''The Enchanted Island of Oz'' is a children's novel written by

Ruth Plumly Thompson Ruth Plumly Thompson (27 July 1891 – 6 April 1976) was an American writer of children's stories, best known for writing many novels placed in Oz, the fictional land of L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' ...

and illustrated by Dick Martin, and first published in 1976. As its title indicates, the book is an entry in the series of

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's b ...

created by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

and his successors. It is the last (and shortest) of Thompson's 21 novels about the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world, magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, th ...

.The International Wizard of Oz Club published ''The Cheerful Citizens of Oz'', a short collection of Thompson's Oz poetry, in 1992. Written as a standalone novel, unrelated to Oz, around 1948, Thompson revised it as an Oz tale at the request of Oz Club president Fred Meyer. Thompson's book tells the story of David Perry, a boy from Pennsylvania who, on a visit to a circus, wishes that a camel could talk. He is amazed when his wish is granted. (Only later does David learn that he possesses a magic wishing button, which enables and empowers the action of the story.) David nicknames the talking camel Humpty Bumpty; together the boy and camel embark on a whirlwind tour of strange lands, including Somewhere, Dwindlebury, and the flying island of Kapurta (which is the enchanted Island of the title). They meet the range of strange characters typical of Oz literature—among them, Water Lily (a lake nymph), Queen Else of Somewhere, and a dragon named Dismocolese. Eventually the boy and camel make their way to the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of the L ...

in time for a birthday party for the

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardl ...

. ''The Enchanted Island of Oz'' shows strong resemblances with Thompson's previous Oz book, '' Yankee in Oz''. It also bears clear relationships to a larger context of fantasy works;

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

's flying Island of Laputa in '' Gulliver's Travels'' is one of the most obvious of these links. The original edition of the book contains maps of the fantasy territories drawn by Martin and James Haff, and an afterword by Dorothy C. Maryott.

References

External links

On ''The Enchanted Island of Oz''
Oz (franchise) books 1976 fantasy novels 1976 American novels Novels set on islands 1976 children's books {{1970s-fantasy-novel-stub