Author

Ami’s spill…

L. Frank Baum!!!! How can you beat the first American fairy tale? Well you cant. L. Frank Baum is defiantly my favorite author of all time. I love him not only because my ability to read today is due to my interest in his books in 3^rd grade, but also because his witty humor and creative adventures happen in a place that I can only describe as what my heaven would be like. Finding conflict the land of Oz isn’t always difficult, but I could see where Baum had his work cut out for him because the land of Oz is utmostly a peaceful, happy, friendly place that is void of any real danger. There are of course bad guys, but for the most part the characters in the Oz books can never come to any real harm. Many can not die, get sick, or age. Even the human characters like Ozma, Dorothy, her aunt and uncle who come to live in the land of Oz do not age and can not get hurt. I think this is fabulous, especially at the time of the height of these books. There is already so much for children to worry about in the real world, real dangers and fears, hunger, illness, poverty, etc. Baum porously did not use any of these real world elements, like death, because he felt his readers deserved the chance to have an adventure without any of the fears they had in their real life’s already. Oz is a perfect utopia were every one works a short day doing something they love to do, there is no money because every one shares everything, and no one wants or yearns for anything more then what they need. There is no greed, no envy, no corruption, no real wars, no sadness, no fears, nothing that is negative in any way. This is why I love the Oz books so much. I love them because in a world full of all these negative things it is still possible to pick up a book, have an adventure, forget about all of the bad things in life and just have a worry free fun adventure. Did I mention he is funny? Yes, oh yes, very very funny. His sense of humor is unique and often catches you off guard, even after reading the books for even the fourth or fifth time. Through the books the reader begins to bond with the characters as if they lived next door. Their happy smiling faces have become some of my best friends, even as an adult. Mostly I love these books and this author because it gives me hope. Hope that there is still beauty in the world and love and happiness will survive no matter what. Hope that good will always succeed and that kindness is a natural human element available in every one. Hope that all the ugly cruelty in the world is perhaps a figment of my imagination, that is if I close my eyes and I myself am nice and good and friendly then all the rest will disappear.

……… yes, I am very passionate about these books. Read them. The Marvelous Land of Oz is my favorite.

Baum was born in Chittenango, New York in 1856. As a young child, he was tutored at home with his siblings, but at the age of 12 he was sent to study at Peekskill Military Academy. He was a sickly child given to daydreaming, and his parents may have thought he needed toughening up. But after two utterly miserable years at the military academy, he was allowed to return home. (Rogers, pp. 3-4.) In 1882 While Baum was touring with The Maid of Arran, the theatre in Richburg caught fire during a production of Baum's ironically-titled parlor drama, Matches. ( Rogers, pp. 23-5.) I think this is a great example of this sense of humor. I think life inspired his humor and in his books his creative, ironic sense shines through.

In 1900, Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. (Rogers, pp. 73-94.) Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz. he also wrote several other stories, papers, books, and plays.

Baum's intentions with the Oz books was bringing them up to date by making the characters not stereotypical dwarfs or genies, and also by removing both the violence and the moral the violence was to point to. Although the first books contained a fair amount of violence, it decreased with the series. His introduction is often cited as the beginnings of the sanitization of children's stories, although he did not do a great deal more than eliminate harsh moral lessons. (Sale, p. 223.)

Main: List of Oz books

John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 - September 13, 1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series. He did a great deal of magazine and newspaper illustration work which is not as well known today.

He was first commissioned to illustrate The Marvelous Land of Oz, the second Oz book L. Frank Baum wrote, published in 1904; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had been illustrated by W. W. Denslow.

Originally, Neill's illustrations were slightly reminiscent of Denslow's to bring continuity and familiarity to the characters. However, as the series expanded, Neill brought his own unique flair to the illustrations, showing more artistic representations of the characters as well as beautiful paintings of numerous scenes. He was later named the Imperial Illustrator of Oz.

Dorothy drawn by Denslow appeared to be a chubby five or six year old with long brown hair in two braids. Neill chose to illustrate a new Dorothy in 1907 when the character was reintroduced in Ozma of Oz. He illustrated the young girl in a more fashionable appearance. She is shown to be about ten years old, dressed in contemporary American fashions, with blonde hair cut in a fashionable bob. A similar modernization was given other female characters.

Neill continued to illustrate the Oz books after Baum's death, and his artwork was praised for helping give Ruth Plumly Thompson's books "legitimacy" in the eyes of Baum's fans. Neill would eventually succeed Thompson as the designated "Oz historian" and write several books himself.

-http://www.johnrneill.net/intro.html