The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, by L. Frank Baum
A Signet Classic with pictures by Mary Cowles. The basis for
the Rankin/Bass special, which I love, and a Baum ‘rediscovered classic’. For
the collection.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Children’s Book.
Paperback
The Wizard of Oz, The Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the
Wizard of Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz,
Tik-Tok Of Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz, Rinkitink in Oz, The Lost Princess of Oz,
The Tin Woodman of Oz, The Magic of Oz, Glinda of Oz, by L. Frank Baum.
“The Wizard of Oz has the original interior illustrations by W. W.
Denslow; the other thirteen have the original interior illustrations by John R.
Neill. All cover paintings are by Michael Herring.” – Power of Babel. I started
getting this Del Rey Fantasy Classic series in 1979 and kept following it even
when they switched over to the Ruth Plumley Thompson books and a new format.
The Herring covers kind of degenerated over time, getting more and more
impressionistic with swashes of color rather than clear outlines. The books
themselves kind of got worse and worse after “Ozma”, too. I remember getting
some of these at Eckerd’s and some at Hastings, and reading them at Mr. Gatti’s
on my breaks, keeping them on the top shelf of the old ‘closet’ near the back
entrance.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Children’s Books. Paperbacks.
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