Out of Oz

Book menu for Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

ISBN of edition I read: 978006054897  (hardcover)

Food mentioned in Out of Oz:
Kaiser rolls, 2
Frankfurters, 3
Oranges, 3
Fried fish, 4
Tea, 6, 64-66, 75, 139, 262, 359, 384
     Mint tea, 431
Fortune cookies, 6
Brandy, 18, 47, 62, 91, 165
Sherry, 20, 96
Ale, 25
Cheese, 41-42, 348
Port, 42, 243, 424
Apples, 44-45, 365, 377
Ham, 46, 243
     Ham sandwiches, 272
Coddled eggs, 46
Biscuits, 49-50, 348
Hard boiled eggs, 71, 550
Cranberry fool, 83, 89
Wine, 87-88, 243
Bread & cheese, 91
Omelets, 130
Muffins, 130
Crumpets, 139
Doughnuts, 155
Coffee, 193, 265
Onion bread, 243
Caramel cake, 243, 245
Beer, 263
Whiskey, 284-285
Coffee bread, 300
Walnuts, 327
Oatmeal, 352
Mince pie, 365
Carrots, 365
Beet & ham pasty, 370
Scones, 372, 428
     Ginger scones, 348
Marzipan pig, 375
Lemonade, 416
Pasties, 506
Chestnuts, 506
Onion tarts, 506
Apricots, 506
Chocolates, 546

Books/Authors mentioned in Out of Oz:
John Howard Payne, 7
Sir Edward Dyer, 7

Music mentioned in Out of Oz:
"La Belle Dame sans Merci", 482


Libraries mentioned in Out of Oz:
p.50: "Into the lending library, Murthy," said Glinda.  "Quickly now. Move your arthritic hips or I'll run you down."
          The librarian was a retired Munchkin on a stool. She recognized him though she didn't know his name. "I'm looking to borrow a book that can teach one the essentials of preparing a meal," she said. "For dining, I mean. For human dining."
          "Books en't going to teach that, Lady Glinda," he said. "Mothers teach that. Closest I can help you with is a volume on animal husbandry, which has an illustrated index on slaughtering your own livestock."

p.109: The Lion backed up as the dwarf turned a red no beet would ever manage. "I sent you to collect a library book, and you come back with a child?"

Some of my favorite Out of Oz passages:
p. 145: "I may not know how to fly but I know how to read, and that's almost the same thing." (Grayce Graeling to Rain)

p.534: "People need something to be missing. They need to crave something they don't have."

p.536: ...to grieve. Is that, in the end--that capacity to hurt--the most essential ingredient for a ruler?

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A Lion Among Men

Book menu for A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

ISBN of edition I read: 9780060548926  (hardcover)

Food mentioned in A Lion Among Men:
Risotto, xv
Wine, 3, 154
Chocolate, 4
Cognac, 4
Olives, 7, 254, 256
Apples, 11
Cocoa, 18
Sherry, 32, 78, 174
Strawberries, 40
Fruit pies, 44
Blueberries, 55
Vermouth, 71
Butter rolls, 88
Gin, 96
Potato stew, 98
Coffee, 125
Chicken stew, 159
Saffron cream, 169
Oatmeal fritters, 190
Tea, 253
Crumpets, 253
Ham sandwiches, 254
Garlic muffins, 261

Books/Authors mentioned in A Lion Among Men:
Goethe, epigraph
"I Consider My Luck" (from the anthology Brothers and Beasts) / Eric Kraft
     epigraph

One of my favorite passages from A Lion Among Men:
page 291: [Brrr] didn't remember that a mere book might reek of sex, possibility, fecundity. Yet a book has a ripe furrow and a yielding spine, he thought, and the nuances to be teased from its pages are nearly infinite in their variety and coquettish appeal. And what new life can emerge from a book. Any book, maybe."

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The Mirror of Merlin

 
Book menu for The Mirror of Merlin by T.A. Barron

ISBN of edition I read: 0441009654 (trade paperback)

This is the fourth book in the Lost Years of Merlin series. Be sure to check out the book menus for the other installments of the series at The Lost of Merlin, The Fires of Merlin, The Wings of Merlin,The Seven Songs of Merlin.

Food mentioned in The Mirror of Merlin:
Berries, 78
     Blackberries, 36
Roasted chicken, 157
Mince pie, 157
Apples, 157
Bread pudding, 157
Nut cakes, 157
Honeyed chestnuts
Strawberries with cream, 157
Ice cream, 158
Plums, 174

Book/Authors mentioned in The Mirror of Merlin:
W.B. Yeats, epigraph
The Wind in the Willows / Kenneth Grahame, 161
Tennyson (poet), 169

Music mentioned in The Mirror of Merlin:
Harp, 17, 159

Great vocabulary in The Mirror of Merlin:
slogged, 62
undulating, 63
sardonically, 78
brashness, 82
indefatigable, 150
indeterminate, 150
indecorous, 151
interminably, 155
cacophony, 177

Discussion questions for The Mirror of Merlin:
What to Hallia and Merlin have in common?
How many mirrors does encounter or experience?

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The Seven Songs of Merlin

 

Book Menu for The Seven Songs of Merlin by T.A. Barron

ISBN of edition I read: 0441009476 (trade paperback)

This is book 2 in the Lost Years of Merlin series.

Food mentioned in The Seven Songs of Merlin:
Berries, 21
Ambrosia bread, 150
Honey-soaked nuts, 242
Rosemary mint tea, 242

Great vocabulary in The Seven Songs of Merlin:
gamboled, 2
nefarious, 6
rankle, 21
hubris, 92

Discussion questions for The Seven Songs of Merlin:
They are several songs/poems in this story? Do you have a favorite?
Would else could the seven songs be called? 

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The Wings of Merlin

 
Book menu for The Wings of Merlin by T.A. Barron

ISBN of edition I read: 0441010245 (trade paperback)

This is book 5 and the last installment in the Lost Years of Merlin series.
 

Food mentioned in The Wings of Merlin:
Gooseberries, 10
Raspberry syrup, 22
Walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, 24
Biscuits, 26
Baked apples with honey & cinnamon, 26
Oatcakes, 60, 74, 165
Berries, 74, 123
   Strawberries, 102, 123
   Blackberries, 123
Fruit pastry, 114
Pears, 123
Cherries, 123
Apples, 123
Plums, 123
Grapes, 123
Oatmeal porridge, 144
Apple cider, 144, 165
Dried fruit, 165

Books/Authors mentioned in The Wings of Merlin:
"Merlin and the White Death" (poem), Robert Williams Buchanan, epigraph

Music mentioned in The Wings of Merlin:
psaltery (instrument), 18
harps, 244
flute, 244

Great vocabulary in The Wings of Merlin:
iridescence, 11
chortling, 49
divisiveness, 65
astride, 73
copse, 73
verdant, 130
raucous, 150, 179
tumultuous, 151
boisterously, 166
coalesce, 196
reverberations, 221
incessant, 221

Discussion questions for The Wings of Merlin:
What was Merlin's most important lesson?
What do you think is Merlin's most useful power?
     Which power will best serve him in Britannia?
     Which of his powers would you most like to have?
What is Merlin's biggest flaw?
What does Rhita Gawr symbolize?
Describe the older Merlin. What would you say to your older self, if you could?

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The Amulet of Samarkand

 
Book Menu for The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

ISBN of edition I read: 0786852550 (trade paperback)

Food mentioned in The Amulet of Samarkand:
Mille-feuille, 10
Ice cream, 28
Hot chocolate, 52-3, 205
Biscuits, 53, 101
Tea, 57, 100-1, 148, 282
Cornflakes, 87
Toast, 87
Sandwiches, 60
Mango Chutney on Ham and salad, 138
Chocolate spread sandwiches, 174
Cucumber sandwiches, 215
Tomato soup, 232
Tomato and cucumber sandwich, 262
Shortbread, 282
Sugared doughnuts, 309
Red wine, 14
Coffee, 90
Champagne, 184, 186
Lime cordial, 184

Great vocabulary in The Amulet of Samarkand:
pentacle, 4
sepulchral, 7
petulant, 7, 96
parley, 7
emollient, 8
moldered, 9
enmity, 11, 47
fastidious, 12
bulbous, 17
urbanely, 23
comely, 23
garishly, 29
imperceptibly, 31, 220
amorphous, 40
dossing, 43
cantankerous, 50
anon, 69
pestilence, 70
acclimatized, 73
effrontery, 84
duplicitous, 85
deference, 90
peremptorily, 92
gnashing 94
mandibles, 94, 272
implacable, 97
supercilious, 104
sniggered, 105
careered, 108
ignominy, 110
contrition, 113
banal, 113
harangued, 113
smote, 112
voluble, 120
ostentatious, 128
sycophantic, 128, 152
alighted, 144
doleful, 155
filched, 171
peevishly, 185
imperious, 186, 357
mellifluous, 194
prodigious, 197
bedraggled, 198, 344
repartee, 218
rueful, 218
vestiges, 232
chortled, 244
misbegotten, 259
gesticulated, 264, 270
plangent, 274
magnanimity, 276
asperity, 277
contentious, 280
irascibility, 291
laudably, 318
undulated, 426
protuberances, 428
unedifying, 444

Geographical references in The Amulet of Samarkand:
Prague, 5, 59, 64, 97, 313
London, 8
   Trafalgar Square, 38
   Westminster Abbey, 75
   Tower of London, 210

Discussion questions for The Amulet of Samarkand:
What is the author's opinion of humans?

Are there any metaphor's in this story/writing (Magicians for politicians?)

What elements of this story remind you of other books you've read?

Are there any parallels between this story and that of Oliver Twist? , 314 (2nd parag.), 321(3rd parag.)

In what time period do you think this story is set?

What did you think about the frequent changes in verb tense and points of view?

Libraries mentioned in The Amulet of Samarkand:
pages 21, 29, 66, 93, 138, 177-8, 227, 311, 320-1, 327, 339, 382-3, 390, 406-7

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The Fires of Merlin

 
Book Menu for The Fires of Merlin by T.A. Barron

ISBN or edition I read: 0441009573 (paperback)

This is the third book in the Lost Years of Merlin series.

Food mentioned in The Fires of Merlin :
Berries, 14, 51
Apples, 47, 64
   Baked apples, 128
   Dried apples, 193
Milk pudding, 128
Chestnut Pie, 128
Blueberry pie, 135

Great vocabulary mentioned in The Fires of Merlin :
iridescent, 4
psaltery, 14
incantation, 18
verdant, 26
careened, 35
smote, 66
frond, 145
viscerally, 210

Games mentioned in The Fires of Merlin :
Chess, 126

Discussion questions for The Fires of Merlin :
What are your favorite places on Fincayra?
What would you ask the Wheel of Wye?  For what is the Wheel a metaphor?
Do you think the author has a message?  What is it?
What are the fires of Merlin?
What are Hallia's and Eremon's opinions of Man? (pages 95 and 104)