L Frank Baum considered The Scarecrow of Oz to be his best book. It opens with Trot and Cap'n Bill rowing along a shore of the Pacific Ocean, a mighty whirlpool engulfs them and sinks their boat. The old sailorman and the little girl are miraculously saved and regain consciousness to find themselves in a sea cavern. (To this day, Trot asserts she felt mermaid arms about her during those terrible moments under water.) They experience one perilous adventure after another until eventually they make