The Complete Wizard of Oz Collection {15 books}

Having watched the movie just about every year for many years, it was extremely interesting to read the story behind it. The story had several differences which increased the fun of reading this story for the first time. It's sad that the Golden Cap and China Town were lost in the adaptation.

Marvelous Land of Oz

Tip escapes the witch Mombi after taking a box of magic items. He creates Jack Pumpkinhead and a Sawhorse who come to life with special powder from the box. They are his companions as he travels to the Emerald City where he befriends the Scarecrow. The adventures and revelations that follow are worthy of Dorothy and the original story.

Ozma of OZ
This was fun seeing new characters interact with old ones.
Ozma until the last book show more and then here were Tiktok and the yellow hen.

Looking forward to the next book now that Dorothy is back.

Road to Oz

Dorothy takes a walk and when the terrain changes so does the destination. Dorothy meets Shaggy Man and then Button Bright and they somehow wander into Fairyland where they meet PolyChrome - the daughter of the rainbow. New areas of the Fairyland are shown in their travels - Fox Village, Donkey Village, and the deadly desert.

Once everyone reaches Oz we see a great celebration for Ozma's birthday including guests Sana Claus and Glenda the good Witch.

Emerald City of Oz

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's farm is going to foreclosure so Dorothy has Ozma transport them all to Oz.

Dorothy takes her relatves on a tour of the different regions and they meet Rigamaroles, Flutterbudgets, and other interesting creatures. Meantime, the Nome King has decided that he wants his Magic Belt back and drafts a new general to recruit help from the Whimsies, Growley Wogs, and the Phanfasms.

Fun story with a really cute ending.

Patchwork Girl of Oz
Continuing the stories in Oz, hoping to finish this year, I've found new characters mixed with the old and wondering why, after the success of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Hollywood abandoned the stories.

Patchwork Girl is made by the Crooked Magician to help his wife with the household chores but she and the magician's friend are accidentally petrified. The Patchwork girl along with several others set out to find the ingredients to fashion a cure.

New generations should read these.

Tik-Rok of Oz
Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo has decided that things are just a bit too boring at home so she drafts an army and heads out to conquer all of Oz. She meets up wih Shaggy Man, makes friends with Betsy Bobbin from Oklahoma and Princess Ozga of the Rose people. Tiktok is solicited into Queen Ann's army. They are all sent to the other side of the world by the Nome King, but the rulers there send them back on the tail of Quox the dragon. The ending brings all the characters home peacefully.

Scarecrow of Oz
Once again a few well-loved characters becomes involved with newer characters as their travel previously unknown areas of Oz. It was nice to see Glinda working her magic as well as an unusual featherless flock of birds that came to the rescue of our friends several times.

Rinkitink in Oz

The island of Pinagree is a peaceful, happy place which produces a huge number of beautiful pearls. The King of Pinagree has special pearls that he can use to protect this kingdom but when attacked by Regos and Coregos he is unable to reach the special pearls and he, the queen, and all the inhabitants are taken away to slavery.

But wait, Prince Inga and visiting King Rinkitink escape discovery. Prince Inga retrieves the special pearls and heads off to rescue his parents and the people of his kingdom.

Lost Princess of Oz
Suddenly, Ozma is missing! And not only is Ozma no where to be found, but the Wizard's bag of magical items, Ozma's magic picture, and Glenda's Book of Records and enchanted objects are gone too.

The inhabitants of the Emerald City divide into search parties and head out to all areas of the land of Oz.

Dorothy and her companions head into the land of the Winkies, discover that they are looking for an angry wizard, Ugu the Shoemaker. The adventures are worthy of Oz!

Tin Woodsman of Oz

This segment of the Oz books introduces us to Woot the Wanderer who ambles into the castle of the Tin Woodsman and after learning Nick Chopper's history asks whatever happened to he girl that he loved. This sets the Tin Woodsman, the scarecrow and Woot off on an quest to locate the girl and make amends.

The adventures that the trio encounter show the reader new areas of Oz and more new characters.

The magic of OZ

In this next to last Oz book we are introduced to a new area of OZ where the Hyups live. There Kiki Aru steals a magical word which causes instant transformations and runs away to see the world. He encounters Ruggedo, the deposed Nome King, who persuades Kiki to work with him to revenge himself on Ozma and take over OZ. In the meantime, Dorothy and Trot, along with their friends, are endeavoring to find something special for Ozma's birthday.

The adventures of all climax in the Emerald City at Ozma's birthday party. A cute tale.

GLINDA OF OZ

While visiting Glinda, Dorothy and Ozma find in the all-knowing book that in a remote area of Oz the Skeezers and Flatheads are at odds and that a war may break out. Ozma and Dorothy venture to the Flatheads first trying to prevent warfare but are captured and held prisoners until Ozma's magic helps them escape. Fearing that they need to visit the Skeezers to prevent the war, Dorothy and Ozma are trapped in an underwater bubble when the Flathead Super Dictator uses unauthorized magic and turns the Queen of the Skeezers into a swan. Fortunately, Glinda and the Wizard arrive and effect the release of all the Skeezers along with Dorothy and Ozma.

This is the last of the original Oz series and I feel that it was one of the best. Several authors have continued the tales but Frank Baum wrote no more. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my adventures in the Land of Oz and hope that future generations will visit as well. show less

The unfortunate lack of emotional depth in the first book only becomes more shallow as the series progresses.
Oh, America, why canst thou not recognize thy strengths?

Synopsis and Review: Dorothy is picked up in a tornado and deposited in Oz. However, there are 15 more adventures that occur in this land. These delightful stories add information about the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion as well as introduce new characters. Each story teaches some lesson about how to treat people and about self-respect.

A childhood favorite re-visited.

Is the story as good as I remember? – Yes

What ages would I recommend it too? – Five and up.

Length? – About two weeks worth of stories.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – Fantasy, alternate dimensions.

Written approximately? – 1900 - 1920.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Yes. Many children today will be confused that the characters have so much trouble communicating with each other (no internet, no cellphones).

Short storyline: Numerous

Notes for the reader: As the story expanded, the explanation of Ozma changes. In her early stories, she is born of a long line of rulers show more of Oz, and hidden as a boy as an infant. By the last novel, she is one of the founding fairies of Oz. Quite a change. A few other characters also have discrepancies, either in history in later stories, or in personalities.

Shows well the problems that can occur as later novels in a series develop, and the author cannot go back and make changes so that all the novels line up correctly.

Overall a great series of novels. show less

Frank L. Baun wrote America's only homegrown fairy tale. For that I give him his five stars.

A beautiful and complete collection of Baum's original work.

Convenient to have all 15 books in one volume, although there are some proofreading problems and no illustrations.

Reviews of each book here:
http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/search/label/oz