Color Me Hungry

When one collects Oz books, one is often disappointed to find some child has taken a box of crayons to what might otherwise be a lovely book. But occasionally, one finds a rainbow in these waxy scribblings of yesteryear.

As most of my readers here know, I have been working on a certain magnum opus, a lavish coffee-table book history of the 1903 Broadway Wizard of Oz musical. Right now, it's scheduled for fall 2028. Anyway . . . in my long hours of researching the book, I have also made many good friends. Sometimes these people have been intimately connected to the legendary musical.

One such friend is Judy Sloane, the granddaughter of Fred Stone, who created the part of the Scarecrow. Fred Stone went on to become one of the biggest stars on Broadway and, later on, a great character actor in the movies. 

Fred Stone married singer and actress Allene Crater, who was playing the Lady Lunatic in The Wizard of Oz. The couple had three daughters: Dorothy (named after whom you suspect!), Paula, and Carol. All three girls went into show business, too, in one fashion or another. Judy Sloane is Paula's daughter.

Autographed photo of Fred Stone, Paula Stone, Allene Crater Stone, and Dorothy Stone.
Collection of David Maxine.

Judy and I have been sharing photos and assorted information for a while now, and one day she asked me if I was interested in an old book she had, a copy of Ruth Plumly Thompson's The Hungry Tiger of Oz. She warned me, though, that it was a tad beaten up and—horror of horrors—had most of the illustrations colored in with crayons.

Normally, I'd have probably said, "Thanks, but no thanks." However, Judy also added that the crayon coloring was done by her and her brother, Michael, when they were kids, and the book was passed down to them from their mom, Paula Stone.

I was delighted with the prospect. But I asked Judy if she'd kindly write down at the front of the book the short history she'd given me. She kindly obliged, writing:

Hi David,

This book was published in 1926 when my mother was 14 years old—She kept all the Oz books for when she had children & then allowed us, Michael and me, to color the book!

So here it is! Colored by Fred Stone's grandchildren who were six or seven at the time!!

All the best, Judy Sloane

Click to Enlarge

The childish scribbling of their names on the ownership page is especially cute, bringing up thoughts of Rooney and Garland. Judy says their naming was pure coincidence. 

From an artistic perspective, much of the coloring is very neat and attractive. Though some few pages are covered in random scribbling. 

Judy Sloane has also recently written a book, Fred Stone and the Frontier Circus, about the early circus careers of Fred Stone (whom as I noted above created the part of the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz) and his younger brother, Ed (who created the part of Dorothy's pet heifer, Imogene). The fun book is published under the name P. J. Sloane. 

It's available now and is a real treat for any Oz collector, lover of the circus, or musical theatre buff. The handsome book is not meant for deep academic research, but for kids to have fun, to learn about the circus, and what it was like growing up over a hundred and thirty years ago. "My book is fiction," says Judy, "for children. Everything up until the time grandpa joined the circus is real, but after that everything is made up!" The book is handsomely illustrated in black and white by Yakovetic.

The book is available on Amazon via this link: Fred Stone and the Frontier Circus

 

Order a copy today!

Copyright © 2026 David Maxine. All rights reserved.