The Magical Monarch of Mo

1903, 1968 Dover edition
L. Frank Baum
Illustrated by Frank Ver Beck
The Magical Monarch of Mo
Original price $2.95, purchase price unknown
Decent edition paperback
B-

Baum actually wrote this book back in 1896 but it wasn't published till 1900, as A New Wonderland.  Then it was reissued in '03 with the current title, and the name of the country changed throughout from Phunnyland to Mo, probably because the latter more resembles Oz.  It's not an Oz book but Mo has more affinity to Oz, particularly his later version of Oz, than do any of the places in American Fairy Tales.  And there are some crossovers in a couple Oz books.

I think I liked the book more as a child than I do now, although even then I preferred Queen Zixi (1905).  As Martin Gardner points out in his introduction, this is a more episodic story.  The episodes, or "surprises" as the chapters are called, are more whimsy-driven than plot-driven.  My favorite is The Ninth Surprise, "The Wizard and the Princess Truella."  Not only is it one of the two adventures with Glinda wannabe Maëtta, but Truella shows true cleverness and courage.  As for the rest of the book, it's mostly a matter of funny (or "phunny") moments, like the talking monkeys who discuss evolution or the prince who uses a flying fish to get an apple from a tall, trunkless tree.  (Why not a bird?  Because if you're going to be whimsical, you've got to out-Carroll Carroll.)

Due to the setting, there are fewer topical references than in American Fairy Tales, although on this reading I couldn't help wondering if Crown Prince Zingle, frustrated that his father can never die, was a tweaking of Edward VII, who was heir to the throne for almost 60 years.  There's less racism than in AFT, but unfortunately Baum names one of the monsters "Gigaboo."

Baum considered Ver Beck's illustrations to be superior to any in his other books at that point.  I agree that they're best I've seen so far, although I recall Zixi's as better.  Unlike Denslow, Ver Beck is more successful drawing people than animals, so it's surprising that he specialized in comic animal drawings.  The pictures here are mostly small, marginal ones, although Dover also includes color plates.  This is a good moment to mention that I'm very pleased with the Dover editions of the non-Oz Baum books.  As the note on the back deservedly boasts, the binding and paper are superior to what you'd expect for a paperback children's book.  They've definitely stood up to multiple readings, including in this case by whatever reader got this book when I was a baby.