''Father Goose's Year Book: Quaint Quacks and Feathered Shafts for Mature Children'' is a collection of humorous nonsense poetry written by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

, author of the

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and 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 Baum's bo ...

. It was published in 1907. The book was illustrated by Walter J. Enright; he was the husband of

Maginel Wright Enright Maginel Wright Enright Barney (June 19, 1877 – April 18, 1966) was an American children's book illustrator and graphic artist. She was the younger sister of Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, and the mother of Elizabeth Enright, children's book wri ...

, the artist who illustrated Baum's '' The Twinkle Tales'' (1906), '' Policeman Bluejay'' (1907), and ''

L. Frank Baum's Juvenile Speaker ''L. Frank Baum's Juvenile Speaker: Readings and Recitations in Prose and Verse, Humorous and Otherwise'' is an anthology of literary works by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. The book was first published in 1910, with illustrations by veter ...

'' (1910). As its title indicates, ''Father Goose's Year Book'' was an attempt to capitalize on the prior success of '' Father Goose: His Book'', the 1899 collaboration between Baum and

W. W. Denslow William Wallace Denslow (; May 5, 1856 – March 29, 1915), professionally W. W. Denslow, was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of ''The ...

that was the dominant best-seller in children's literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Baum had made similar attempts, with uneven results; ''The Songs of Father Goose'' (1900) had been a respectable seller, but other ventures, including a ''Father Goose Calendar'', failed to materialize. The ''Year Book'' was a belated version of the calendar: it was a date book with humorous poems and pictures on the left (the

verso ' is the "right" or "front" side and ''verso'' is the "left" or "back" side when text is written or printed on a leaf of paper () in a bound item such as a codex, book, broadsheet, or pamphlet. Etymology The terms are shortened from Latin ...

side of each leaf), faced with blank pages on the right (the

recto ''Recto'' is the "right" or "front" side and ''verso'' is the "left" or "back" side when text is written or printed on a leaf of paper () in a bound item such as a codex, book, broadsheet, or pamphlet. Etymology The terms are shortened from ...

side) for making notes. Baum's poems for the collection are similar to his verses in the original ''Father Goose'', but aimed at adults (the "mature children" of the subtitle). The ''Year Book'' was described as "the first book for grown-ups by the author of ''The Wizard of Oz'', ''Ozma of Oz'', etc." Unfortunately, Baum's rhymes in the ''Year Book'' are tainted with the racial and ethnic prejudices and stereotypes of his era; indeed, it is this aspect of the book that is most striking to a modern sensibility.Rogers, pp. 271-2.

References

External links

* {{L. Frank Baum Books by L. Frank Baum American poetry collections 1907 books