absorb. I liked the way Thompson's created this disputation between the characters of Snufferbux and Realbad for Ojo... Realbad and Unc Nunkie' stories matches perfectly well with the story first introduced in The Patchwork Girl of Oz about the old Munchkin and his nephew having lived a lonely existence in the depth of the Blue Forest. But that's it with all the good things of this book.
...The rest of the story wasn't really necessary since there was no need to give Ojo's character a closure as the long lost prince of [another] forgotten country of Oz. Not to mention that this ending, the outcome, felt very rushed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2021
Gypsies! Bandits! Magic whistles! Mythical creatures! A bear who wrestles, dances, and plays the accordion! A price on Ojo the Munchkin's head!
This is an ozzy book about Ojo the Munchkin boy. He makes some new friends including Snuffer the dancing, singing, accordion-playing bear and Realbad, an outlaw with a heart of gold.
Oz book #27: Ojo in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson gets a varied reaction from readers. Some love it; some hate it. I fall between. I lean toward liking it. It just doesn't make my favorites list.
Many critics point out the author's use of a band of roving gypsies as the bad guys. They are painted as bad people and one-sided.
The only defense I can offer for Ruth Plumly-Thompson's treatment of gypsies is this. She wrote the book and it was published in 1933. This was a long time before our contemporary set of values, acceptance, and inclusion. She chose a group of people that in the past were often considered to be robbers, thieves, and con artists to be the tools of the book's Big Bad. She wasn't worried about identifying the gypsy leader as alone in his cruelty and iron-handed assertiveness. If you read closely, though, his wife is kind to Ojo. The other gypsies seem to be doing his bidding--they don't seem evil. And ultimately, the gypsy leader imprisons Ojo to turn him over to someone for a "paycheck". Sadly, we still encounter examples of this in our world today.
This isn't the best Oz book; but it's far from the worst.
There's a reason the gentleman on the cover resembles Errol Flynn. John R. Neill's illustrations of Realbad are the spitting image of Flynn. Oddly enough, this is coincidence as Flynn's first movie In the Wake of the Bounty came out the very same year as this book! The Adventures of Robin Hood was still five years in the future!
Plenty of action in this one--check it out.
This is an ozzy book about Ojo the Munchkin boy. He makes some new friends including Snuffer the dancing, singing, accordion-playing bear and Realbad, an outlaw with a heart of gold.
Oz book #27: Ojo in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson gets a varied reaction from readers. Some love it; some hate it. I fall between. I lean toward liking it. It just doesn't make my favorites list.
Many critics point out the author's use of a band of roving gypsies as the bad guys. They are painted as bad people and one-sided.
The only defense I can offer for Ruth Plumly-Thompson's treatment of gypsies is this. She wrote the book and it was published in 1933. This was a long time before our contemporary set of values, acceptance, and inclusion. She chose a group of people that in the past were often considered to be robbers, thieves, and con artists to be the tools of the book's Big Bad. She wasn't worried about identifying the gypsy leader as alone in his cruelty and iron-handed assertiveness. If you read closely, though, his wife is kind to Ojo. The other gypsies seem to be doing his bidding--they don't seem evil. And ultimately, the gypsy leader imprisons Ojo to turn him over to someone for a "paycheck". Sadly, we still encounter examples of this in our world today.
This isn't the best Oz book; but it's far from the worst.
There's a reason the gentleman on the cover resembles Errol Flynn. John R. Neill's illustrations of Realbad are the spitting image of Flynn. Oddly enough, this is coincidence as Flynn's first movie In the Wake of the Bounty came out the very same year as this book! The Adventures of Robin Hood was still five years in the future!
Plenty of action in this one--check it out.
May 27, 2023
This is the latest book in the Oz series, and given that I’m now on book 27, I’m increasingly running out of things to say about them. Sure, each book is different, but they’re also remarkably similar, at least in that they have the same general plot. Something threatens the Kingdom of Oz and a group of unlikely allies come together to try to rescue the kingdom and save Ozma.
There were some cool features to this one that are worth mentioning, though. For example, we start out with a bunch of gypsies, which I’m pretty sure is considered to not be a politically correct term but which you have to forgive in a book that’s as old as this one. That sets up the adventure pretty well by creating the first point of conflict in the story.
It builds from there, getting slowly more surreal and with more and more new and familiar faces being introduced along the way. As usual, we also have a decent number of puns, most of which made me chuckle. We’re not talking about a high level of humour here, but if you like dad jokes then you’re probably going to find something that will make you giggle.
Other than that, I don’t have much to say. It’s a decent enough entry into the series, but it’s not the best of them. Yeah.
There were some cool features to this one that are worth mentioning, though. For example, we start out with a bunch of gypsies, which I’m pretty sure is considered to not be a politically correct term but which you have to forgive in a book that’s as old as this one. That sets up the adventure pretty well by creating the first point of conflict in the story.
It builds from there, getting slowly more surreal and with more and more new and familiar faces being introduced along the way. As usual, we also have a decent number of puns, most of which made me chuckle. We’re not talking about a high level of humour here, but if you like dad jokes then you’re probably going to find something that will make you giggle.
Other than that, I don’t have much to say. It’s a decent enough entry into the series, but it’s not the best of them. Yeah.
December 20, 2020
This one out of all the OZ books was least enjoyable. It has very little to do with Oz and is a a story about a boy Ojo and a bear trying to escape from the Gypsies. Yeah they didn’t sugar coat this one. It’s a Gypsy kidnapping story. And they are called gypsies in the book I’m sorry. These books now have very or none to do with Oz. Ozma appears at the end but really does nothing.
November 7, 2014
One of Thompson's better Oz books, i.e. nowhere near as good as Baum but if taken on their own merits still good fun. Although this one, as so many of her books do, repeats various plot elements and is full of inconsistencies, it's also highly readable, with lots of comic characters and situations, although the gypsies are unfortunately stereotyped.
September 24, 2011
My goodness, is there a single person in Oz who isn't a lost prince or princess? Nowhere close to the charm, magic, and inventiveness of the originals. These books should not be considered Oz canon.
June 29, 2013
This is actually my favorite Oz book by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Only problem is that the characterization of gypsies in this book is horribly offensive.
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September 1, 2013Book 27
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews