Description[]
Baum created a land, surrounded by a vast and harsh desert, ruled by good and bad witches and the Ruler of the Emerald City. This place is Oz, where the five different sections of land each have their own colors and magic and danger abound. The main character would be Dorothy, but her many friends and other characters can all have major roles in the many books of the series.
Reader's Reviews[]
1[]
I've only read about eight of the original fourteen so far, but they've been somewhat consistent.
Halfway through the series, almost all the villains of the stories that were introduced were stopped. This is a lot when you consider that the books were against violence. There would almost be no violence at all, but even L. Frank Baum knew some was necessary. The series poked fun at army officers twice so far (Ozma's army an Oogaboo's army both had cowardly officers and only one brave private). This is actually a pretty great story idea, (though you see it everywhere about the youngest or weakest technically being better), but it isn't practical, even for a fairy tale.
One could not doubt that L. Frank Baum had a great imagination, in that he made so many fantastic lands and plenty of fantastic characters to populate them. All the lands are highly unique, and one character even mentions that all countries have some peculiarities. There are lands of things we would consider inanimate objects, including paper dolls and kitchen utensils, that live within the Oz universe. The animals talk and plants take on human characteristics all the time as well. These all add marvelously to the adventures recorded in the series.
One concern though is the witchcraft. There were originally two good and two bad witches, along with a humbug wizard. Then the two bad ones were destroyed, and the wizard wasn't a humbug anymore because he was taught some magic. In fairy tales, fairies were sometimes called witches, but usually only if they turned evil. Calling the magical rulers of the north and south witches is therefore not a big issue, neither is the fact that there are bad witches and wizards, because they are the villains and they are destroyed in the end.
(I know maybe some would not care, but I know I would.)
There really isn't anything wrong with the books that is anything more than an offhand comment. (There are plenty of errors in information that is changed, like how Ozma came to Mombi, yet these are only minor details.) The books are also filled with wit. The wogglebug, for example, makes many jokes, to his friends's dismay. The author himself makes the most and they are as spread out as the thoughtful moments, where the characters have wise little remarks worthy of being quoted. The books are really a memorable addition to any library or any memory.
2[]
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Books in the Series[]
Though there are many Oz books, there are only officially forty, fourteen of which were by L. Frank Baum himself. The other official twenty six are listed here, along with the ones by his descendant, Roger S. Baum.
Original Fourteen[]
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- The Marvelous Land of Oz
- Ozma of Oz
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
- The Road to Oz
- The Emerald City of Oz
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz
- Tik-tok of Oz
- The Scarecrow of Oz
- Rinkitink in Oz
- The Lost Princess of Oz
- The Tin Woodman of Oz
- The Magic of Oz
- Glinda of Oz
Ruth Plumly Thompson[]
- The Royal Book of Oz
- Kabumpo in Oz
- The Cowardly Lion of Oz
- Grampa in Oz
- The Lost King of Oz
- The Hungry Tiger of Oz
- The Gnome King of Oz
- The Giant Horse of Oz
- Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz
- The Yellow Knight of Oz
- Pirates in Oz
- The Purple Prince of Oz
- Ojo in Oz
- Speedy in Oz
- The Wishing Horse of Oz
- Captain Salt of Oz
- Handy Mandy in Oz
- The Silver Princess in Oz
- Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
John R. Neill[]
- The Wonder City of Oz
- The Scalawagons of Oz
- Lucky Bucky in Oz
Jack Snow[]
- The Magical Mimics in Oz
- The Shaggy Man of Oz
Rachel R. Cosgrove[]
- The Hidden Valley of Oz
Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw[]
- Merry Go Round in Oz
Roger S. Baum[]
- Dorothy of Oz
- The Rewolf of Oz
- The Sillyozbuls of Oz
- The Sillyozbul of Oz and Toto
- The Sillyozbul of Oz and the Magic Merry Go Round
- Lion of Oz and The Badge of Courage
- The Green Star of Oz
- Toto in Candyland of Oz
- The Wizard of Oz and the Magic Merry Go Round
- Toto of Oz and the Surprise Party
- The Oz Odyssey
- The Oz Odyssey II
Parental Guidance[]
- Reading Age: add your suggested reading age
- Read Aloud Age: add your suggested read-aloud age
Clean.
If you like this you might like[]
- Other books by L. Frank Baum.
- For older readers, Gulliver's Travels follows the same idea of a man finding unique corners of the world with strange countries and people. He is continually getting lost, just like Dorothy.