Jenny Jump is an important character in the four Oz books of John R. Neill

John R. Neill

John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...

.

Jenny begins as a fifteen-year-old in New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, who one day finds a leprechaun

Leprechaun

A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...

 stealing her cheese. She is clever enough to capture him with her stare, so that the leprechaun, called Siko Pompus, must grant her a wish. She wishes to become a fairy, and the leprechaun transforms her:

"The strangest things began to happen. Her toes on one foot began to tingle and want to dance. First one finger felt that it was tinkling like a silver bell, then another finger, and then another. Both of her ears were full of wonderful music, and she could hear the chairs talking to each other. One eye changed and saw everything with new and more beautiful colors. Even the old kitchen wall became as bring as a rainbow. She felt like the song of an oriole, and the murmuring of leaves. She felt as if everything were beautiful and happy."

In the midst of this psychedelia, however, Jenny's gaze falters, and the leprechaun eludes her control. She protests,

"Make me into a full fairy. I'm half girl and half fairy now. Only one eye is a fairy eye, and one foot; eight of my fingers are fairy fingers, and both of my ears. But I want to be all fairy."

But Siko Pompus refuses, for "'Twill only get ye into trouble."

Still, Jenny has remarkable new abilities. With her fairy foot, she leaps all the way to the Land of Oz

Land of Oz

Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...

, to begin her adventures.

Jenny is not a fan of the traditional, single-color fashions favored by the Ozites, and she sets up a shop with a magic turnstyle that dresses people according to their personalities.

Neill's text of The Wonder City of Oz

The Wonder City of Oz

The Wonder City of Oz is the thirty-fourth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the first written and illustrated solely by John R. Neill.-Tone:...

was rewritten by an anonymous editor at Reilly & Lee, and that editor added some controversial changes to the story, in particular, involving Jenny Jump. These additions include creatures who live in the Deadly Desert

Deadly Desert

The Deadly Desert is the magical desert that completely surrounds the fictional Land of Oz. On maps, the Eastern quadrant of the desert is called the Deadly Desert, while the other three quadrants of desert are called the Shifting Sands, the Impassable Desert, and the Great Sandy Waste.The desert...

 called Heelers, who live on votes. Jenny is goaded into running against Princess Ozma

Princess Ozma

Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...

 as ruler of Oz. It is not taken very seriously by the Ozites, and it is decided that shoes will be used for votes in an Ozelection. The Ozelection and all that leads up to it is not in the manuscript. Furthermore, near the end of the novel, the Wizard

Wizard (Oz)

The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...

 casts a spell to make her younger and more obedient, some would say lobotomized. Neill was not enamored of these changes and did not illustrate them, and Jenny seems to have gone back to her old self in the two sequels.

Jenny is regularly accompanied by a Munchkin

Munchkin

The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...

 boy called Number Nine. She has him wear whistling breeches

Breeches

Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...

 that alert her to his presence.

In The Runaway in Oz

The Runaway in Oz

The Runaway in Oz is an Oz book by long-time Oz illustrator John R. Neill. It was written originally during 1943 and was meant to be the thirty-seventh book in the Oz series. However, Neill died before he could edit or illustrate the book. Oz publisher Reilly & Lee decided not to publish the book...

, Jenny helps get the story started by quarrelling with Scraps the Patchwork Girl

Patchwork Girl

The Patchwork Girl is a character from the fantasy Oz Book series by L. Frank Baum. She first appeared in The Patchwork Girl of Oz....

; but once Scraps runs away, Jenny spends the rest of the book helping to look for her.

As Jenny is a copyrighted character, she is not found in published Oz Apocrypha.