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Oz Continued #31
Handy Mandy in Oz
Book 31 in The Wizard of Oz
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
5 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Plumly Thompson
104 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
January 11, 2022
Absolutely adored Handy Mandy and Nox the Ox! I think Thompson did an excellent job with this story and found it absolutely engaging, entertaining, and enjoyable. I hope she comes back in another Oz story, and soon!
March 22, 2019
Certainly an improvement on my previous Oz read. A GR friend and I were discussing the fact that the female characters in the Oz stories (at least the ones we've read so far) seem to be much more sensible and stronger than most of the male characters, and this is borne out by Book 31. Maybe the fact that the first main character of the Oz books is a little girl indicates that Baum was writing primarily with a female audience in mind? I don't know. Mandy the seven-armed (you heard me) goatherd--which sounds Swiss in spite of her Dutch cap--is a no-nonsense heroine who, when in doubt, sets to the work that is closest to hand. That tendency gets her involved in all kinds of crazy adventures, from flood to explosions to rescuing a kidnapped King and saving Oz from the bad guys. Meanwhile her male (so to speak) sidekick, the Ox, moans and groans and glooms and dooms, leaving Mandy to take any action necessary, while the young King they are sent to rescue is described as "absolutely foolhardy." Elevators, flying rock slabs, "shoot the chute" and "scenic railways" (rollercoasters to you and me) all form part of the cartoonish action scenes.
Though her seven hands are made of different materials, not much play is made of the many different uses they might have; in fact only two or three different ones were really used at all. It was rather as if the author just wanted to see how far she could take the tale--when she took it as far as she could in one direction, she'd throw in some random event to take it off on a new tangent. Using Magic is forbidden in Oz, unless the user is Ozma or one of her court, and yet no punishment (not even a scolding) is offered to Mandy and the talking Ox, who use magical bits and pieces every five pages or so. Why? Well, basically because they save Oz from yet another takeover tyrant while Ozma and Co. literally stand around helpless. As usual in the Oz books, the ending is rather rushed and it's all wound up with a banquet, gifts and magicking the main characters home again.
Though her seven hands are made of different materials, not much play is made of the many different uses they might have; in fact only two or three different ones were really used at all. It was rather as if the author just wanted to see how far she could take the tale--when she took it as far as she could in one direction, she'd throw in some random event to take it off on a new tangent. Using Magic is forbidden in Oz, unless the user is Ozma or one of her court, and yet no punishment (not even a scolding) is offered to Mandy and the talking Ox, who use magical bits and pieces every five pages or so. Why? Well, basically because they save Oz from yet another takeover tyrant while Ozma and Co. literally stand around helpless. As usual in the Oz books, the ending is rather rushed and it's all wound up with a banquet, gifts and magicking the main characters home again.
October 20, 2023
I enjoyed this one more than I’ve enjoyed any Oz book for a long time, but I think part of that might be because I read the whole thing in one sitting on the exercise bike at the gym. Handy Mandy is a great character and I loved learning about the different things each of her many hands could do. Lots of fun!
September 16, 2011
Probably more of a 3.5 than strict 3. Handy Mandy brings then and fantasy back that I feel was somewhat lacking in the previous book (Captain Salt in Oz). Thompson sticks to the formula she works well with in her Oz books: there is some sort of quest to save a kingdom or royal person. This time she brings in Mandy the seven armed goat herder from Mount Mern, who has been brought to Oz quite suddenly by a powerful erruption. Once there she encounters the Royal Ox of Kereteria who has been puzzling over a mystery for the past two years regarding the location of the young King Kerry who vanished one day while hunting. The two soon embark on a journey to find the young ruler and are eventually entangled in a would be conquerer's plot to overtake all of Oz. While fun, I do wish more of Wutz's plot had been fleshed out and that some of his other stolen prizes were revealed. All in all a fun and fast paced read that fits the Oz mythos well.
October 2, 2011
A reasonably good Thomson Oz book with quite a few interesting features. Mandy herself is pretty unique in the Oz canon, she's the main protagonist in a RPT Oz book but is female and not created originally by Baum, she's appears to be if not adult then considerable older than usual leads, plus is not conventionally human what with having seven arms, of course this being a Thomson book Mandy is given a loyal animal companion in this case the Royal Ox Nox. Anyway a pleasant enough read not too many irrelevant episodes except the Topsies and the Highlanders, a reasonable new villain in the Wizard Of Wutz, although the Nome King (according to Thompson Gnome King) does make a brief appearance.
March 9, 2014
One of my favorites
I have loved this book since my mother read it to me. I can't remember how many times I have read it. I now own all of my mother's OZ books but it is nice they are online now to reduce the wear on the original ones. I recommend these to children of all ages.
I have loved this book since my mother read it to me. I can't remember how many times I have read it. I now own all of my mother's OZ books but it is nice they are online now to reduce the wear on the original ones. I recommend these to children of all ages.
September 24, 2011
Nowhere close to the charm, magic, and inventiveness of the originals. These books should not be considered Oz canon.
January 14, 2016
Always love this OZ Books!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews