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Summary
Summary
KATHLEEN KRULL'S LIVELY text traces the life of L. Frank Baum from his dreamy privileged childhood in mid-19th-century upstate New York through the many detours on his road to Oz. A failure as an actor, a breeder of prize chickens, a merchant in a wild west town, among other occupations, he finally made a success doing exactly what he had always loved to do: tell stories for children. Along the way, we see the antecedents of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, green glasses, and other characters and attributes of the famous fantasy land. This is the first biography of L. Frank Baum that children can enjoy.
With the same verve she brought to her biography of Dr. Seuss, Kathleen Krull's wry prose couples with Kevin Hawke's exuberant paintings and drawings to create a book not to be missed by Oz fans of all ages.
Author Notes
Kathleen Krull is well known for her innovative approach to biographies for young readers. Her books include The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum; The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss; the Lives of . . . series of collective biographies; the Giants of Science series ; and more, as featured at kathleenkrull.com. Kathleen lives in San Diego, with her husband, children's book illustrator Paul Brewer.
Kevin Hawkes is the author and illustrator of The Wicked Big Toddlah and The Wicked Big Toddlah Goes to New York , and is the illustrator of many well-loved books for young readers including Imagine That :! How Dr. Seuss Wrote t he Cat in the Hat, Library Lion , My Little Sister Ate One Hare, My Little Sister Hugged an Ape , And to Think That We Thought That We'd Never Be Friends , The Road to Oz , Velma Gratch, and The Way Cool Butterfly . He lives in Gorham, Maine.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Krull (Hillary Rodham Clinton) turns to the frequently failing but resilient man behind the 1900 classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Her very readable account begins with Lyman Frank Baum's privileged childhood in a wealthy family and continues through his many attempted careers, such as chicken breeder, newspaper editor and window dresser. "Bad luck, bad planning, too much ambition, too much risk... ('Will he ever amount to anything?' some people whispered)." The chatty narrative paints a well-rounded, occasionally irreverent portrait of Baum as a plucky, earnest entrepreneur and doting family man who loved telling stories to his four sons. Numerous parenthetical asides interject well-researched tidbits, such as jokes Baum recycled in his Aberdeen (Dakota Territory) newspaper. Hawke's (Library Lion) jaunty acrylics fit Baum's optimistic spirit, while vignettes drawn in green highlight some of Baum's inspirations, e.g., drawings of the Tin Man accompany a passage about how the writer once made an all-metal dummy for a hardware store window. A detailed author's note rounds out this cheeky yet informative biography. Ages 8-12. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Krull (The Boy on Fairfield Street, rev. 1/04) offers the first picture-book biography of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Her narrative follows Baum's career changes -- actor, salesman, shopkeeper, journalist -- before his bestselling novel in 1900. Along the way, we see his inspirations for the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Emerald City, and other elements of Oz. Hawkes adds visual prefigurations as Baum bicycles past poppies and watches Midwesterners fight a stiff wind. Hawkes takes care to show Baum writing left-handed and decorates text pages with line art patterned after that of Oz illustrator W. W. Denslow. Though Baum's financial ups and downs before Oz offer dramatic "bumps," that may not be the most appropriate structure for his life story. He actually became a bestselling author in 1899 with Father Goose, which the text never mentions, and only the "storyteller's note" acknowledges that Oz's triumph did not keep Baum from bankruptcy in 1911. Krull's frequent parentheses produce a distracting stop-start rhythm: "Finally it dawned on Frank that he could be writing down those bedtime fantasies he told the children. (Actually, his mother-in-law was the one who pointed this out.)" Krull does describe Baum's anti-Native editorials in his small Dakota newspaper more forthrightly than previous biographers. In all, an entertaining look at how a peripatetic man in a rapidly changing society produced a lasting fantasy tale. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Despite the enduring popularity of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, there are few titles about L. Frank Baum published for youth. Krull's new picture-book biography, then, is particularly welcome, and it displays Krull's usual stylistic strengths: a conversational tone, well-integrated facts, vivid anecdotes, and sly asides that encourage children to find the human qualities in a historical figure. Beginning with Baum's pampered youth, Krull moves forward through his early adult years, when he flailed in a variety of jobs before finally writing his famous first book about Oz, which he based on bedtime stories he created for his children. Krull gives a balanced account, emphasizing Baum's creative gifts and his talents for nurturing his family while frankly referencing his less-admirable traits, such as his prejudice against Native Americans. Hawkes' ink-and-acrylic illustrations are uneven, with some figures appearing blurred and hurriedly rendered, but the brightly colored compositions do support the sense of Baum as a multifaceted, fascinating individual. An author's note, sources, and a list of Baum's works conclude this entertaining, lively portrait.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Fans of The Wizard of Oz will find plenty of enchantment in this thoughtful, brightly illustrated narrative. From his childhood at his parents' estate, with its "rosebushes in glimmering-jewel colors," to his various careers as journalist, playwright, chicken expert, window dresser (including his creative display of hardware fashioned into a tin man), store owner, newspaper editor, and family storyteller, Krull magically interweaves the origins of Baum's characters and themes that would appear in his "modern American fairy tales." The "Oz" books were his only true success, but they did not result in a fairy-tale ending for the Baum family. With sympathy for her subject, Krull tactfully notes Baum's lack of aptitude for business affairs and his eventual declaration of bankruptcy. Hawkes's merry paintings of the author and his characters invoke the magic of Oz within the great author's real-world setting. The Road to Oz will provide students with an inspiring introduction to Baum's life.-Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
With customary vivacity and a fine sense of irony, Krull portrays her subject as a genial family man who suffered reverse after reverse thanks to a bad combination of deep-seated optimism and zero business sense--but pulled through when his love of storytelling and sense of audience at last led to a novel that instantly became (she notes) the Harry Potter of its day. She does mention Baum's anti-American Indian screeds, but in general tells a brisk, admiring tale that mirrors the tone of his talespinning--aptly illustrated by Hawkes's scenes of a frail, dapper looking gent, generally sporting a smile beneath a bushy mustache and gazing abstractedly into the distance. An admirable companion to Krull's Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up To Become Dr. Seuss (2004), this profile not only provides a similarly illuminating peek beneath the authorial curtain, but leaves readers understanding just how groundbreaking The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was, as an adventure story with both a female protagonist and no overwhelming Moral Lesson. (afterword, booklists) (Picture book/biography. 9-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.