I read many, many of the Oz books in my childhood and the characters in The Road to Oz were some of my favorites -- after the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz of course.

Even now as an adult often think of the Shaggy Man and his Love Magnet (Love Magnet meant something rather different in 1909 than it does today.) And Button Bright became a term of endearment in my family. The plot isn't as interesting as some of the other Oz books -- Rinkitink in Oz for example. But the escape from the altogether repellent Scoodlers provides great entertainment. Not the best of the Oz sequels, but still a lot of fun. ( )

The next book in the Oz series. I enjoyed this one immensely. It was great seeing Dorothy’s next adventure to Oz and how she gets there this time around. The meeting of new friends on her journey and then the end result of all old and new friends coming together as one for a celebration was fun.

I do occasionally miss all the friends from The Wizard of Oz so it was great to see them all again with Dorothy.

After this one I am more motivated to continue on with the series since they seem to be improving.

One of the more entertaining Oz books, but still very meandering. The plot is mostly an excuse to introduce the reader to more strange and wonderful characters living in and around Oz. ( )

The Shaggy Man is sort of a great character, if totally a cipher. Same with Button Bright, what the hells did Santa tell Shaggy Man about Button Bright and where he was from at Ozma's B-day party?Four-stars, if only because I was so freaking relieved that it did not grate as badly as the previous books. ( )

This is my second favorite of the Oz series, right after Ozma of Oz. I love the new characters, the Shaggy Man and Polly especially. I really like that, while there are some challenges in the book, the main goal is a happy one. They're not on the run from anyone, they're all on their way to Ozma's birthday party, where they meet the greatest assortment of colorful individuals. Unlike some of the other books in the series, this one really stays true to the spirit of Oz, with unique but awesome characters like Johnny Dooit and Baum's version of Santa Claus, who is of course close friends with Ozma :) I suppose the only complaint I have is that the chapter titles give away way too much of what's going to happen, but that's the same in all of the Oz books. Again, loved seeing the reunions between many of the characters, even though they have been reuinted in the series already, it's always awesome seeing the original cast of Oz characters together and having fun. ( )