The Lost Princess by L. Frank Baum - Ozathon24

The eleventh Oz book begins dramatically – Ozma, the lovely and beloved girl ruler, has disappeared! Dorothy sounds the alarm because she knows Ozma would never intentionally cause worry, so she must have been stolen. The Magic Picture, Glinda’s Great Book of Records, and the Wizard’s black bag of magic tools are also missing, preventing anyone from using magic to find Ozma.

Ozma’s friends organize search parties throughout Oz, and Dorothy leads a group that includes Betsy Bobbin, Trot, the Patchwork Girl, the Wizard, the Woozy, the Cowardly Lion, and Button-Bright (less annoying in this book than usual). At the far end of the Winkie Country in Oz, there has been another theft: Cayke the Cookie Cook’s diamond-studded gold dishpan has disappeared. No one understands why she is quite so upset but she explains that it has magical powers she never really knew, other than that they helped her make the best cookies around.

Cayke decides to go into the world to search for her dishpan and is accompanied by an oversized Frogman, who is highly regarded by her people. She and Frogman encounter some challenges before finding a community of teddy bears and two of them join her, the Lavender King Bear and his small Pink Bear sidekick. Dorothy’s group dodges Merry-Go-Round Mountains, a land of Thistles and one where the people are so thin they resemble skeletons. In Herku, they learn about Ugu the Shoemaker, who has defied Ozma’s ban on magic to become a powerful magician, and conclude he must be Ozma’s captor. When the Patchwork Girl bumps into Cayke and the Frogman, she pulls them into Dorothy’s group to confront the unpleasant Ugu. But where is Ozma? The Pink Bear says she’s in Button-Bright’s pocket! What kind of dreadful spell has Ugu cast on the princess of Oz?

“Ozma is still Ruler of Oz, wherever you may have hidden her,” declared the Wizard. “And bear this in mind, miserable Shoemaker: We intend to find her and to rescue her in time, but our first duty and pleasure will be to conquer you and then punish you for your misdeeds.”

“Very well; go ahead and conquer,” said Ugu. “I’d really like to see how you can do it.”

Now, although the little Wizard had spoken so boldly, he had at the moment no idea how they might conquer the magician.

Don’t forget he is really a humbug, although Glinda has taught him some minor magic over the years! Without his black bag, he is helpless. It takes Dorothy’s newfound skill with the Magic Belt she wears (you will remember that she took it from the Nome King) to vanquish the shoemaker turned sorcerer. More importantly, it is the collective wisdom of Dorothy’s group that has helped them get as far as Ugo’s wicker castle: the Patchwork Girl helped them bounce into one region along the way, the Woozy and Sawhorse protected them from thistles, and the Frogman leapt where no one else could reach.

And it is the mechanical Pink Bear that helps them find Ozma, who has been enchanted – I realize guiltily that a story I wrote for school many, many years ago called The Peach Pit Fairy was inspired by Ozma’s plight! But I am reminded of the end of The Road to Oz when everyone comes to Oz to celebrate Ozma’s birthday: Baum enjoys featuring as many of his characters as possible. I suppose that is why, despite Ozma being lost for the entire book, it’s an enjoyable adventure story. But let’s give credit where credit’s due:

“Seems to me,” said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, “that we have conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to.”

“Don’t say ‘we’ – Dorothy did it!” cried the Patchwork Girl, turning three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands. “Hurray for Dorothy!”

This is my latest installment of Ozathon24, organized by Lory at Enter the Enchanted Castle.

Title: The Lost Princess of Oz

Author: L. Frank Baum
Publication: HarperCollins, hardcover, originally published in 1917
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series
Source: Library
Fun Fact: This book is dedicated to Baum’s granddaughter, Ozma!