RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON
This is the dedication page of Kabumpo in Oz, the 15th Oz book and the 1st to be solely written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. I reread it for the first time in 50 years last week. It holds up beautifully. As you can see from the above, she delighted in wordplay, puns, and anagrams. Cliffhanger chapter endings, plenty of wit and humor, well plotted with fine characters, such as Wag the Rabbit, the wooden doll Peg Amy, Prince Pompa, the gnome Ruggedo, and Kabumpo, the Elegant Elephant. That’s Kabumpo there, drawn by John Neill. With the publication of my own children’s ebook looming on the horizon, I’m posting this small tribute to one of my earliest literary mentors. It’s no coincidence that one of the later stories in my fantasy series is entitled Plumly.
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