acurtis75 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Dd6 read the wizard of oz and loved it so we downloaded other books in the series for her to read. Last night she got to the end of the second book and was very upset. She said it made her stomach hurt & might give her nightmares. I asked her specifically what was upsetting & she said something about the The tin man really being a girl. Has anyone on here read this book. If so, I would love some insight on what happens at the end of the book. Dd reads non-stop and this is the first time she's told me she was upset by something she's read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hil Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 my husband read the entire series to our son when he was four and five. he said it's the character 'Tip' who turns into a girl at the end of the story. turns out he was really Osma. i asked my husband about your daughter being freaked out, and he said something like, 'yeah, frank baum's a weirdo, I don't know what he intended. it just seems to be an awkward convention. lots of stories have the characters transform at the end of the story, but it's strange because you read the whole story and you identify with a male character only to have the character change sex at the end of the book. a lot of readers of the oz series are disappointed by the second book, as it's not about dorothy.' he characterized the rest of the books as full of 'girlish delight in the land of oz.' but he says there's more weird, creepy stuff to come, so i don't know whether the third book will bring any closure. ? hilary ds7 dd1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I don't know about the book series, but the Wizard of Oz movie gave me nightmares when I was about that age. I couldn't watch it again until college. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 She watched the movie and the first book was fine but she was just really freaked out by the tin man changing to a girl. Your husband may be right because she specifically mentioned that it was weird that it changed from saying "he" about the tin man to saying "she". She said that was what made her stomach hurt...every time she read "she". I guess she was invested in the character as a he. She said she doesn't think she wants to read book three now so we'll give it some time and see if she changes her mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Yes, it is a boy named Tip who turned out to be the Princess Ozma under enchantment. I have to be honest -- I always loved that part myself, and I remember my dc being thrilled at the twist when we did that as a read-aloud. I am sorry that your dd was upset by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Yes, it is a boy named Tip who turned out to be the Princess Ozma under enchantment. I have to be honest -- I always loved that part myself, and I remember my dc being thrilled at the twist when we did that as a read-aloud. I am sorry that your dd was upset by it.[/ I wonder if she would have responded the same if we read it together. I'm going to have to read ahead in the series if she decides to pick it up again. It's so hard to stay ahead of her in reading because she has a lot more free time than me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 It sounds like a good opportunity to talk about why it made her upset. When I read it I felt that it didn't really seem like a necessary plot twist to me, other than it serves to put Tip (Ozma) in a rewarded position in his/her world. You never know what is going to make a child react to a story, but chances are good that if they react, it's a good time to talk about why. My own son literally blew up in righteous fury while reading Caddie Woodlawn. He was in tears over the part about killing the passenger pigeons. When he asked where they were, I had to tell him that there are no more. He jumped up off the couch, screamed, "BUT I WANTED TO SEE THEM!", ran off to his room, and spent a good week drawing passenger pigeons. I debated even finishing the book with him! However, it turned into a good discussion on conservation, selfishness, and what happens when short-term actions don't consider long-term consequences. All because my son was deeply disturbed by Caddie Woodlawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Critter fix thanks for the suggestion. I tried to get her to explain why it was upsetting that night but she couldn't articulate exactly what upset her. She just kept saying it was going to give her nightmares because she couldn't get it out of her head and the book started referring to Tip as "she". After, hearing your explanation about it being an unnecessary twist it makes a little more sense. She likes things to make sense and be in order so it might have been that she just didn't think it was a logical outcome. I'm going to revisit it with her in a few days and see if she can explain it to me better when she's not as emotional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hil Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) wow. I cannot remember any book bothering me as a kid except Caddie Woodlawn. my favorite author for this age group: Roald Dahl, that quirky, original genius. Hil ds7 dd1 Edited October 16, 2011 by hil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 If this will help you discuss the story with her, here are the notes I made up when reading "The Marvelous Land of Oz". The Marvelous Land of Oz By Frank L. Baum This is the first sequel to “The Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ€. The Scarecrow, now the ruler of the Emerald City, is driven out by General Jinjur and her all-girl Army of Revolt. Joined by a boy named Tip, his creation Jack Pumpkinhead, the Tin Woodman, and others, the Scarecrow sets out to reclaim the throne. At first reading this book seemed a big jump in reading level from “The Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ€. I found myself having to stop and explain what was happening more often, but after a time I found myself, and my listeners getting use to the more elaborate language This book is less violent than the previous book. No person of animal dies, and the only the inanimate characters are ever hurt, and they are quickly mended. But, the major theme of this book is war, and people are threatened during the book, I shall order you all to be destroyed. …. The Saw-Horse and the Pumpkinhead's body I will have chopped up for kindling-wood; and the pumpkin shall be made into tarts. The Scarecrow will do nicely to start a bonfire, and the tin man can be cut into small pieces and fed to the goats. Another objection about this book is that in the last chapter of the book it is stated that everyone in the city is happy to have General Jinjur sent away since she made all the men do women’s work, which they all hated and did badly. And once she was sent away the women were happy to get back to their work since all the men where such bad cooks. And it is said that the women were so tired eating of their husbands' cooking that they all hailed the conquest of Jinjur with Joy. With the exception of this one paragraph this book doesn’t discuss the topic of different roles for males and females. Activities: The fact that Jack Pumpkinhead isn’t made well and falls apart easily is mentioned throughout the book. You can try to make your own Jack Pumpkinhead sticks. Instead of using rolled up bark for a body you can use a papertowel roll. And since attaching a head can be difficult, use just a balled up piece of paper so that it can be taped on. In Chapter 7: His Majesty the Scarecrow there is a long confusing scene where the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkin head think they are speaking different languages and get an interrupter. Then they realize that the interrupter is playing tricks on them, and that they are in fact speaking the same language. This chapter is very confusing, and to prepare you should read some books about multiple languages and interrupters. (trying to find some to recommend to list here) In Chapter 19: Dr. Nikidik's Famous Wishing Pills the pills only work if the person counts to seventeen by two’s before making the wish. Be prepared to offer examples that this is possible if you start counting at the number one instead of zero. Therefore it is: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 Summary: Chapter 1: Tip Manufactures Pumpkinhead In the North Country Tip, who doesn’t remember his parents lives with Mombi a mean woman who is almost a witch. When she is out Tip sets to work making a pumpkin head man to scare her. Chapter 2: The Marvelous Powder of Life Mombi finds the Pumpkin man (Jack) and brings him to live with the “Powder of Lifeâ€. She locks Jack in a cow stall, then makes a potion that will turn Tip into a statue for her garden. Tip is informed he must drink the potion in the morning. Chapter 3: The Flight of the Fugitives Tip and Jack run away. They decide to go the Emerald city to see the Scarecrow since they have nothing better to do. Chapter 4: Tip Makes an Experiment in Magic Tip brings to life a saw horse for Jack to ride so his wooden joints wouldn’t get worn out. Chapter 5: The Awakening of the Saw-horse The saw horse comes to live and the three comrades continue the journey. They camp near a sign proclaiming, “Nine miles to the Emerald Cityâ€. Chapter 6: Jack Pumpkinhead's Ride to the Emerald City Jack and the sawhorse accidentally run off leaving Tip behind. Chapter 7: His Majesty the Scarecrow Jack enters the Emerald city and meets the Scarecrow. There is some confusion and they think they are speaking different languages and need an interrupter. At the end of the chapter Jack and the Scarecrow decide to be friends and go off to play a came. Chapter 8: Gen. Jinjur's Army of Revolt When walking along Tip meets General JinJur a girl planning to take over Emerald City with the help of her all girl army. They invade the city and take over. Chapter 9: The Scarecrow Plans an escape Tip meets up with Jack and the Scarecrow in the palace. They decide to escape the city riding the sawhorse. Chapter 10: The Journey to the Tin Woodman On the journey to the Tin woodman they have to cross a creek and get wet, and Jacks head falls off. Chapter 11: A Nickel-Plated Emperor They meet the Tin Woodman and explain about General Jinjur. The Tin Woodman sets out with them to recapture the Emerald city. Chapter 12: Mr. H. M. Woggle-Bug, T. E. General Jinjur gets Mombi to come to the palace and use her magic to try to stop our heroes from getting to the palace. They meet Mr. H. M. Woggle-Bug, T. E. Chapter 13: A Highly Magnified History The Woggle Bug tells the story of his life. The heroes meet the Tin Woodman’s friend the Queen of the field mice. The Scarecrow has 12 mice crawl into his straw – so that they can help him recapture his throne. Chapter 14: Old Mombi indulges in Witchcraft The mice lead our heroes through all of Mombi’s illusions and to the gates of the Emerald city Chapter 15: The Prisoners of the Queen Our heroes fight there way into the city where the men are being forced to do woman’s work. They make it to the palace where General Jinjur has them surrounded by soldiers. The scarecrow uses the mice buried in the straw to scare the women out of the palace. Chapter 16: The Scarecrow Takes Time to Think The scarecrow comes up with the plan of having the Tin Woodman build a flying thing – that Tip will bring to life using the magic powder. Chapter 17: The Astonishing Flight of the Gump A flying machine called the Thing, or the Gump is made and brought to life. Chapter 18: In the Jackdaw's Nest Everyone gets in the Gump and fly to the south to see Glinda the Good. While flying 3 magic wishing pills are discovered in the bottom to the “Powder of Life†container. Since it is night they can’t see where to land and fly out of the land of Oz. In the morning they crash in a Jackdaws nest and the Gump busts two wings. Chapter 19: Dr. Nikidik's Famous Wishing Pills The Jackdaws attack and throw all the scarecrows straw off the clift before being scared off. They find money in the Jackdaws nest and stuff the scarecrow with it. Then Tip swallows a magic pill, and due to it upsetting his stomach wishes he hadn’t done so. The Woggle bug swallows a pill and wishes the Gumps wings fixed. Chapter 20: The Scarecrow Appeals to Glinda the Good The heroes eventually get to Glinda the Good who informs them that the real ruler of Oz is a girl named Ozma who has been hidden away by someone since she was a baby. The discover Mombi might now where she is, so Glinda and her Army accompany the heroes to the Emerald city to question Mombi. Chapter 21: The Tin-Woodman Plucks a Rose They search the Emerald city and can’t find Mombi. On the way out the Tin woodman plucks a pretty rose and pins it to his breast. The rose is really Mombi who transformed herself into a rose. Chapter 22: The Transformation of Old Mombi Glinda discovers that the rose is really Mombi. Mombi after a few transformation turns into a Griffin and escapes. Glinda riding the sawhorse chases her across Oz and catches her in the desert. Chapter 23: Princess Ozma of Oz Mombi eventually admits that she took the baby Ozma and transformed her into a boy and raised him/her as Tip. Mombi then transforms Tip into her true form – Ozma. Chapter 24: The Riches of Content Ozma and her friends recapture the Emerald City. General Jinjur and her Army of revolt are sent home to their mothers. Ozma becomes the Queen of Oz, and all her friends live happily ever after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Wow, Julie! Thank you so much for this information. I am going to review this and then discuss it with her. This board is such a valuable resource! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Kids' reactions can be so idiosyncratic. I read that book to my daughter, and she was jumping on the bed screaming "Ozma! Ozma!" after Tip's transformation. It was the BEST THING EVER to have the hero turn into a PRINCESS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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