Locasta Tattypoo ✦ Hot & Trusted
The name “Tattypoo” is one of Baum’s most delightful inventions—part nonsense, part implied history. In later Oz books (particularly Ruth Plumly Thompson’s and Baum’s own The Tin Woodman of Oz ), we learn that Locasta is not a sorceress by accident. The Tattypoo family has served the North for generations, often intermarrying with the ruling fairy dynasties of Oz.
“I knew Mombi long ago. She was the nurse of the royal family of the North, before the Nome King’s magic overthrew the old dynasty. She was never trustworthy. You did well to flee.” locasta tattypoo
: Introduced later by Ruth Plumly Thompson in the 1928 sequel, The Giant Horse of Oz . Character Profile The name “Tattypoo” is one of Baum’s most
: She is the one who discovers Dorothy after her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. She famously gives Dorothy a magical kiss on the forehead for protection and bestows the Silver Slippers upon her. “I knew Mombi long ago
The next time you watch the 1939 film, and Glinda floats down in her bubble to ask, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” remember: that was Locasta’s line. That was Locasta’s kiss. And somewhere in the Gillikin Country, an old woman in a ruby-tipped hat is smiling, knowing that the road she set Dorothy upon led not just to Oz, but to a home worth fighting for.
Is Locasta Tattypoo a: