Glinda of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8 * Book 9 * Book 10 * Book 11 * Book 12 * Book 13**

Wow. This final book of Oz was dark. Ozma and Dorothy go to visit two groups of people - the Flatheads and the Skeezers. These two peoples are preparing to go to war, which Ozma finds horrible. So the two girls head to this remote area of Oz to prevent this war.

They visit the Flatheads first, and these people are as described. They have flat heads and they carry their brains in cans. A little weird, but I found it really creative. Dorothy and Ozma meet the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads, explain that they want to prevent the war, but the Su-Dic (as he is called), does not want to prevent this war, so he announces that he will hold the two girls prisoner until after their enemies, the Skeezers, are defeated and then he can decide what to do with them.

Naturally, the girls escape and head to the island of the Skeezers to hopefully persuade them to stop this war before it starts. But the queen of the Skeezers is a very proud woman and she refuses to bow down to Ozma as her Ruler. When the Flatheads begin their attack, Queen Coo-ee-oh makes the island sink to the bottom of the lake, with Ozma and Dorothy with all the rest of the Skeezers.

The darkness of this book really comes in the uncertainty of Dorothy and Ozma getting off the island of the Skeezers. Ozma's magic cannot raise the island, and the Wizard and Glinda are doubtful that they will be able to. It really has a major section of will they get free or won't they?

Now, I'm not going to spoil the ending, so if you would like to know if Ozma and Dorothy get off the island in this final book, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

The Magic of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8 * Book 9 * Book 10 * Book 11 * Book 12**

These last few books are so much fun. This book is about the adventures that Ozma's friends get into while retrieving presents for her birthday. It's actually kind of a humorous set of adventures. But there is a bit of darkness around the edges.

A boy from the Munchkin country of Oz discovers a magic word that can transform people into other things. He uses this to escape from his home to go exploring the world. While he does, he encounters Ruggedo, the former Nome king. This man is not nice and he is determined to get revenge on the Oz people for having him removed from his throne. So he convinces Kiki Aru to help him conquer Oz.

While they have this plan, Trot and Cap'n Bill go to retrieve a Magic Flower that grows on an isolated island. The Glass Cat had discovered it, and Trot and Cap'n Bill are determined to get it to give to Ozma for her birthday. This Magic Flower is really cool. It blooms different flowers and as soon as they get to full blossom, it dies and a new one blooms. I want one.

Dorothy and the Wizard go to a forest in Munchkin Land to borrow a dozen monkeys. They want to train the monkeys and then put them in a cake. This plan is a little lackluster, but it's really not a huge part of the story, so it's not a big deal.

The mishaps they all get into cracked me up. I thoroughly enjoyed the way that the story ended. This was a very silly and great ending.

I'm sad that there is only one book left, and I hope that it will be a great read.

The Tin Woodman of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8 * Book 9 * Book 10 * Book 11**

Well, this was a fun little book. You get the Scarecrow and the Tin Man on an adventure with a wanderer named Woot. They're on a mission to find the Tin Woodman's former paramour, Nimmie Amee. He promised to marry her before he became a tin man. After he became tin, he found he could no longer love.

Now, he's Emperor of the Winkies and he has decided (with encouraging from Woot) to make Nimmie Amee the Empress. He has a heart, and while it isn't a loving heart, it is a kind heart, so he feels he could make her happy.

So off they go, and they get into some odd mishaps in the process, including being changed in a Tin Owl, a Scarecrow Bear, and a Green Monkey. We also see some other awesome old friends, and they only introduce a couple of new characters.

I enjoyed this book. I'm down to only two books in this series, which is a little sad. I just hope that they keep being great like these last few books have been.

The Lost Princess of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8 * Book 9 * Book 10**

Finally, L. Frank Baum got back to writing in Oz. This is the first Oz book in a while that I've been truly happy with. I think because it wasn't full of stories about characters that aren't even in Oz, or that it really was about the Oz characters that we already know and love. Either way, it was a good book.

Oz is in turmoil in this book. Ozma is missing, her Magic Picture is missing, Glinda's Book of Records is missing. Magic from all over Oz is gone, and nobody knows who took it or where Ozma is.

Dorothy, the Wizard, and their friends go out to search the Land of Oz for Ozma primarily, but also to find the tools of magic that are important to them all. In another part of Oz, a cookie cook named Cayke and a Frogman start searching for a magic dishpan.

I was so glad to have these Oz characters that I love back as the central characters of this book. It made it much more enjoyable. Not only that, but they introduced a whopping three characters, and the two you meet early on aren't inane characters, but actually enjoyable characters who have personality.

The story in this book was better than some previous books. It was fun. I hope the last three books in this series are as enjoyable as this book was.

Rinkitink in Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Book 6 * Book 7 * Book 8 * Book 9**


This book was terrible in my opinion. First off, not really an Oz book. I know, it says Oz right there in the title. But really, it's not an Oz book. True, Oz does make an appearance - in the last three chapters.

Let's face it. This story takes place completely outside of Oz, except for an almost forced effort at the end. It almost entirely takes place island hopping in the Nonestic Ocean, which is separated from Oz by the deadly desert, the kingdom of the Nomes, and the Wheeler country. So, yeah.

New characters though. Not that I always really liked them. Inga, prince of Pingaree, the pearl farming island. He's a brave boy who goes on a mission to rescue his father and mother (and all the people of Pingaree) from the islands of Regos and Coregos where they've been taken by a bunch of warriors and are kept as slaves. Rinkitink, king of, well, Rinkitink. He's a fat jolly man. Basically like Santa, except a little more ADD. He rides a speaking goat named Bilbil. Bilbil is a cranky thing. He's honestly my favorite character in the entire book.

I have found that this series does not live up to the high expectations that the first book really makes me sad. I wish that these books wouldn't result in such a disappointment. I want the Oz characters I love, not these new characters in a country that I don't know. Oz characters, Land of Oz. That's what I've come to expect. Not this misleading title stuff. Oh well.

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.

Tik-Tok of Oz

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

Continuing with my read of the Oz series to the 4 year old, we read book 8, Tik-Tok of Oz. I had some problems with this book because it seems the author forgot some of his earlier stories since there are a lot of inconsistencies that happened in this one.

We got to see Shaggy Man and Polychrome again, both of which I quite enjoyed. Tik Tok obviously makes an appearance. We also see the Nomes again, specifically the king and his chamberlain. But we also meet a slew of new characters like the "army of Oogaboo" led by Queen Ann Soforth. We also meet the Rose Princess who is named Ozga, a cousin of Ozma the ruler of Oz. Betsy Bobbin and her mule Hank are the first new characters we meet though, and they come from America like Dorothy.

There is this huge adventure where Shaggy Man is trying to find his long lost brother. This long lost brother was taken by the king of the Nomes and held hostage. So Shaggy is on a mission to rescue him. And all the rest of the group helps him out, some for selfish reasons, some for selfless reasons.

It was a good book, and I'm happy to continue reading through the series with my daughter.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz

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

This was an odd book. We get a bunch of new characters, like Ojo the Unlucky, Unc Nunkie, the Patchwork Girl (Scraps), and a slew of supporting characters that are unusual.

Unc Nunkie gets petrified, so Ojo (his nephew) goes on a quest to find the items the Crooked Magician needs to make a potion to reverse the petrification. He takes Scraps, the Patchwork Girl that was made by the Crooked Magician's wife (by use of the Powder of Life), along on his journey.

Naturally they get into interesting and absurd adventures, just like every other character in every other Oz book. But I think by this point, I'm getting a little tired of the formula for these books. I enjoy the new characters and their interesting stories, but I wish that there wasn't all these introductions of strange people who reside in the land of Oz.

I still enjoy this series, and it seems like my four year old is interested in the story too.

The Emerald City of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4 * Book 5**

This book was sort of fun, but Ozma's indifference kind of bothered me. The king of the Nomes is angry and resentful that Ozma and Dorothy stole his Magic Belt. So he plans to conquer Oz and take it back, while taking Ozma as his slave.

Dorothy decides to return to Oz to live permanently, and she brings Uncle Henry and Aunt Em with her. Now, her uncle and aunt are understandably unsure of what to do in Oz. They enter the country just to discover that they're expected to just laze around and do nothing, but neither of them is ok with this since they spent most of their lives working on a farm. So Ozma tries to come up with some ideas for them.

Dorothy goes on a tour of the country, visiting the various unusual people that live in Oz. I actually liked this section of the book simply because there are some odd characters in this country.

But once Ozma learns of the plot against her country by the Nomes, the Growleywogs, the Whimsies, and the Phanfasms, she just kind of resigns herself to it. When her friends try to talk to her about it, she just brushes it off, thinking that it's an inevitability. Although, there is a rather humorous ending to it.

The Road to Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3 * Book 4**

I liked this book. It starts with Dorothy and Toto helping to direct a Shaggy Man down a road. He's trying to avoid a certain town, so he wants to avoid the road that leads past it. But they end up on a road that Dorothy doesn't recognize.

They meet a little boy named Button-Bright - his real name is an unknown through the entire book. Then, they meet Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter. This unusual group of four find multiple adventures on the road to Oz.

There is a town of fox people. They give Button-Bright a fox head. Then it's the donkey town near by. They give the Shaggy Man a donkey head. This makes for some distressed traveling companions.

The Scoodlers were the creepiest part of this whole book. They have two fronts of different colors. They collect the traveling group and want to make them into soup. Just the whole bit was creepy.

There are a few more adventures, but eventually they end up in Oz just in time for Ozma's birthday celebration.

I really preferred the adventure part of the book to the little birthday celebration part of the book. Maybe it was because the birthday celebration was put in there because it provided an final destination to their travels down this unusual road.

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2 * Book 3**

The title of this book is a little misleading. You assume that Dorothy and the Wizard (yes, from the first book), are going to be in Oz for all or most of the book. In reality, they don't arrive in Oz until the last half of the book.

Dorothy is in California, meets Zeb, who is going to take her to his Uncle's ranch where Uncle Henry is for a little bit. But, it's California in the early 1900s. An earthquake strikes and Zeb, Dorothy, Eureka (Dorothy's kitten), and Jim (the cab-horse) fall through the earth. The Wizard appears later.

I won't say that the adventures were bad, but they definitely weren't really exciting. Vegetable people, wooden gargoyles, dragons, and invisible people are encountered through the book before Dorothy and the group end up in Oz.

I don't know how I'm really feeling about these books. They honestly seem a little overworked. But the preschooler is enjoying them, and I'm determined to finish this series before moving on to another. I'm kind of hoping that later books will be a little bit better. We'll find out, won't we?

Ozma of Oz

**Book 1 * Book 2**

This book was kind of humorous. It starts off with Dorothy (yes, we see Dorothy again!) on a ship sailing to Australia with Uncle Henry. She gets swept overboard in a storm along with a yellow hen and finds herself in the Land of Ev, which is separated from the Land of Oz by a vast desert.

Now, the title of this book is a bit misleading. You really spend most of the book following Dorothy with a few forays into Ozma or Billina (the yellow hen) leading the story.

While Dorothy is in Ev, she meets a copper man by the name of Tiktok. They meet up with the Princess, who is really vain and has twelve interchangeable heads (weird). Then Ozma appears in Ev on a mission to save the queen of Ev and her ten children who have been enchanted by the King of the Nomes.

The whole time with the King of the Nomes is humorous. Everyone gets a chance to guess which ornaments are the queen and her children, and if they don't get one correct guess, they get transformed into an ornament too. The Nome King is just tricky and devious, but he gets outsmarted by a chicken.

Just, overall, a good book. And my daughter is loving them, so I'll keep reading to her.

The Marvelous Land of Oz

**Book 1**

This wasn't the greatest book, but it wasn't bad either. In this book, we see the old characters of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and Glinda the Good. But we gain a bunch of new characters that are kind of interesting. Tip is a boy who has been in the charge of an old witch named Mombi. While she's out, Tip creates a wooden man with a pumpkin for a head. Mombi brings him to life with some magic powder and he becomes Jack Pumpkinhead. Tip and the Pumpkinhead escape from Mombi, Tip creates the Saw-Horse, and they go on quite the adventure.

But it's a weird and convoluted adventure. The Scarecrow loses the throne of the Emerald City to a girl named Jinjur. Tip, the Pumpkinhead, and the Scarecrow head to the Tin Woodman in Winkie country for help. They then meet the Woggle-Bug, who is just weird - he's a gigantic bug who is "educated" and likes puns. After that, they create a Gump - two sofas lashed together with palm leaves as wings.

It was just a bit of a ridiculous story and an odd ending. Oh well, moving on.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

New series to read to the preschooler. I've always meant to read the Oz series, but I just never got around to it. Now that I have a child who I read to at night, I'm able to share the joy with her.

Now, the first thing to mention is that this book is similar but very different from the movie. I admit I went in expecting it to be a lot like it, but I was kind of wrong.

Dorothy Gale is caught in a cyclone in Kansas and sets down in a land that is so very different from the grey land she has been used to. She meets the Witch of the North (who is NOT Glinda) and goes on a journey to meet the Wizard of Oz so that she can return to Kansas and her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. On the way she meets a talking Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin Woodman who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants some courage.

Now, the basic premise of the book is reflected in the movie, but Dorothy is wearing silver shoes, not ruby slippers. The flying monkeys aren't completely devoted to the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda is the good witch of the south, not the north.

But, overall, it's a very fun book. It's great for a growing imagination and I enjoyed the story itself.