A Hundred Magical Reasons is a whimsical and poignant novel rooted in a girl’s unlikely childhood friendship with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Author, L. Frank Baum, set in Macatawa Park, Michigan.

Companion Playlist

A Hundred Magical Reasons is a celebration of wonder and imagination with references to fairy tales, literature, and food—as well as 1970s pop music, due to the 1980 setting.

Back in 1970s, eight-tracks replaced record albums, then became passé when cassette tapes took over. Popular musicians for the young crowd included Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Gordon Lightfoot, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Jim Croce, Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, Stevie Wonder, and Joni Mitchell, to name a few.

For your listening pleasure (assuming you have a Spotify account) here’s the novel’s companion playlist. It includes most of the songs referenced in the novel.

A Taste of Oz Cookbook

You don’t have to be an Oz fan to enjoy these delicious Ozzy concoctions!

If you’ve got a hankering for Munchkin Delights or other treats from A Hundred Magical Reasons, check out this sampler and preview of recipes selected from A Taste of Oz Cookbook, the novel’s companion cookbook. It includes recipes mentioned in the story, as well as some bonus recipes.

Whet your appetite for . . .

• Bristle’s Welsh Rarebit
• Scarecrow’s Corn & Potato-Sausage Hash
• The Gump’s Ranch Chicken Chili
• Munchkin Delights
• Rigmaroles
• The Shaggy Man’s Irresistible Love Magnet Bars
• Plus many more mouth-watering entrees, pastries, and desserts inspired by characters in L. Frank Baum’s fourteen Oz books.

Check out the Taste of Oz Cookbook preview of 14 recipes here.

For additional recipes, including The Wizard’s Magical Chocolate Cake, Winkie Surprise (aka Blueberry Cobbler), Polychrome’s Dewdrop Mist Trifle, and more, sign up for my monthly Standout Stories newsletter: A-Taste-Of-Oz-Cookbook-Sampler.com. (You may opt out any time.)

Book Discussion Questions

Quotes by L. Frank Baum

Most folks only know L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) as the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). But not only did he pen thirteen other Oz books (1904-1920), he wrote sixty-plus books for children and a few for adults. That’s on top of his theater accomplishments and ventures into film, referenced in the novel. 

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

Among other things, Baum considered Macatawa a fairyland, a paradise, and a summer haven—the perfect place for “a dose of ozone.”

Below are selected verses from Baum’s ode to Macatawa Resort. It was published in the Grand Rapids Sunday Herald on September 1, 1907. (I separated the verses for easier reading.)

You can read the entire rhapsody here.

L. Frank Baum’s Résumé

When I was researching Baum’s life, I put together a résumé for him as a way of organizing information. Would you hire this guy?

A tribute to Dorothy. Evergreen Memorial Cemetery (Bloomington, IL) where Frank and Maud’s niece Dorothy Gage is buried.–May 2019

The Baum Family Scrapbook

L. Frank Baum, 1906

Publicity photo, probably in Chicago

Baum & his Fairylogue characters, 1908

L. Frank Baum

Matilda Joslyn Gage, suffragist & Maud’s mother

Baum Projects

One of Baum’s films: His Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz, 1914

Baum’s Bazaar in Aberdeen, Dakota Territory, 1889

Holland, Michigan

Baum on his Macatawa porch—photo, digital image by my daughter Audrey, and Holland mural

The Holland Oz Project in Centennial Park

Macatawa Resort Vintage Postcards, early 1900s

Hotel Macatawa, 1913

Macatawa Bay

Angel’s Flight goes up the inclined railway to the top of Mt. Baldhead.

Holland Lighthouse, 1907

Resources

These posts are from my Journey To Imagination blog.

Road Trip: Visit to the All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, NY, home of L. Frank Baum

• We’re off to See the Wizard, Part 1: The Wizard of Chittenango
• We’re off to See the Wizard, Part 2: All Things Oz
• We’re off to See the Wizard, Part 3: The Man Behind the Curtain (includes Baum’s résumé)
• We’re off to See the Wizard, Part 4: The Man Behind the Curtain, continued

Road Trip: My Journey to Oz & Kansas

• The Real Dorothy
• Meet Jane, President of the International Wizard of Oz Club
• More about the International Wizard of Oz Club
• The Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas
• Why So Much Oz? My Year in Oz and my Story Project
• The National Toy and Miniature Museum–The World at My Feet
• A Touch of Whimsy in Wausaukee, Wisconsin: The Land of Oz Museum

If you want to encourage your kids’ or grandkids’ or your own natural creativity, go here for suggestions on how to inspire and establish a nurturing environment:

• Should kids get trophies for participation? What is the most meaningful feedback for you? What gives you genuine encouragement?
• In the Schoolyard–Rest in Peace; Here Lies Imagination
• The Ruby Slippers
• Get out that Club: surround yourself with like-minded people
• Why was Einstein so Brilliant?
• We Need Fairy Tale Dragons
• Say Yes to Mess and Mayhem–the Joy is in the Journey, right?
• Let it Go it Let it Grow
• Ode to Broken Crayons
• Save the Toothbrushes!

Books & Articles

• The Annotated Wizard of Oz, Michael Patrick Hearn (2000);
• Our Landlady, L. Frank Baum, edited and annotated by Nancy Tystad Koupal (1996)
• Baum’s Road to Oz, The Dakota Years, edited by Nancy Tystad Koupal (2000)
• The Wizard of Oz, The Critical Heritage Series, L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, editor (1983)
• Frank Baum, Royal Historian of Oz, Angelica Shirley Carpenter & Jean Shirley (1992–for children)
• The Wizard of Oz and Who He Was, Martin Gardner & Russel B. Nye, editors (1994)
• Karl J. Franson’s 1995 essay, “From Vanity Fair to Emerald City: Baum’s Debt to Bunyan,” suggests that Baum’s inspiration and motifs for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz were drawn from The Pilgrim’s Progress.
• Triumphs of the Imagination: Literature in Christian Perspective, Leland Ryken (1979)

Theologian and preacher Frederick Buechner was an Oz fan. He considered Oz our nation’s greatest fairy tale and one of its great myths.

• Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, Frederick Buechner (1977)
• The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner (1966)

Online Resources

A Hundred Magical Reasons is a celebration of wonder and imagination with references to fairy tales throughout. The novel is sprinkled with bits and pieces from fairy tale writer George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton, among others.

If you’re curious about musings on fairy tales, check out these articles.

• “The Fantastic Imagination”by George MacDonald. Introduction from The Light Princess and other Fairy Tales; also reprinted in A Dish of Orts.
• Essay on Fairy Talesby G. K. Chesterton
• “In Defense of Fairy Tales”by Phillip Berry (with references to MacDonald, C. S. Lewis, and Chesterton)
• In Defense of Real Fairy Tales, by Adam Gidwitz
• “The Red Angel”, essay (in defense of fairy tales) by G. K. Chesterton inTremendous Trifles
• “On Fairy-stories”by J.R.R. Tolkien
• “In Defense of the Fairy Tale: C.S. Lewis’ Argument for the Value and Importance of the Fairy Tale” by Constance Rice
• “Three Objections to Fairy Tales and C. S. Lewis’s Responseby Joe Rigney
• “Tolkien’s ‘On Fairy Stories’ and The Gospel as the Greatest Fairy-Story”—Tea With Tolkien podcast with Kaitlyn Facista 

 Frank Baum in Macatawa:

• “ Frank Baum and the Macatawa Goose Man: Celebrating the origins of “The Wizard of Oz”—Holland Sentinel, 2012 
• “Summers in Oz: L. Frank Baum and Macatawa, MI”—transcript of Tom Doyle’s speech