The Magic Dishpan of Oz is a modern Oz novel, written by Jeff Freedman and illustrated by Denis McFarling. It was published in 1994 by Emerald City Press, an imprint of Books of Wonder.
Summary[]
Freedman's plot begins with two little girls, Rebecca and Shoshanna, seven and three years old respectively. While playing by a stream near their Oregon home, the girls see a little frog that shows beckoning behavior — calling to them, moving away, then waiting for them to follow. And naturally, they do. The frog leads them to a gem-encrusted golden dishpan, which magically transports the girls (and frog) to Oz.
Once in Oz, the children learn that the land has been infiltrated and subverted by Magicians of Mischief. The girls make some Ozian friends, including Planetty the Silver Princess (wife of King Randy of Regalia) and her Thundercolt Thun; the little frog who led them to Oz turns out to be the Frogman in enchanted form. Together, the girls and their helpers manage to defeat the Magicians and restore the proper order of Oz.
Background[]
Regarding the previous Oz literature, Freedman draws upon two books in particular, Baum's The Lost Princess of Oz (1917) and Thompson's The Silver Princess in Oz (1938). The dishpan comes from the first book, as does the Frogman; the dishpan's owner, Cayke the cookie cook, makes a brief appearance too.
Planetty's husband King Randy is kept out of the story's main action and only fleetingly referenced. While The Silver Princess (her first appearance and his second) entered the public domain prematurely in 1967, his first appearance, The Purple Prince of Oz, remains copyrighted until 2028.