Way Back Wednesday - Glinda of Oz

Glinda of Oz is the fourteenth Land of Oz book written by children's author L. Frank Baum, published on July 10, 1920. This was Baum's last Oz book, and was published posthumously. Most critics agree this is Baum's darkest Oz book, most likely due to his failing health. The book was dedicated to Baum's second son Robert Stanton Baum.

While visiting Glinda at her castle, Dorothy and Ozma discover a reference in Glinda's Great Book of Records about an upcoming war. The war will begin between the Skeezers and the Flatheads, but Glinda is unable to discover anything else about them. Dorothy and Ozma are determined to stop the war from beginning.

In addition to he Skeezers and the Flatheads, we are introduced to several new characters: Su-Dic (Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads), Coo-ee-oh (Queen of the Skeezers), Rora the witch, Prime Minister Ervic, and Lady Aurex.

Interesting trivia for this book: The full title of the first edition is Glinda of Oz; In Which Are Related the Exciting Experiences of Princess Ozma of Oz, and Dorothy, in Their Hazardous Journey to the Home of the Flatheads, and to the Magic Isle of the Skeezers, and How They Were Rescued from Dire Peril by the sorcery of Glinda the Good.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This completes the reviews of the 14 original Land of Oz books by L. Frank Baum. There are currently dozens of books about the Land of Oz, but there are only 26 books after Baum's death which are considered "official" books about the Land of Oz created by Baum. Most noteably are the next 19 books, written by Ruth Plumly Thompson from 1921 until 1939, which I enjoyed almost as much as Baum's tales. The next writer to pick up the series was John R. Neill, who wrote the next 3 books. Neill is very important in Oz culture because - with the exception of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - he was the illustrator for the first 36 books in the series.

Although I have read all of the "Royal 40" books of Oz (14 by Baumn and 26 by 3 other authors) over the years, I am going to complete this Way Back Wednesday.

Next week, I have plans to pick up the Trixie Belden series where I left off, but I may change my mind before then. Maybe you will be surprised.

Way Back Wednesday - The Magic of Oz

The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Magic of Oz: A Faithful Record of the Remarkable Adventures of Dorothy and Trot and the Wizard of Oz, Together with the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, and Cap'n Bill, in Their Successful Search for a Magical and Beautiful Birthday Present for Princess Ozma of Oz is the thirteenth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 7, 1919, one month after the author's death, The Magic of Oz relates the unsuccessful attempt of the Munchkin boy Kiki Aru and former Nome King Ruggedo to conquer Oz.

The novel was dedicated to "the Children of our Soldiers, the Americans and their Allies, with unmeasured Pride and Affection."

At the top of Mount Munch, lives a group of people known as the Hyups. One of their numbers, a Munchkin named Bini Aru, discovered a method of transforming people and objects by merely saying the word "Pyrzqxgl". After Princess Ozma decreed that no one could practice magic in Oz except for Glinda and the Wizard of Oz, Bini wrote down the directions for pronouncing "Pyrzqxgl" and hid them in his magical laboratory

Ruggedo tries to conquer Oz again with the help of Kiki Aru. In the meanwhile, it is also Ozma's birthday, and all of Oz's citizens are searching for the most unusual present for the little princess.

Way Back Wednesday - The Tin Woodman of Oz

The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Tin Woodman of Oz is the twelfth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum and was originally published on May 13, 1918. The Tin Woodman is unexpectedly reunited with his Munchkin sweetheart Nimmie Amee from the days when he was flesh and blood. This was a backstory from The Wizard of Oz.

The book was dedicated to the author's grandson Frank Alden Baum.

The Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow are reliving tales at the Tin Woodman's palace in the Winkie Country when a Gillikin boy named Woot wanders comes to see them. After he is fed and rested, Woot asks the Tin Woodman how he came to be made of tin. He relates how the Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his axe and caused him to chop his body parts off limb by limb, all because he was in love with her ward, Nimmie Amee. Each chopped limb was replaced by the tinsmith Ku-Klip with a counterpart made of tin.

The Tin Woodman is unexpectedly reunited with his sweetheart Nimmie Amee. He also meets a fellow tin man - Captain Fyter - as well as a Frankenstein monster-like creature - Chopfyt - who is made from the combined parts of both tin men.

The Tin Woodman of Oz also provides backstory for Oz itself; it was not always a fairyland, and became one by being enchanted by the Fairy Queen Lurline, who left a fairy behind to rule it. In Glinda of Oz Ozma says that she herself was that fairy, though in The Marvelous Land of Oz we are told of her restoration to a throne long held by her ancestors.

Way Back Wednesday - The Lost Princess of Oz

The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Lost Princess of Oz is the eleventh Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 5, 1917, it begins with the disappearance of Princess Ozma, the ruler of Oz and covers Dorothy and the Wizard's efforts to find her. The introduction to the book states that its inspiration was a letter a little girl had written to Baum: "I suppose if Ozma ever got hurt or losted, everybody would be sorry."

The book was dedicated to the author's newborn granddaughter Ozma Baum, child of his youngest son Kenneth Gage Baum.

Dorothy is up early to start the day and she is seeing to her friends in the Emerald City when she notices Ozma has not awakened yet. Dorothy goes into Ozma's chambers only to find she is not there. She is nowhere in the palace either. And not only is Ozma missing, but all the magical instruments in Oz that can be used to find her are also missing.

Dorothy, Glinda and the Wizard work together with several other friends to track down the magical instruments and find Ozma. We also are reunited with several old characters: Button-Bright, the Winkies, and Betsy. New characters we are introduced to include King Coco-Lorum, Cayke the Cookie Cook, Frogman, and Lavendar Bear.

Way Back Wednesday - Rinkitink of Oz

Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum



Rinkitink in Oz is the tenth book in the Land of Oz series written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 20, 1916, with full-color and black-and-white illustrations by artist John R. Neill, it is significant that no one from Oz appears in the book until its climax; this is due to Baum having originally written most of the book as an original fantasy novel over ten years earlier, in 1905. Most of the action takes place on three islands — Pingaree, Regos, and Coregos — and within the Nome King's caverns. Since the original ruler of the nomes, Roquat — who later re-named himself Ruggedo, was deposed in 1914's Tik-Tok of Oz, Baum had to cleverly rework the tale to accommodate his selfish but well-intentioned replacement, Kaliko.

Of all the Land of Oz books, this is my least favorite, but for the sake of the series and the beautiful book cover, I felt I needed to include this book to complete the Way Back Wednesday.

Way Back Wednesday - The Scarecrow of Oz

The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Scarecrow of Oz is the 9th book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum. Published on July 16, 1915, it was Baum's personal favorite of the Oz books and tells of Cap'n Bill and Trot journeying to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, overthrowing the cruel King Krewl of Jinxland.

Cap'n Bill - a sailor with a wooden peg-leg - and his friend - a little girl named Trot - set out from California on a calm day. The calm day suddenly turns dark and stormy and Cap'n Bill and Trot and washed overboard and are carried by mermaids to a cave where they meet an ostrich-like flying bird called an Ork.

The Scarecrow is at Glinda's palace in the Quadling Country and wants to help Cap'n Bill and Trot, so Glinda sends him to Jinxland with some of her magic to aid him.

Besides Cap'n Bill and Trot, we meet several other new characters: Button-Bright, Googly-Goo, King Krewl, and Bumpy Man. Dorothy, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion do not make appearances in this book.



(Inside book photos by Rare Antique Books)

Way Back Wednesday - The Patchwork Girl of Oz

The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum

This is the 7th book set in the Land of Oz. The book was first published on July 1, 1913, with illustrations by John R. Neill. In 1914, Baum adapted the book to film through his "Oz Film Manufacturing Company."

Ojo the Unlucky is a young Munchkin boy devoted to life with his uncle Unc Nunkie. They live in the wilderness but are on the verge of starvation. Ojo goes to see a neighboring "magician" and old friend of Unc’s, Dr. Pipt. While there they see a demonstration of the Pipt-made Powder of Life, which animates any object it touches. Unc Nunkie and Dr. Pipt's wife are also the sufferers of the consequences of another of the Doctor's inventions, the Liquid of Petrifaction, which turns them into solid marble statues.

This book revolves around Ojo's adventures in finding the antedote for the Liquid of Petrifaction Other characters in this adventure include the Woozy, Scraps (the patchwork girl), Dorothy, the Shaggy Man, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz was made into a silent film by L. Frank Baum's The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. There is also a 2005 animated version of The Patchwork Girl, but I haven't been able to find it for sell anywhere. Although the 1914 version is in black and white, it is a very good short film.

Way Back Wednesday - Tik-Tok of Oz

Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 19, 1914, the book actually has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in The Road to Oz) to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King.

Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo, a small monarchy separated from the rest of Oz's Winkie Country, sets out to raise an army to conquer Oz. Betsy Bobbin, a girl who is a year older than Dorothy, and her loyal mule Hank are washed ashore during a storm. They all work together to rescue Tik-Tok from the well where the Nome King had tossed him.

This book also reunites us with the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, and the Saw-Horse. New characters include Queen Ann, Tittiti-Hoochoo, Rose Princess Ozga (who is a cousin to Ozma) and Private Files.

Tick-Tok is also a character that shows up in the Disney movie Return to Oz.

Way Back Wednesday - The Emerald City of Oz

The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Emerald City of Oz is the sixth of Baum's 14 Land of Oz books. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em coming to live in Oz permanently. While Dorothy and family are toured through the Quadling Country, the Nome King is assembling allies for an invasion of Oz. This is the first time in the Oz series that Baum made use of double plots for one of the books. This book was also adapted into a Canadian animated film in 1987, but I haven't been able to find this to watch it.

Baum had intended to cease writing Oz stories with this book, but financial pressures prompted him to write and publish The Patchwork Girl of Oz - next week's book - plus 7 more Oz books. An interesting fact about Emerald City is revealed in this book: Emerald City is described as having exactly 9654 buildings and 57,318 citizens. We didn't see all this in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, did we??!!

Way Back Wednesday - The Road to Oz

The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Road to Oz is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books. It was originally published on July 10, 1909 and documents Dorothy's fourth visit to Oz.

Dorothy is near her home in Kansas when the story begins. As she travels through Oz on her way to the Emerald City, she is welcomed by old friends - Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Jack PumpkinHead, Tik-Tok and Billina the Yellow Hen. Everyone has gathered at Emerald City to celebrate Osma's birthday.
We meet several new characters in this book: the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, and Polychrome. At the end of this tale, Dorothy is wished home by Ozma's Magic Belt.

Of all the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, this one is probably my least favorite. I loved meeting my favorite characters again, but the story was a little disjointed.

Way Back Wednesday - Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published on June 18, 1908 and reunites Dorothy with the Wizard from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy and her kitten, Eureka, is sent to visit her uncle in California - operator Hugson's Ranch. She strikes up an acquaintance with Hugson's son and her cousin, Zeb. Dorothy, Eureka, and Zeb are riding a horse buggy when an earthquake starts and opens a crevice beneath them, sending them hurtling into the bowels of the earth. They land in the land of the Mangaboos, vegetable people who blame the earthquake on Dorothy.

Although the book has "In Oz" in the title, Dorothy and the Wizard spend very little time actually in Oz, but it doesn't matter. This is another great installment in the Oz series.

Way Back Wednesday - Osma of Oz

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Ozma of Oz was first published on July 29, 1907, and was the third book of L. Frank Baum's Oz series. Happily, Dorothy returns in this book, after being absent from The Marvelous Land of Oz.

Uncle Henry has been ordered by his doctor to take a vacation from his Kansas farm and he goes to Australia. He and Dorothy are aboard a steamship traveling there when they are caught in a fierce storm and separated. Dorothy is blown overboard along with a yellow hen - Billina - from her uncle's farm that was on the ship. The movie Return to Oz also gets many of its ideas from this book, especially the lunch pail tree, which I find fascinating.

Dorothy and Billina are constant companions during this tale. We also get to meet Tic-Toc, the Nome King, and the hungry Tiger. Dorothy is also reunited with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Lion.

Way Back Wednesday - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

For the last few months, I have been featuring Trixie Belden Mysteries on my Way Back Wednesdays. These were my favorite books as a child.

After receiving the Annotated Wizard of Oz for Christmas, I have decided to feature a few of the Oz sequels during these posts. Many people are not aware that there are 14 Oz novels written by L. Frank Baum. There are several dozen other Oz books written by authors after Baum's death.

So, welcome to Way Back Wednesday - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum has always been one of my favorite books. Most people are familiar with the MGM movie starring Judy Garland, but the fascination started for me the first time I read the book.

There are several things that were changed for the movie so there are many facts people get mixed up.

1.)There is no Ms. Gulch in the book. As a matter of fact, there is very little mentioned of the Kansas farm in the book - this was added for the film.

2.)We know the house dropped on the Wicked Witch of the East, the Wicked Witch of the West was melted, and Glinda is the Good Witch of the North, but the movie tells us nothing of the Good Witch of the South.

3.)In the book, Dorothy is protected from harm by the golden kiss the Good Witch of the North places upon her forehead.

4.)The origins of the Tin Woodman are glossed over in the movie, so we don't know that he actually a human who cut off his on arms and legs, and then tinsmith made replacements.

5.)There is no mention of the Golden Cap, the Hammer-heads, or the Kalidahs in the movie. Want to know what they are? You need to read the book!

6.)And the most significant difference between the book and the movie - Dorothy's slippers are silver, not red! They were changed for the movie to take advantage of the new technocolor.