Sky Island (Annotated)

This edition includes the following editor's introduction: The life of L. Frank Baum, the father of Oz, a fall from success to disaster

Originally published in 1912, “Sky Island” ( AKA 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 American author L. Frank Baum, Baum is best known for his children's books, particularly “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its sequels.

"Sky Island" is a book about true loyalty and friendship. The novel tells the story of Trot, a girl living on the coast of Southern California, who meets a strange and clever boy with a big umbrella. Button Bright has been using his family's magic umbrella to make long trips from his home in Philadelphia, and has made it all the way to California. After an explanation of how the magic umbrella works, the two boys, accompanied by old sailor 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 totally different place, a literal island in the sky. On the island, the three travelers meet six snub-nosed princesses, discover the King's treasure chamber, encounter a blue wolf, meet Tourmaline, the queen of poverty, and Rosalia, the witch.... Finally, they set out on the long journey home, as the Sky Island turns out to be a place that the three characters were glad to leave after having experienced some unpleasant moments there.

Undoubtedly, Sky Island is another colorful country divided in Baum's fantastic universe, like the Land of Oz. Divided into two halves, blue and pink, Heaven Island is home to two distinct races of beings, the blueskins and the pinks.

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.