About This Book
In a hilarious reinvention of classic children's books characters, this is a tale of a singular family tree once rooted deep in a forest in the Land of Oz but cut down and whacked apart, separating each member into five individual logs. When a sculptor or wood takes possession of the logs, he hears distinct voices emitting from them and soon learns the three smaller logs are two boys, and a girl and the two larger ones their parents. Carving the smaller logs suitably, he turns them into wooden puppets that speak and behave as real children. The parents, however, he carves into self-lighting candlesticks. Although they can draw matches from holders at their sides to light candles they placed on top of their heads, the feet of the parent candlesticks remained bound to their bases and they are unable to walk on their own. Enter an unscrupulous pair of characters who, realizing the enormous worth of these rare, beautifully carved candlesticks, kidnap them. As the scupltor sets off in search of the parents, the children puppets turn to a private detective agency for help. The detectives, a twelve year-old girl, a blind scarecrow, and his small, black seeing-eye-dog, set off on the trail with the children tagging along. The trail leads them to the Whale Inn where they find the parents perched on the tavern bar and forced to entertain gruff Caribbean pirates. Guarding the entrance is a huge, ferocious, yet familiar lion. With the aid of a tin woodman, the detectives and the children plot a wacky and rousing rescue.
