A charming little volume containing six very short Oz stories involving many of the major characters that had featured in the first 7 or so books in the series proper, originally published in 1913 in separate booklets just as Baum was allowing the Oz books to get underway again with THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ. The six stories are:
"The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger"
"Little Dorothy and Toto"
"Tiktok and the Gnome King"
"Ozma and the Little Wizard"
"Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse"
"The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman"
Clearly aimed at an even younger audience than the regular books, most adults will probably find these a little too silly -- though some of the wordplay that both Baum and his successors are known for is in evidence (the Imps -- Udent, Olite and Ertinent, for example). One also wonders if the storyline in the lion/tiger vignette, with the two ferocious beasts desperately desiring to commit mayhem, but finding that they simply cannot do anything but be nice, tame pets, mirros in some ways Baum's ambivalence about re-starting the series which he had tired of - but was his only sure hit. Regular series artist John R. Neill's illustrations are among his best and are the high point for me, especially the double-page ones. The Books of Wonder facsimile reprint is up to their usual high standards.Get more detail about Little Wizard Stories of Oz.
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