THE JITTERBUG- Page 3

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 9:49pm

Also, Thompson's books are tough to find (and mostly OOP, if I'm correct). Del-Rey released 8 of them when they issued the paperback versions of the 14 Baum books...and I occasionally find them in used-book stores.

Thompson made some odd changes, like the spelling of Gillikin, and a few other random things. (I think she did something involving Oz's color scheme).

The continuity is worse in her novels too.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:03pm

I agree, Husk. She was more about the "puns" than the stories, IMO. Still, entertaining reads. But they didn't have the underlying (and deceptive) depth that Baum's stories had.

I've only read a few of them, since they are hard to find. I have the Del-Rey paperbacks from the '80s.

But Books of Wonder has released the first two Thompson books in hardcover with the original color plate illustrations. I have those too, and they're terrific!

https://www.booksofwonder.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RPT002

And for others interested in the Baum books, Books of Wonder has also released the original 14 Baum books as replicas of the First Editions. They are my pride and joy. The attention to detail is astounding. And you can get them all from their site, as well as their store in NYC. (They also throw in the "Little Wizard" stories in this bundle I have linked...)

https://www.booksofwonder.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BW0015

I also own a few authentic First Editions myself. They were my grandfather's when he was a child growing up in Kansas in the early 1900s. The old, beat-up cover of Tik-Tok of Oz is my favorite.

And Stagey---I have to say... I would have turned the car around with you. Enthusiastically!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:10pm

Books of Wonder is a New York City treasure.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:11pm

I need to get the rest of the BoW editions. I have the first one, but I took the dust jacket off, so it looked more like the first book.

Btw, McDonald's is doing another set of Madame Alexander Oz Dolls this September. They're expanding it to a collection of 12.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:19pm

Very cool, Husk!

I don't blame you for taking the cover off. Books of Wonder admits that they don't know what the dust jacket really looks like for the First Edition of "Wizard of Oz," since NONE are known to have survived. So they did their own thing with the dust jacket.

But they did custom size the book. It's a very strange size, not like any of the other Oz books in the series, or any other book I own, for that matter.

The covers for the other 13 books are accurate, however.

The detail is SO GREAT, though! For example, the Road to Oz (my personal favorite) has each section printed on a different color of paper, just as the original. The Emerald City of Oz has the gilded gold edges on the paper (quite expensive), just as the original. They truly were a labor of love... and I appreciate them more than they could ever know.

I doubt they made much money on these, but they sure made a lot of people very happy with their work. I hope they know that.

[nygrl23]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:23pm

>Books of Wonder is a New York City treasure.

Meaning it will be converted into a bank/Starbucks soon.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:26pm

don't say such things nygrl.

I am *so* Visiting it in July.

When I was younger (like 8-10) I was a member of their Oz club, and got all the newsletters and such. I still have them somewhere most likely.

There's a really pretty edition illustrated by an Itallian (I think) illustrator named Madga, and I would kill to have a copy of it. I think she and David Uhry (sp?) are the only two major illustrators I am missing.