Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

In L. Frank Baum’s final Oz book, published a year after his death, Ozma learns from Glinda’s Great Book of Records that two tribes in the distant Gillikin country are about to go to war. 

The Skeezers have declared war on the Flatheads, and although Ozma has never heard of either faction previously, she now feels a sense of responsibility:

The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

In the penultimate book in the series – at least by the great and powerful L. Frank Baum – The Magic of Oz, it is Ozma’s birthday again and everyone wants to find her something special. 

However, there is trouble on the horizon in Munchkin Country. A dissatisfied young man from a mountain people called Hyups finds a magical secret involving transformation his father has kept hidden:

The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum - #Ozathon24

If you remember when Dorothy first met the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz, he revealed he was once an ordinary wood-chopper in love with a Munchkin girl. After his axe was enchanted by a witch, he lost every limb, one by one, and a tin-smith replaced everything with tin. Once his heart was gone, he no longer loved the girl, so continued as a tin man until he got caught in a rainstorm and rusted, ultimately to be rescued by Dorothy.

The Lost Princess of Oz 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.

Tik-Tok of Oz and Rinkitink of Oz #Ozathon24

I got a little behind with Lory’s group read of the Oz books but here are two more, slightly out of order:

Tik-Tok of Oz (1914). This book starts off in an obscure part of Oz called Oogaboo, where a dissatisfied young woman called Ann Soforth decides to muster an army and go conquer the rest of Oz. Elsewhere, Betsy Bobbin and Hank the mule, wash up from Oklahoma into the Rose Kingdom, a land bordering Ev (see Ozma of Oz) and the Nonestic Ocean, where they meet our old acquaintance, the Shaggy Man, searching for his brother who was captured by the Nome King.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

Title: The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Dover paperback, originally published in 1913
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: The seventh Oz book features Ojo, a Munchkin boy who lives in an isolated part of the magical realm with his taciturn Unc Nunkie. When their food supply runs out, they realize they must leave home, and head to their closest neighbor, the Crooked Magician, who was responsible for the magic powder that Ozma (then Tip) used to bring Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse to life back in The Land of Oz.

The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Title: The Emerald City of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Publication: Books of Wonder, hardcover edition, originally published in 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fantasy/Series

Description: In this sixth Oz book, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are faced with bankruptcy as their Kansas farm has failed.

The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum - Ozathon24

Title: The Road to Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Dover, paperback, originally published in 1909
Genre: Children’s fantasy/series

Description: When a shaggy man asks Dorothy Gale to show him the road to Butterfield, she should probably yell, “Stranger danger!” instead being beguiled by the twinkle in his eye.

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum – Ozathon24

Title: Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Publication: Books of Wonder/HarperCollins, hardcover, originally published in 1908
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: In this fourth installment, Dorothy has returned from Australia where she was visiting with her Uncle Henry (including a detour described in Ozma of Oz), and has been staying with friends in San Francisco prior to rejoining her uncle.

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum - third and my favorite of the series

Title: Ozma of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: The Reilly & Lee Co., hardcover, 1907
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: Dorothy Gale is accompanying her Uncle Henry on a voyage to Australia, traveling for his health, when she is swept overboard during a storm. Floating on a chicken coop with a talking chicken she names Billina, Dorothy does not despair, knowing she has survived dangerous situations in the past.

The Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

Title: The Land of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Reilly & Lee Co., hardcover, 1904
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: In this sequel to The Wizard of Oz, Baum returns to the magical realm to describe what happened to Dorothy’s companions, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, as well as introducing several new characters. The most important is Tip, a boy brought up by old Mombi, a witch.

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

Title: The Wizard of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: W.W. Denslow
Publication: Reilly & Lee Co., hardcover, originally published in 1900
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: Dorothy is a little girl who lives in Kansas, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife. When a cyclone hits, Dorothy and her dog Toto don’t move quickly enough to the cellar: the house is sucked into the center of the cyclone and they are transported to a country of marvelous beauty and color, quite different from the gray prairie she knows.