Really! In another life, the Scarecrow was the Long Lost Emperor of the Silver Island. . . . Maybe he was. Who knows? Maybe not. But in retrospect, this is the first Oz book that actually shows us death, albeit of a peculiar sort: before the Scarecrow was reincarnated as the fluff-headed fellow we all know and love, he was the Emperor of Silver Island. Which was underground. -- Exactly beneath that cornfield where Dorothy first found him. But there are pictures of the place and the pictures don't look dark enough to be set in a kingdom made of caves. . . . Hrrrm.