THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: The Story and Adaptation

The First Edition's Title Page

As many of you have probably already seen, work is underway for the BCP's first publication, a storybook adaption of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.  Allow me to begin by saying that I could not be more pleased with our selection for an inaugural work. After all, it is often said that it is best to work with what you know - and I know Oz!  This is my favorite story of all time, as anyone who has ever met me can easily attest.

I, like many children in America, was first introduced to the Land of Oz by the MGM film starring Judy Garland.  However, about the same time, I was introduced to Baum's work via a storybook published by Random House in the 1950's, featuring illustrations by Anton Loeb.  I was babysat by my grandparents on weekdays during my preschool years.  Now, my Grandma Dorothy (ironic name, no?) had this old storybook that she had read to her own children in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's (she had six children spread out over 30+ years!).  Every day after lunch, I would crawl up in her lap with the book and beg for her to read it to me.  I swear she had to have read it to me more than 300 times!  I loved that book, I took it everywhere.  I would sit and flip through it for hours, reliving the story in my head.  When I came of the age to read on my own, this was the first book I dove into.  I won't even begin to calculate the number of times I read it myself!  Of course, this love shows as the book, which I still own, is bound with scotch tape and feeble attempts to rebind it with needle and thread.    

My First Introduction to Baum's Text

As I got older, I realized there was a great deal of Oz that I was missing.  See, Grandma Dorothy also had Baum's original Oz novel.  I believe I was in the second grade when I read it for the first time.  There was so much more to the world! So much that had been omitted to make it easy to read for children.  My excitement also grew when I learned there were thirteen more Oz novels penned by L. Frank Baum.  I went wild and devoured these texts throughout my elementary and middle school years.  My love for Oz has also spawned a massive collection (or "museum" as my friends and family have dubbed it) consisting of over 3,000 artifacts.  In this collection are literally hundreds of Oz books, a good portion of which are storybooks; and, yes, I have read them all!

Reading adaptation after adaptation inspired me in many ways.  First of all, I realized that Oz was a story that spoke to many.  After all, a story must be truly wonderful to endure 113 years and spawn countless adaptations.  Writing my own version of the classic tale has always been in the back of my mind.  However, I never had the means to do it until I met Haley, my best friends and now collaborator.  When I proposed the idea of an Oz storybook to her she jumped at the opportunity to illustrate such an iconic tale.  And, thus, the Black Cat Press was born!

Now, I'm sure many of you are wondering why would we choose to tackle a tale that has been "done to death." Well, for lack of a better answer, it allows us to share our love for the story and put it into our own words and images.  It is a dream collaboration, really.  I have the ability to tell the story the way I feel it should be told to younger audiences and Haley, as I have learned, has a very similar vision for Oz, which allows us to show it the way we envision it in our heads.

Did you know: The Good
Witch of the North was
named Locasta?

In writing the adaptation, I took great pains to preserve Baum's original story, tone, and language.  The well-versed Baum enthusiast will easily see that a great deal has been lifted directly from his own words, especially where the dialogue is involved.  However, I have also "seasoned" the story with a good deal of my own humor and ideals.  Furthermore, having played the Scarecrow alongside the same cast at the Wizard of Oz Festival for so many years, I feel a very close bond to these characters.  In deed, you will see aspects of my cast mates' portrayals showing through in the text.  Adding this new layer truly enhances the depth and reality of the characters, in my opinion.  Of course, there are numerous other factors that have inspired me, various text retellings, plays, movies, and so on.  For example, you will note I have integrated the name given to the Good Witch of the North in Baum's
1902 stage play, Locasta.

Having read numerous versions of the story, one thing I have noticed is that almost all retellings of the story are designed to stand alone as a single story.  They do not allude or leave doors open for Baum's sequels, as most authors stop their retelling of the Oz Legacy after the first story.  In deed, Baum himself had no intention to write a sequel, let alone thirteen!  Therefore, his stories are filled with inconsistencies and contradictions.  Rest assured, I am in no way criticizing his work, I am simply pointing out the facts of the matter.  This has inspired me to try something that is rarely done.  I hope to continue on and adapt several of Baum's later Oz stories into a series of storybooks.  Along the way, I hope to reconcile several of the inconsistencies to make a series that is easy for young readers to follow.  Whether or not this dream will become a reality, we will just have to see.  At any rate, Oz fans will see that I have integrate aspects of later Oz books into the first story.  For example, there are characters present in Wonderful Wizard that are not named until later - the handmaiden in the Emerald City and the Soldier with the Green Whiskers have been dubbed Jelia Jamb and Omby Amby, respectively, to coincide with the names given in The Marvelous Land of Oz.  More importantly, the Tin Woodman's proper name, Nick Chopper, is referenced in our adaptation although it is not mentioned in the original novel.  And, last but not least, Dorothy is given her surname, although that would not come about until the stage play in 1902.

I sincerely hope that all of you enjoy reading my adaptation of the text as much as I have enjoyed writing.  Please keep an eye on our blog as we will continue to update you on the progress of the book. Also, watch for a post from illustrator Haley N. Dillon, as she explains and shares her concepts for the characters.