Sky Island (novel)
Encyclopedia
Sky Island: Being the Further Adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill after Their Visit to the Sea Fairies is a children's
fantasy
novel written by L. Frank Baum
, illustrated by John R. Neill
, and published in 1912
by the Reilly & Britton
Company — the same constellation of forces that produced the Oz books
in the first decades of the twentieth century.
As the full title indicates, Sky Island is a sequel to Baum's The Sea Fairies
of 1911. Both books were intended as parts of a projected long-running fantasy series to replace the Oz books. Given the relatively tepid reception of the first book in the series, however, Baum tried to attract young readers by including two characters from his Oz mythos in Sky Island — Button Bright
and Polychrome
, originally introduced in The Road to Oz
(1909).
The book was dedicated to the author's sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster.
is near her home on the coast of southern California when she meets a strange little boy with a large umbrella. Button Bright has been using his family's magic umbrella to take long-range journeys from his Philadelphia home, and has gotten as far as California. After an explanation of how the magic umbrella works, the two children, joined by Cap'n Bill
, decide to take a trip to a nearby island; they call it "Sky island," because it looks like it's "halfway in the sky" — but the umbrella takes them to a different place entirely, a literal island in the sky.
Sky Island is another split-color country in Baum's fantasy universe, like the Land of Oz
or the Island of Yew (in The Enchanted Island of Yew
, from 1903). Divided in two halves, blue and pink, Sky Island supports two separate and hostile races of beings. The three travellers land on the blue side of Sky Island, which is a grim country ruled by a sadistic tyrant, the Boolooroo of the Blues. In Sky Island, as in Oz, no one can be killed or suffer pain, but that doesn't mean one is safe: the Boolooroo's method of punishing disobedience in his subjects is to split his victims into halves using a huge guillotine-type knife, and then join the wrong halves back together, creating very unhappy asymmetrical mixed people. This is called "patching." The Boolooroo threatens to do the same to his new visitors; meanwhile he keeps them imprisoned, and gives Trot as a slave to his daughters, the Six Snubnosed Princesses (named Cerulia, Turquoise, Sapphire, Azure, Cobalt, and Indigo).
The three protagonists manage to escape from the Blues; penetrating the Great Fog Bank that separates the island's halves and meeting its strange inhabitants, they reach the pink or "sunrise" side of the island. The pink country is a much friendlier and more relaxed place than the blue side, with cheerfully chubby residents. The visitors get a better reception, since they are rather pink in color themselves, albeit of a sadly wan and pale shade. Unfortunately, the laws of the pink country insist that the visitors be thrown off the edge of Sky Island; even the country's ruler, the sylph-like Tourmaline the Poverty Queen, cannot pardon them. Polychrome, however, descends from the rainbow like a deus ex machina
to resolve the problem. Trot is promoted to Queen of the Pinkies, because she has the palest skin among them. After Cap'n Bill leads an invasion of the opposite side, Trot becomes "Booloorooess" of the Blues as well; and so she is able to "regulate" both societies into more sensible forms. The three travellers eventually return to their homes, more than a little relieved at their escape from Sky island.
The bipartite structure of Sky Island allows Baum to inject ironic and satiric commentary on xenophobia, isolationism, race and color prejudice, social biases, personal vanity, and related issues. The Blues think that their dismal island-half "is the Center of the Universe and the only place anyone would care to live." Their scientists have "proven" that the Earth below, a ball of mud and water, cannot support life. The Snubnosed Princesses think that a snub nose is "the highest mark of female beauty" and "an evidence of high breeding which any lady would be proud to possess."
and The Daring Twins
, neither of which was a long-term success. Disappointing sales inspired Baum and Reilly & Britton to view a return to Oz as an obvious and necessary step, leading to the publication of The Patchwork Girl of Oz
and the Little Wizard Stories of Oz
the next year, 1913. In 1918, however, Baum wrote that he thought Sky Island would probably be remembered as his best work.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel written by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, illustrated by John R. Neill
John R. Neill
John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...
, and published in 1912
1912 in literature
The year 1912 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Virginia Stephen marries Leonard Woolf.*Frieda von Richthofen meets D. H. Lawrence.-New books:*Mary Antin - The Promised Land*L...
by the Reilly & Britton
Reilly & Britton
The Reilly and Britton Company, or Reilly & Britton was an American publishing company of the early and middle 20th century, famous as the publisher of the works of L. Frank Baum.-Founding:...
Company — the same constellation of forces that produced the Oz books
The Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , and that relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books, all of which are in the public domain in the United States...
in the first decades of the twentieth century.
As the full title indicates, Sky Island is a sequel to Baum's The Sea Fairies
The Sea Fairies
The Sea Fairies is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by John R. Neill, and published in 1911 by the Reilly & Britton Company, the publisher of Baum's series of Oz books...
of 1911. Both books were intended as parts of a projected long-running fantasy series to replace the Oz books. Given the relatively tepid reception of the first book in the series, however, Baum tried to attract young readers by including two characters from his Oz mythos in Sky Island — Button Bright
Button Bright
Button-Bright is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appears in the 1909 book The Road to Oz.When Button-Bright first appears in the series, he is a very small boy, possibly only about four years old...
and Polychrome
Polychrome (fictional character)
Polychrome is a fairy and the daughter of the Rainbow. She first appears in The Road to Oz, the fifth of the fourteen Oz books by L. Frank Baum...
, originally introduced in The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books...
(1909).
The book was dedicated to the author's sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster.
Plot summary
TrotTrot (Oz)
Trot is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz.Trot is introduced in the novel, The Sea Fairies and first appears in an Oz book in The Scarecrow of Oz . Trot is a little girl with big solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner. Her real name is Mayre Griffiths...
is near her home on the coast of southern California when she meets a strange little boy with a large umbrella. Button Bright has been using his family's magic umbrella to take long-range journeys from his Philadelphia home, and has gotten as far as California. After an explanation of how the magic umbrella works, the two children, joined by Cap'n Bill
Cap'n Bill
Cap'n Bill Weedles is a fictional character found in L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz. Cap'n Bill and his friend Trot were introduced in Baum's fantasy novels The Sea Fairies and Sky Island . They first appear in Oz in The Scarecrow of Oz , the ninth book in the Oz series.Cap'n Bill Weedles is an...
, decide to take a trip to a nearby island; they call it "Sky island," because it looks like it's "halfway in the sky" — but the umbrella takes them to a different place entirely, a literal island in the sky.
Sky Island is another split-color country in Baum's fantasy universe, like the Land of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
or the Island of Yew (in The Enchanted Island of Yew
The Enchanted Island of Yew
The Enchanted Island of Yew: Whereon Prince Marvel Encountered the High Ki of Twi and Other Surprising People is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Fanny Y...
, from 1903). Divided in two halves, blue and pink, Sky Island supports two separate and hostile races of beings. The three travellers land on the blue side of Sky Island, which is a grim country ruled by a sadistic tyrant, the Boolooroo of the Blues. In Sky Island, as in Oz, no one can be killed or suffer pain, but that doesn't mean one is safe: the Boolooroo's method of punishing disobedience in his subjects is to split his victims into halves using a huge guillotine-type knife, and then join the wrong halves back together, creating very unhappy asymmetrical mixed people. This is called "patching." The Boolooroo threatens to do the same to his new visitors; meanwhile he keeps them imprisoned, and gives Trot as a slave to his daughters, the Six Snubnosed Princesses (named Cerulia, Turquoise, Sapphire, Azure, Cobalt, and Indigo).
The three protagonists manage to escape from the Blues; penetrating the Great Fog Bank that separates the island's halves and meeting its strange inhabitants, they reach the pink or "sunrise" side of the island. The pink country is a much friendlier and more relaxed place than the blue side, with cheerfully chubby residents. The visitors get a better reception, since they are rather pink in color themselves, albeit of a sadly wan and pale shade. Unfortunately, the laws of the pink country insist that the visitors be thrown off the edge of Sky Island; even the country's ruler, the sylph-like Tourmaline the Poverty Queen, cannot pardon them. Polychrome, however, descends from the rainbow like a deus ex machina
Deus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
to resolve the problem. Trot is promoted to Queen of the Pinkies, because she has the palest skin among them. After Cap'n Bill leads an invasion of the opposite side, Trot becomes "Booloorooess" of the Blues as well; and so she is able to "regulate" both societies into more sensible forms. The three travellers eventually return to their homes, more than a little relieved at their escape from Sky island.
The bipartite structure of Sky Island allows Baum to inject ironic and satiric commentary on xenophobia, isolationism, race and color prejudice, social biases, personal vanity, and related issues. The Blues think that their dismal island-half "is the Center of the Universe and the only place anyone would care to live." Their scientists have "proven" that the Earth below, a ball of mud and water, cannot support life. The Snubnosed Princesses think that a snub nose is "the highest mark of female beauty" and "an evidence of high breeding which any lady would be proud to possess."
Reception
Even with the inclusion of Ozite characters, and even though it is, in the judgment of some critics, "far superior" to its predecessor, Sky Island sold even fewer copies in its first year than The Sea Fairies had; 11,750 copies of Sky Island were sold in 1912. Baum attempted to launch two other juvenile novel series in the same 1911–12 period, The Flying GirlThe Flying Girl
The Flying Girl is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911. In the book, Baum pursued an innovative blending of genres to create a feminist adventure melodrama. The book was followed by a sequel, The Flying Girl and Her Chum, published the next year,...
and The Daring Twins
The Daring Twins
The Daring Twins: A Story for Young Folk is a mystery novel for juvenile readers, written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911, and was intended as the opening installment in a series of similar books....
, neither of which was a long-term success. Disappointing sales inspired Baum and Reilly & Britton to view a return to Oz as an obvious and necessary step, leading to the publication of The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, is a children's novel, the seventh set in the Land of Oz. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps , and others. The book was first published on July 1, 1913, with illustrations by John R. Neill...
and the Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Little Wizard Stories of Oz is a set of six short stories written for young children by L. Frank Baum, the creator of the Oz books. The six tales were published in separate small booklets, "Oz books in miniature," in 1913, and then in a collected edition in 1914 with illustrations by John R. Neill...
the next year, 1913. In 1918, however, Baum wrote that he thought Sky Island would probably be remembered as his best work.