The Land of Oz

Oz block

Here's my second block from Sany's pattern, using her diagonal color change directions!  In the corners, you join with one chain and a single crochet, and continue with the same color.  I'm not explaining it very well, so you should check out her directions.  It's pretty brilliant.

Oz block

So, I'm kind of an L. Frank Baum and Oz fan...  And I'm really excited (and nervous) about the new Disney movie Oz The Great and Powerful. Did you know that there are fourteen books in the Oz series by Baum? (Oh man, my geek is really starting to show!  And I'm afraid it's going to get worse.)  In the books, the land of Oz is made up of four countries, and in the middle where they meet, is the capital, Emerald City.  Each country has a favorite color... Munchkin's is blue, Winkie's is yellow, Gillikin's is purple, and Quadling's is red.  Now is my crocheted block making sense?

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I did a quick internet search to find what those colors were again instead of going through my books, and ran across an entire wikipedia page on the Land of Oz.  So I made my block based on the colors of the map I found there...  Later I pulled out a few of my Oz books to show you, and found I had a map in my All Things Oz book.  And I noticed the colors are reversed!  Well, apparently East and West are sometimes reversed, and there's an entire little section in that wikipedia entry devoted to theories on why haha!!

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Anyways, here's a few of the Oz books from my collection.  I'm always on the lookout for them in used bookstores.  Yes, I could probably find them online somewhere, but it's all about the hunt!  Some of them are pretty rare and collectible.  These are just a few of the Oz books I have...  (My bookcases are in disarray, to put it lightly.  My close to 700 books are double stacked on the shelves, and in some places in piles resembling a Jenga game.  I was afraid if I pulled one more out, the whole thing would collapse.)

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And I haven't even mentioned the Oz graphic novels (I have a couple by Eric Shanower), a bizarro fiction book (The Emerald Burrito of Oz), or an Oz/Wonderland crossover comic book (Oz/Wonderland Chronicles Book 1)...  Oh man, I've said far too much!  My geek flag is a flyin'!

Oh well, you've probably already figured out I was a big book nerd from my other book inspired crocheted blocks (like Wool, Molly Fyde, Dr. Seuss, Under Wildwood, The Mark of Athena, Tantra Song, and Alyss Heart).  So, bringing this back to where I started, now you may understand why I'm both excited and nervous about this new Disney movie!  I don't want to be disappointed!  However, I think it's good that the original Wizard of Oz movie, which you are most likely familiar with, is still owned by MGM, which means for this new movie Disney will have to rely more heavily on the original books by Baum since they are in the public domain!

That's probably enough Oz talk for today...  Have you guys read any of the Oz books?  Do you like movie and book adaptations of older books and fairy tales?

(Did you know that in the books, Dorothy's shoes are silver and not red? Sorry, I'm done. I promise.)

Comments

  1. Now we have the Land of Oz square according to the colours of the map in the book you show here! Well done!
    I could be wrong, but I think you might be an Oz fan!
    When I was in London a couple of years ago, I went to see "The Wizard of Oz" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was FABULOUS! Here is a youtube excerpt:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txQIzLsZ5p4
    I hope it works over there! Otherwise, just look on youtube and you'll find it.

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  2. Wow Kate, this is a brilliant post. i love it when people are passionate about things and I'm so impressed by your knowledge and book collection (silver shoes eh?) We have the DVD of the original film and enjoy watching it as a family but I've never read the book - want to now though! Thanks for showing your geeky side, it makes me happy you've shared this, and of course I love your crochet block!

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    1. Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you liked the post (makes it much easier to show my geeky side hahaha)! If you ever read the book, I'd be interested to know what you think! I found that the book felt much less scary than the movie! (But it was also Baum's intention to write a story that wasn't meant to scare kids like the fairy tales of the time by Andersen and Grimm!)

      Happy crafting (and reading)!
      Kate :}

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  3. I was glued to my seat reading this post! How interesting - and how exciting!!! I've never read any of these books, and I just assumed that there was ONE book, that told the story they adapted into the old (wonderful) movie. Well, I'd better get searcghing out some OZ books......
    yippeeeeee for new ideas for reads!!!
    Carly
    x

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  4. My DD had several of the Oz books too. I did know about the silver shoes (from DD). I was in the Wizard of Oz play in high school and my DD was in it in middle school. Did you know Buddy Epsen was the original Tinman, but had a bad reaction to the makeup and had to be replaced? We also have a Wizard of Oz cookbook.
    Love the block...and the story behind it.

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  5. Your OZ square is gorgeous! I'm just reading "Wicked" and am fascinated by all of the Lands of Oz and the back-story. A friend of mine saw "Oz the Great and Powerful." He's a movie reviewer. Here are a few of his comments: " It's odd and James Franco is a mixed bag but it's so visually stunning that I was transfixed throughout. They made such a point of saying it's not based on the MGM film (for legal reasons) but only the books and yet there are SO many nods to the 1939 movie that don't exist in the books. Loved the Kansas stuff at the beginning and enjoyed the three witches. Nice to see Rachel Weisz having a little fun for a change."

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    1. Thank you Ellen! And thanks so much for sharing your friends review! I read an article that seemed to indicate they were trying to get as close as they could to the MGM film without getting into legal trouble... But I suppose there are probably more fans of that film out there than fans of his books. I'm relieved that it should at least be worth seeing for the visuals!!

      I own "Wicked" and can't believe I haven't read it yet haha!!

      Happy reading!
      Kate :}

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  6. I have a love/hate relationship with Disney's other attempt at an Oz movie in Return to Oz (trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipivUGVydMY) I did remember the silver shoes from reading the Wizard of Oz a long time ago, and also the little ceramic people who are in the new movie :)

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  7. I really enjoyed your post! I read many of the Oz books as a child and they were always among my favorites. I especially liked The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz.
    I am a teacher and always read some of the Oz books to my class each year. This year I have read 3 and the students are (this very week!!!) spending their recesses creating a puppet play about Princess Langwidere and all of her heads!!
    The books are fun to read as an adult. There is a lot of humor that I missed as a child. Your crochet square is terrific. What a wonderful idea!
    Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thanks!! I think it's fantastic you read the books to your classes, and I love that the kids are making a puppet play! So creative!! I think the staying power of these books that were written so long ago is just amazing.

      I've only read the books as an adult, and find them so funny and smart... I wish I had read them when I was young so I could reread them now and find what I would have missed the first time haha!! I feel like Baum was so ahead of his time... kind of like a science fiction writer predicting future inventions...

      Thank you for sharing this and I wish I could see your students' play!!
      Kate :}

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  8. thank you for your knowledge of Oz my daughter has just said she want's to do the wicked witch or scarecrow in 2 weeks time!!i need to find/make a costume now!i loved reading about the many different books and the change of shoes which i all ready mentioned to my mum as my daughters friend wants to do Dorothy i made a mistake of saying to my mum luckily not daughter "which Oz original or new?" and she said not to mention new as witch costume bit more adult for an 11 year old to wear,will be coming back to double check with you!(the blog) on things as needed.thank you again kerena

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    1. Hi Kerena,

      (Sorry it took so long to respond!) You're very welcome, and I'd love to hear more as you work on the costumes!!

      Best of luck!!
      Kate :}

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    2. hi Kate i ended up using a long black skirt and a black longish riding type jacket for her and sewing black ribbon around the brim of her witch hat she all ready had and emerald green ribbon around the base of the hat at as it was bright pink!!have been told this morning the green face paint didn't wash of well and her skin is still tinged green she is fuming as not a good look for an 11yr old!i saw the new film last night it was great i can't see how anyone can compare it to the original it stands on it's own,and seeing this one has explained why some of the things that happened and were happening in the original well worth a watch more than once! i hope they re print the books i would love to read them if you could possibly do some sort of list one day i would love to try and find some thanks again for your blog kerena

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    3. Sounds fantastic! (All except for the green face paint bit of course, poor girl!) If you want, email me (signedwithanowl@gmail.com) your email and I can probably put some book info together for you!

      Hope you have a great weekend,
      Kate

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    4. thank you Kate i will send an email,they sounded good in your blog but seeing the film makes them sound even better i hope they my start re printing so everyone gets a chance to read them :)

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