Mary Louise

Lovely story of the younger generation and how they become interested in their careers in life --------------where they go for oportunities and follow their interests then help the people who are their neighbours and friends

I am a hreat fan of most Baum novels, but this series shows its age. The are several derogatory terms referring to African-Americans. These instances can't be ignored because they are so crude and vulgar. The first book in this series had one or two words of vulgarity. This book has paragraphs and meaner terms. The N word, the C word, and the D word. This is the first third of the novel. It saddens me to discover an author I truly respected promoting these ideals. I don't want to think him a bigot. He's long dead. I'd like to assume his choice terms a reflection of regional diaect and beliefs, such as those found in Mark Twins books. The main thing that bothers me is that this Baum series was inrtended for a child audience. Twain seemed to go for adults. I wish Baum,who usually set high moral standards in his works had tried to show young ladies a more enlightened way of interacting with their fellow man. I have to reccomend the Aunt Jane's Nieces series over the Mary Louise series. If you want to introduce your children into what racism is, this is a good starting point for discussion.