Sky Island

(Hardback)

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Sky Island (1912) is a novel by L. Frank Baum. A sequel to The Sea Fairies (1911), Sky Island was part of a larger series of planned novels that Baum hoped would move beyond the universe he created for his Oz books. Discouraged by poor reviews of The Sea Fairies, however, Baum featured several characters from The Road to Oz (1909) in Sky Island, including Button Bright and Polychrome. A young Californian girl named Trot meets a strange boy from Philadelphia named Button Bright. Using his magic umbrella, he has managed to float across the entire country. Together with the brave Capn Bill, they set sail for the mysterious Sky Island, the realm of the Blues and the Pinkies. Separated by the Great Fog Bank, the two peoples live vastly different lives and never attempt to cross their borders. On the Blue side, the three adventurers face the wicked tyrant Boolooroo, who threatens to torture them for disobedience. Despite being imprisoned, they manage to escape, braving the fog to emerge in the happier Pink Country. Soon, they face a new type of danger: a strange set of laws threatens Trot, Button Bright, and the Capn with immediate expulsion from Sky Island. Filled with rich, detailed layers of fantasy from the mind of L. Frank Baum, Sky Island is a story about the frail innocence of childhood and the will to persevere that can be found in even the youngest of hearts. Long overshadowed by the film, Baums novel is required reading for children, adults with children, and adults who refuse to let life lose its flavor of fantasy. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of L. Frank Baums Sky Island is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Author Bio

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was an American author of children's literature and pioneer of fantasy fiction. He demonstrated an active imagination and a skill for writing from a young age, and was encouraged by his father who bought him the printing press with which he began to publish several journals. Although he had a lifelong passion for theater, Baum found success with his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), a self-described "modernized fairy tale" that led to thirteen sequels, inspired several stage and radio adaptations, and eventually, in 1939, was immortalized in the classic film starring Judy Garland.