The theme of this At Home in Oz is none other than the less known Second Royal Historian of Oz: Ruth Plumly Thompson (or RPT as I may call her). An underdog for sure and her birthday on 27th of July is the perfect excuse to have some Ozian fun at home this month. Now, we are all familiar with the first Royal Historian of Oz, L. Frank Baum. So, I thought I would celebrate at home with some fun activities regarding the next Royal Historian of Oz. First up, if you didn't know anything about this author, please check out this fun Ozian page to learn more about her story and you can also see her involvement in the Oz world on the Oz Club's Ruth Plumly Thompson page and a timeline of events as to how she was instrumental in the world building of Oz. You could always offer up your illustration or digital image skills to the Oz Club and add pictures to their timeline. They would love the help! Or comment something you found really interesting about this amazing author. Next up, we look at the first book written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, which was The Royal Book of Oz in 1921, even though it was credited to Baum. It is the first book that breaks away from Baum's style of writing and begins Thompson's whimsical and playful style of writing. A great way to celebrate Thompson's birthday is to check out this book and see where the Oz story inspires you. Also, since next year is a centenary year for this book, its a good idea to brush up on this book for next year's Oz Con, which celebrates the Royal Historians of Oz. Now, in this story, there are two elements that have been done in media adaptations: The Genealogical Book of Oz, which details the important (or "royal") people of Oz (which explains the title of the book) and Sir Hokus of Pokes (pronounces Poh-kus). In the new Boomerang show, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, we see two different episodes highlighting these pieces. In the episode, "Get Smart", the Nome King finds out he is not in the Great Rulers of Oz book and wants to become one so he kidnaps the Wogglebug to help him become one. Check out the clip below for a sampling of the episode and if you want to see the whole episode where the book appears, check it out on the Boomerang site or app. The other character that is shown is seen in the episode called "Sir Hokus of Pokes" and basically a variant telling of his story from the book but instead of going to the city of Pokes to meet him, he comes to Emerald City to talk to Ozma and Dorothy. The episode is detailed more in this great post from another Oz blog. Also, for more information on this absurd character from the City of Pokes, who weirdly reminds of the White Knight from Alice Through the Looking Glass, check it out here. You can also check out the other books that she wrote as she introduced over 320 new characters to the land of Oz (source) as listed below and expanded on the Oz world with the 21 books she wrote. Check out the audio versions of some of the books below from LibriVox, an online audio book website that is free of charge. In addition to the books below, you can also access more information about each book here. Between her and Baum, they wrote 33 books and contributed to what is called the Famous Forty, a list of the first 40 Oz books that are considered main canon in the world building of the Land of Oz. After you have discovered the characters of Oz, you could always create your own drawing or digimage and share it in the comments below. You can always start with Sir Hokus of Pokes or Kapumbo the Elegant Elephant, an Indian elephant from Ruth's second Oz book, Kapumbo in Oz (1922). You can use this Oz website as an example of how one Oz fan explored the grand elephant with their own findings and images. Fascinating enough, there is a character in Wicked that Elphaba comes across in the Vinkus (or "Winkie") region of Oz that is very similar to Kapumbo, in my opinion. Her name is Princess Nastoya, a princess who uses the transformed disguise of an Indian elephant to hide from her enemies. Her story continues in Son of a Witch, where she is running into some problems keeping her elephant disguise up and is causing her terminal problems. Aside from the stories, Ruth Plumly Thompson also wrote poetry and a puppet theatre stage show called The Magical Land of Oz (poster below). The stage show was put on by Jean Gros and his production team, but RPT wrote the script and story. Also, here is an historical advertising newspaper written back in the day that details out the many components of that show, if you are interested in seeing it. Find the 1928 Ozmapolitan link. What a better way to celebrate the characters of RPT than through a puppet stage show of her books or an illustration of her poetry posted online or shared here or with the Oz Club. An additional option is to do a radio play based on one of her books as well. Then, post the link in the comments to share with everyone. As we come to the end of our celebration tour, one final idea out there is still not done is crafts inspired by the land of Oz and the videos that explain how to do them. What crafts from RPT's Oz inspire you? Also, what are ways you celebrate RPT at home? Please feel free to share below in the comments and I hope you have enjoyed our celebration of RPT and how fun it would be to explore her whimsical and entertaining world of Oz.
Resources/Websites Feel free to check out these websites to learn more about the awe-inspiring author by clicking on each below: IWOC Resource OZ Museum Resource Hungry Tiger Press Resource Also, feel free to check out this book of poems written by Ruth herself, sold by the International Wizard of Oz Club (cover seen below). If you click on the cover below, you will be taken to the online shop to purchase this book in either softcover or hardcover. The book contains another one of Ruth Plumly Thompson's A Day in Oz. A brief presentation of the play was recently uploaded to the Oz Club's YouTube channel. Check it out.
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Going into July, we make our first stop at Independence Day. So, what better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than by experiencing the American side of Oz. This means that we will look at the influences Oz has made on America by touring real-life locations in United States that have been Ozified. In the books, Kansas is the first place that is mentioned, so we will begin our real world tour of American Oz there. First up, Wamego, Kansas. This is the true epicenter of anything Oz in Kansas and has plenty to offer the Oz fan from an Oz museum to an Oz-themed winery to even a walk down the yellow brick road. I went a couple years back and it is really fun to experience all the places; there is even a Kansas farmhouse monument that has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East (her legs are popping out of the bottom of the house) right across from a McDonalds. Its great. In October, the town changes to welcome "Oztoberfest", which is a weekend event and all the restaurants and shops on the "Road to Oz" Highway change up and become even more Ozian. So, if you are looking for a great place to experience American Oz, then be sure to check out Wamego, Kansas and all its Ozian flair. Our next stop is a bit south in Liberal, Kansas, which has less to offer but is still a fun experience. It's called Dorothy's House and the Land of Oz museum. It is a quaint museum and has a lot to offer but don't take my word for it, check it out below. For more information on the museum and how to visit, check out the website. I have not been, so it would be great to hear what other people have to say about this place in the comments below. They also have a Facebook page if you would like to follow them and keep up with their news here. The next place mentioned in the books in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Wizard of Oz left his circus. Unfortunately, there is no well-known Wizard of Oz themed activities, so we will move to the next best thing: The Land of Oz theme park. Located in Beech Mountain, North Carolina, this theme park from the 1970s has been mostly abandoned over the years until recently when it began doing tours again, where the guest walks through Dorothy's house first and then experiences her journey through Oz with live-action actors. In the Fall, it has a festival called Autumn in Oz and in the summer, there is an activity called Summer in Oz. It really is a great little park to visit, so when it is open, be sure to hop a ride up the mountain and journey down the yellow brick road. For more information, check out the website on my Land of Oz Resources page or click the image below. Up north in Chittenango, New York, is the birthplace of L. Frank Baum. It is also the site of the world renowned casino, The Yellow Brick Road. With of 400 slots and many of them Wizard of Oz themed along side the the dining and sports entertainment, you could stay here for hours and truly get lost down the Yellow Brick Road. Another stop in this small town is the All Things Oz Museum, which literally has a store full of all things Oz-themed. It is great and they are even currently selling Wizard of Oz themed masks that are washable and durable. So, to check out more on the casino, click the image to the left and to check out more on the museum, click the image of the right. Also, in the summer, this little town Ozifies and has their annual Oz-Stravanganza. For more info about this year's (or next year's) event, click here. Next up is the Oz Convention, which happens both on the West and East Coasts, and it put on by Wizard of Oz Club. Each one is themed after a part of Oz like the west coast convention is usually called WinkieCon while east coast themes itself off different parts of Oz like calling itself MunchkinCon or National Oz Convention. This year's Oz Con International is going virtual and is free of charge, accepting donations. For more information about each of these conventions, please click their corresponding images below as well as more information at the Wizard of Oz club website on my Oz Resources page. As we close off our tour of the American Oz, we look at some smaller tastes of Oz as these are not as large as the other locations but still honorary mentions. In Maryland, there is the Watkins Regional Park with Wizard of Oz playground. It even has a rainbow you walk under made of different colored glass. For more about this park and visiting it, check it out here. Also, if you want tips for visiting this playground, check out this website. Moving west in Chicago, there is an Oz-themed open space park where visitors can see statues of Dorothy and her companions from the books. For more information on visiting this park, check it out here. Feel free to post any other Oz-themed locations you would like mentioned in the comments below for Oz fans to visit or let me know which place is your favorite? Resources/Activities Back after the publication of The Marvelous Land of Oz, there was a comic strip series of adventures that detailed where Tip and his friends ended up after they fell asleep and ended up in a strange new land that was bizarre to them. This comic series details out all of their adventures before they headed back to Oz. You can find the collection on Amazon or here at Sunday Press Books. Above are some examples of movies that take place in our world, but have an Ozian flair. Up first, After the Wizard is an independent film that tells the story of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow traveling to Kansas in search of Dorothy to help them fix up a broken down Oz. Its a cute Sunday afternoon movie and available to watch for free on Tubi. Next, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz takes place in Kansas and New York while telling Dorothy's story as an adult. That movie is available for purchase online. Then, we have The Little Tin Man that takes place in San Francisco and tells the story of a dwarf who is trying to make it big. It is a cute love story and definitely includes Wizard of Oz characters. You can find that movie on Tubi as well. Finally, OzLand tells the story of two brothers in a post-apocalyptic world, who are influenced by the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It takes place in the middle of Kansas and the two brothers definitely meet characters similar to characters in the book. This is available online through Amazon Prime. So, have fun and enjoy your lovely month of American Oz and we'll be seeing somewhere in the Oz Verse.
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AuthorMy name is Vinkus Ken and I have been a long time fan of many things in Oz and how their world truly does emulate much of ours. Did you know that they have a flag of their own? Or did you know that they have a law about only having 9 jurors in their courts? Also, Oz has a court system! I like to introduce facts that seem meaningless and bring meaning to them by comparing them to our world. So, come along on this journey and enjoy the ride. |