The Scarecrow of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8**

This is another of those Oz books with a title that's a bit misleading. The Scarecrow is not really the focus of this story. Instead, we focus on two completely new characters, with the introduction of another new character, and a smattering of characters that appeared before.

Now, I'm not saying that the Scarecrow doesn't appear, because he does, and he is pivotal to the development of the story. But really you mostly follow the adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill, both from California, throughout these fairy lands. They meet an Ork, which is like a featherless bird. The Ork follows them for a time, and then comes and goes through the rest of the story.

A majority of the book takes place in Jinxland, which is technically part of the Land of Oz, but it is separated by mountains and a bottomless crevice. This little country is ruled by a cruel king named, um, Krewl. Yeah. That was a really transparent name. It could have been a little less obvious that this character was going to be the bad guy.

I definitely didn't love this Oz story, but I also didn't hate it. I was just really ambivalent about it. I have come to the realization that the early Oz books were really good, but as L. Frank Baum wrote more to please his audience, the stories got kind of mediocre. I truly think that this series should have ended before this point, but here we are, and there are still more Oz books to read.