Lyman Frank Lyman Frank Baum
Published: 2021-05-06
Total Pages: 101
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Even disappointing sales of the first Trot and Cap'n Bill book, The Sea Fairies, could not keep L. Frank Baum from writing a second, in the desperate (and ultimately unfulfilled) hope that Trot and Cap'n Bill's adventures might prove lucrative enough to free him ever having to write another Oz book again. In his desperation, he created some of his loveliest images yet, blended with some of his sharpest political satire--and even threw in a couple of cameo appearances by minor characters from the Oz books. The end result, Sky Island, may not have saved him from Oz--but it would be one of his best and most underappreciated books. Sky Island begins with Trot encountering a young boy who has literally arrived from out of the sky, clutching an umbrella. Shades of Mary Poppins, except that the boy is Button-Bright (now aged a little from his first unpromising appearance in The Road to Oz) and he is not the slightest bit magical. But he does have an umbrella that will fly him to any destination he voices out loud. After some hesitation, Trot and Cap'n Bill agree to take a ride with him. Since none of them remember that consulting a map is always a valued tool when dealing with fairy magic, a slight issue sends them, and the umbrella, soaring up through the clouds to the fairyland of Sky Island. (Which also answers the question of how they can breathe up there--magic.)
