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The Emerald City of Oz (Oz #6)

by L. Frank Baum

3.85 · rating details · 2,310 ratings · 80 reviews

Children will delight in the further adventures of Dorothy and her friends as they revisit Oz. Frank Baum was a famous author of children's books. He is best noted for his book The Wizard of Oz. Baum used several pen names when writing different series. He used the pen name Edith van Dyke when writing books for adolescent girls. In The Emerald City of Oz the powerful Nome ...more

Paperback, 172 pages

Published July 4th 2008 by Book Jungle (first published 1910)

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Feb 08, 2012

Shoshana rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: people who like fun!

Shelves: classics, fantasy, old-favorite

Even though this book is mainly just Dorothy and friends wandering around Oz while the Nome King builds an army and a tunnel and no one does anything about it, I actually really like it a lot. I enjoy discovering the Flutterbudgets and Utensils and Bunburyans and Bunnyburyans and especially the Fuddles and Cuttenclips, not to mention the Whimsies. Oh, the Whimsies. They "had large, strong bodies, but heads so small that they were no bigger than door-knobs. Of course, such tiny heads could n...moreEven though this book is mainly just Dorothy and friends wandering around Oz while the Nome King builds an army and a tunnel and no one does anything about it, I actually really like it a lot. I enjoy discovering the Flutterbudgets and Utensils and Bunburyans and Bunnyburyans and especially the Fuddles and Cuttenclips, not to mention the Whimsies. Oh, the Whimsies. They "had large, strong bodies, but heads so small that they were no bigger than door-knobs. Of course, such tiny heads could not contain any great amount of brains, and the Whimsies were so ashamed of their personal appearance and lack of commonsense that they wore big heads made of pasteboard," which they decorate with pastel wool and large bright eyes. Baum is in top form here - as are my favorite characters:

Billina, we discover, has had eleven children and named them all Dorothy (until two disobliged her by turning out roosters and she renamed them Daniel - funny, since back in Ozma of Oz she didn't see the point in changing her name from Bill when she discovered to be female) - and she has an additional 86 grandchildren and over three hundred great grandchildren, all of whom are ALSO named Dorothy and Daniel! I love Billina.

And then there's Aunt Em. Part of what makes this one so good is Aunt Em's cranky, down-to-earth, back-to-reality commentary as she adjusts to life in Oz (Uncle Henry, who adapts better even though he originally had the most doubts, is less interesting, though amusingly placid). And I wondered where Dorothy got her combination of intrepidity and placidity! Upon first encountering the Cowardly Lion, Aunt Em decides to "eye that lion out o' countenance and save [their] lives," at which point she "turned upon the Lion a determined countenance and a wild dilated eye" until he becomes so uncomfortable that he asks if she's all right. Aunt Em is fierce!

She is also the only skeptical person in the bunch. "I gave him some sawdust brains the last time I fitted his head with new ears," the Wizard explains about the intelligent Sawhorse. "'The sawdust was made from hard knots, and now the Sawhorse is able to think out any knotty problem he meets with.'
'I see,' said Uncle Henry.
'I don't," remarked Aunt Em; but no one paid any attention to this statement."

Aunt Em might be my favorite character in this whole series.

Then there's the weird part where Ozma notices the Nome King building a tunnel to the Emerald City and proceeds to do absolutely nothing and for a long time tell nobody about it. What? Finally our friends discover this pretty alarming situation and confront her, whereupon she laughs "with genuine amusement" and says, "Why, that has not troubled me a bit!" The prospect of the country she rules being conquered by a villainous army has not troubled her? What is the matter with her?!? "Perhaps it is more seirous than I imagined.... but I haven't given the matter much thought. After dinner we will all meet together and talk it over." Are you kidding me?

I mean, I get that she's a pacifist (more on that in a moment), but you'd think she'd at least have thought about the situation!

The pacifism is great, though. Ozma is completely adamant that no one has the right to hurt other living creatures in any way (which is a weird juxtaposition to Dorothy's cavalier attitude about eating the Bunburyans). Oz also happens to be explicitly communist (although Baum does append his description of their politics with the caveat that it might not work in the real world): "There were no poor people in the Land of Oz, because there was no such thing as money, and all property of every sort belonged to the Ruler.... Each person was given freely by his neighbors whatever he required for his use, which is as much as any one may reasonably desire.... Each man or woman, no matter what he or she produced for the good of the community, was supplied by the neighbors with food and clothing and a house and furniture and ornaments and games. If by chance the supply ever ran short, more was taken from the great storehouses of the Ruler, which were afterward filled up again when there was more of any article than the people needed." I feel nice knowing that I'm in the company of good old leftists.

One last fault of this book, though, and it's a frustrating one, is their difficulty figuring out how to turn away the invaders. YOU HAVE THE FREAKING MAGIC BELT. USE IT TO SEND THEM ALL HOME. In fact, the Nome King plots about how once he gets the magic belt he'll use it to send his allies home if they turn against him, and in fact Ozma uses it at the end to send them all home after they have been incapacitated! Why not use it from the beginning? But no, we have to suspend our disbelief about a very convenient coincidence that allows for a more complex plan to be put in action. It heightens the suspense a little, I guess, but it is pretty irritating.

And it's pretty much the only thing that keeps this book from a full five-star rating. I wish I could give it a four and a half, because it's better than the other Oz books I've given fours. Oh, well!(less)

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Dec 12, 2011

Melani rated it

· review of another edition

Ah yes, the Nome King gets angry and tries to invade OZ (with three of his most dangerous buddies), but all is saved by dues ex machina. This is the closest OZ ever came to any real danger and also one of the better plotlines Baum ever had. Interspersed with that plot is the one where Dorothy and her Aunt and Uncle, having moved permanently to OZ, travel around OZ exploring all the wonders of that fairyland. I think the wonders of OZ are nicely played against the dangerous background. The alte...moreAh yes, the Nome King gets angry and tries to invade OZ (with three of his most dangerous buddies), but all is saved by dues ex machina. This is the closest OZ ever came to any real danger and also one of the better plotlines Baum ever had. Interspersed with that plot is the one where Dorothy and her Aunt and Uncle, having moved permanently to OZ, travel around OZ exploring all the wonders of that fairyland. I think the wonders of OZ are nicely played against the dangerous background. The alternating chapters of the evil plotters versus the innocent Dorothy exploring Oz are a nice way to build the tension in the book.

This was one of my favorites when I was younger and it’s nice to see that it’s held up. There are an abundance of puns (more so then any previous book that I remember) in some of the sections, and for people who don’t enjoy puns that could get annoying. But I enjoyed them when I was younger and I still enjoy them now.

I really enjoyed the problems facing Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in the loss of their farm; it’s real and creates pathos. Though I will say, sometimes it’s hard to remember that this was written in 1910, long before the Great Depression. The movie has just so firmly cemented that time frame on the story. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em have become two favorites on this re-read simply because they’re really honest and decent folk, Americana at its best if you will.

Further notations of Baum’s inconsistencies- The Emerald City is now truly full of emeralds, where as in the first book it only appeared so because of the green glasses you had to put on to enter the city. These drove me bonkers when I first read the books, can’t say I’m liking them any more now but it’s a bit more fun to find them. It becomes a treasure hunt of sorts.

Some things of note:
- I either didn’t notice or forgot how much I enjoyed the snarky Chief Counselor, the lackadaisical Chief Steward, and the practical Chief General they are great counterparts to the Nome King. It’s fun to see the Nome King interact with his subservients all of them clearly smarter then he is.

-There is a weakness in the text with the evil creatures. They have no reason for their wickedness beyond being born that way. However once they drink from the magic fountain, they are good? I’m not sure that makes logical sense. Baum didn’t want to trouble his stories with the issue of good and evil, and so that might be the cause of that weakness.

-The note at the end of the book about how this is the last Oz story that will ever be told is amusing considering it is the sixth out of fourteen Oz books that Baum wrote, and then there are the numerous other Oz books by others. Poor Baum, he really wanted to get away from Oz.
(less)

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Sep 14, 2010

Megan rated it

· review of another edition

OK, I admit that this rating system can be pretty relative for me, so four stars may be a stretch. I read this book with my son and found it to be one of the better Oz books. It was supposed to be the end-all book of the Oz series. Baum certainly wrote it that way. It has a mostly satisfying, climactic ending, as well as some real drama between bad and good (sometimes lacking in Oz books). The villains were the best part! They had great names too: Growleywogs and Phanfasms. I've come to know now...more

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May 01, 2009

Paul rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

The sixth book in the series is, obviously, forced. Split between two plotlines, and one of them really doesn't deserve to be called a plotline, The Emerald City of Oz does not make for exciting reading. The Nome King wants his Magic Belt back and plans to dig a tunnel beneath the desert to reach the Emerald City while Dorothy, her aunt and uncle--who have taken to living in Oz versus losing their farm to greedy bankpushers--and a host of others are visiting various locations in the magical land...more

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Jul 11, 2011

Dustin Reade rated it

· review of another edition

This is the first Oz book I have read, and I liked it. A lot. Actually, I would almost say I loved it. Sure, there were quite a few parts that dragged on a bit, and it was obvious Old L. Baum was making up most of it as he went along, but that didn't really bother me. After all, it is young adult fantasy written for children who are all over the age of one-hundred by now.
The ending though, was too much. Too quick. There was absolutely no foreshadowing at all. Solutions to problems were pr...more

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Mar 08, 2011

Emily rated it

· review of another edition

Even though the plot is dull, at least it has a plot. I tired of the endless journey through fairy country, meeting new and odd people, especially after having finished ["Road to Oz"] immediately prior. Although one never believes the Nome king and allies pose much of a real threat, that is one of the beauties of a fairy country: no one is never in any real danger.
This book also seems much more philosophical than many of the other Oz books as much ado is made about the fact that p...more

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May 24, 2010

Dianna rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read

Hooray, a plot! The Nome King, understandably angry about Ozma's defeat of him a few books back, has decided to destroy Oz with the help of some sinister allies. Also, Dorothy, Aunt Em, and Uncle Henry come to live in Oz forever.

As with most of the previous books, though, this book is more about journeying around and looking all the different, fantastic peoples in Oz than about the plot. The plot is there, but it's not really what the book is all about—and if you ever wondered if it...more

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May 20, 2011

Kris rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: own-ebook, read-in-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 18, 2011

Emily rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, juvenile

I liked The Emerald City of Oz a bit better than the last two. There was still an element of characters taking a trip just so Mr. Baum can show off all the other ideas he has for interesting creatures (Look! These ones are living jigsaw puzzles! And over here we have animated flatware! And these people can't stop talking!) but on the whole there was more plot than we've seen for a few books.

First of all, there was some actual evil in the form of the Nome King and his General Guph...more

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Aug 12, 2011

Atman88 rated it

· review of another edition

I don't want to spoil the book, but none the less, there are many new characters, as always. I don't like the quick endings Baum is big on. He seems to rush at the end. Indeed, I feel he doesn't like writing the books and only did it for the money. His forwards and writers notes all claim that every book is basically the last. He reminds me a lot of Madonna and all her 'retirement tours'.

I like the concept of an invasion of Oz. I LOVED the fact that there is a land of Ix, because I'm ...more

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Jan 25, 2011

Cortney rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-alouds

I started reading this series with my son when he turned 4. We'd just started reading chapter books and I was looking for great stories without the presence of annoying pop culture. The Oz books were recommended by a trusted friend and I was skeptical at first, especially at his age, but the first book is so much better than the movie, and each subsequent book has been better than the last. After checking a couple different versions out from the library we now make sure to always get the books w...more

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Nov 29, 2008

Jennifer rated it

· review of another edition

A pretty disjointed book--it's sixth in the series, and Baum is clearly getting pretty tired of writing whimsical things, but hasn't yet resigned himself to it as in the later books. In fact, this one ends with Baum announcing there will be no more Oz books...a promise that probably lasted all of months, as Oz readers were quite demanding.

This book has some fascinating subtexts about alliances between untrustworthy people, as a variety of horrible nations set up a complicated set of...more

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Jan 28, 2012

George rated it

· review of another edition

I think I liked this the most of all the Oz books so far. The story line was a little more complex than the other books (a little back and forth between two concurrent stories that came together in the end). The adventures were as fantastic as usual, too. I think my only problem was the somewhat unremarkable ending. I thought it could have been a little more exciting and I felt there were several possible options for how to save Oz, but it didn't really spoil my enjoyment of the book at all....more

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Feb 26, 2011

aaron rated it

· review of another edition

another great addition into l. frank baum's canon. this one finds dorothy and her aunt em and uncle henry making a move to live in oz permanently due to the fact that they are forced to give up their house and farm to the bank due to a lack of funds. while their they take a tour of the lands and we are able to "see" places that have not been previously seen in the books. while this takes place, the nome king looks to take his revenge out on dorothy, princess ozma, and all of oz. an...more

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Aug 16, 2011

Kim rated it

· review of another edition

These are nice books to listen to while commuting. This one had lots of interesting characters (including some that were paper dolls and others that were picture puzzle people). It also had a group of evil characters who wanted to destroy the Emerald City, but there was a nice non-violent solution to that problem. One of the humorous things about these books is that L Frank Baum wanted to quit after the first few books, but kept writing more books to satisfy his young readers, who kept writin...more

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May 03, 2011

Derek Oberg rated it

· review of another edition

Another cute one. In the preface of multiple books in this series Baum remarks on how "the children" will never let him stop writing Oz books. This book contains an attempt to end the series completely. A pretty creative one too. Obviously an unsuccessful attempt however, being as this is book #6 of 14.

I also noticed that this book contains the first use of "Gale" as Dorothy's last name. Before now in the series she's never had a last name. I'm sure it was incorp...more

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Jan 17, 2012

Will Waller rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: series, fiction

This was according to the author to be the last of the Oz books because after it was told, Glinda cast a spell that put Oz completely off the map and away from any meddling by the “Historian” Baum himself. Funny how two straight years of low sales on other fantasy stories would have Baum reaching across the void and reaching Oz, by a wireless telegraph, with yet another book. A little ca-ching helps us do just about everything, eh Baum?

Well that’s another story, and this review is a...more

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Jan 24, 2010

Jason Pettus rated it

· review of another edition

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally. This review covers all 14 of the Baum Oz books, which is why it's found on all 14 book pages here.)

I think it's fairly safe by now to assume that nearly everyone in Western society is familiar with The Wizard of Oz, most of us because of the classic 1939 movie adaptation; and many realize...more(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally. This review covers all 14 of the Baum Oz books, which is why it's found on all 14 book pages here.)

I think it's fairly safe by now to assume that nearly everyone in Western society is familiar with The Wizard of Oz, most of us because of the classic 1939 movie adaptation; and many realize as well that author L. Frank Baum ended up penning a whole series of sequels, because of the original book's astounding success back at the turn of the 20th century when it was first published -- 13 sequels altogether, before his death in 1919, which after the movie's success twenty years later became a literal merchandising empire, spawning hundreds more official sequels by various authors and hundreds more unofficial ones once the characters moved into the public domain. And like many others, I've always been interested in what these 14 "canonical" Oz books have to say; and that's why I decided this winter to sit down and read them all in a row for the first time, easy to do because of them being available for free at both Project Gutenberg and the email subscription service DailyLit (which is how I myself read them, and in fact is how I read many of the older books you see reviewed here; I'm a big fan of theirs, and highly recommend them).

But of course, to even approach these books with the right mindset, it's important to understand that like so many other one-hit-wonders, Baum was not only eluded by success in most of his other endeavors but was an active failure at them -- in the 1870s, for example, he unsuccessfully tried his hand at breeding fancy poultry (a national fad at the time), then in the 1880s opened his own theatre and became one of the first-ever Americans to produce modern-style stage musicals, apparently a little too ahead of its time, then in the 1890s moved to the Dakota Territory and opened a dry-goods store that eventually failed, as well as starting a newspaper that folded too. So it was sort of a case of random lightning in a bottle when he decided in the late 1890s to try his hand at children's literature, and ended up with his very first title being the most popular kid's book in America for two years straight, and no surprise that Baum then spent the rest of his life desperately trying to figure out how to bottle that lightning again. Because now that I've read it myself, I can confirm that the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz is astonishingly great, a sort of miraculous combination of traits that makes for an almost perfect children's story; and although most of it follows the same storyline seen in the '39 movie, there are also significant differences, making it worth your while to sit and read the book version if you have the interest. (And by the way, for some really interesting reading, check out the academic analysis that was done of this book in the 1960s, arguing that most of its details symbolically correspond almost exactly to various political and economic issues of the late 1800s, including the yellow brick road representing the much-discussed gold standard of that age, the scarecrow representing the then-hot Populist Party, Toto representing the teetotaler [prohibitionist:] movement, and a lot more.)

But of course, there are a couple of details about this book that have been forgotten over the decades too, which also help explain its record-shattering success -- it was an unusually lavish book for its time, for example, with two-toned illustrations on every page and several full-color plates, and let's also not forget that Baum himself mounted a Broadway-style musical of Oz just two years after the book was published, a huge hit which toured nationally for a decade and that was even more insanely popular than the book itself (including making national stars out of vaudeville performers Fred Stone and David Montgomery, playing the Scarecrow and Tin Man; the stage production left out the Cowardly Lion altogether, which is why he is also barely seen in any of the 13 canonical sequels). And so that's why when Baum attempted starting up other fantasy series in the wake of Oz's success, hoping to turn all of them into lucrative franchises like the original, the audience mostly responded with yawns; and that's why Baum eventually went back to writing more and more Oz books as the 20th century continued, because by now the strength of the brand far outweighed the relative writing skills of Baum when it came to any particular volume.

That's why, at least to adults, it's perhaps actually the introductions to each book that are the most fascinating thing about them; because to be frank, most of the books follow a pretty familiar formula, with a danger-filled quest involving various kooky characters that is usually finished about two-thirds of the way through, followed by a massive parade or party that lets Baum trot out the growing number of main characters added to this universe with each title. (And by the way, prepare yourself for Baum's unending love of the deus-ex-machina plot device; over half the books end along the lines of, "And then our heroes took possession of a super-duper magical device, which they waved in the air and all their troubles went away.") In fact, for those who don't know, that's why the official map of Oz and its surrounding lands eventually grew so large, because Baum still hadn't given up on his dream of having a whole series of kid-lit cash cows out there generating revenue for him, and so would use many of these Oz sequels to introduce entirely new casts of characters who live in entirely new lands, "just over the mountains" or "just past the desert" of Oz itself. By the end of the original 14 books, in fact, Baum had built up a virtual aristocracy of licensable characters, all of whom would have to be dragged out for a cameo at some point in each book to remind the audience of their existence -- not just the cast of the original book and '39 movie but also various other princesses like Ozma and Betsy Bobbin, boy characters like Ojo the Unlucky and Button Bright, adults who help them like the Shaggy Man, Cap'n Bill and Ugu the Shoemaker, and of course a whole litany of quirky fantastical sidekicks, including but not limited to Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Great Jinjin, Billina the Angry Hen, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, and Polychrome the Rainbow Fairy. Whew! And so did the Great Oz Merchandising Experiment keep limping along for two decades, with each sequel selling less and less and getting lazier and lazier (for example, the tenth book in the series, 1916's Rinkitink in Oz, was actually a non-Oz book written a decade previous, published almost unchanged except for a hasty final chapter full of Oz regulars slapped onto the end); and thus did Baum's bad luck in business come back with a vengeance as well, with three more Broadway productions that were all flops, and even the establishment of a film production company in 1914 that eventually went bankrupt.

You can see the progression of all this reflected in Baum's first-person introductions to each book, which like I said is why they might be the most fascinating parts of all for adult readers -- how in the first sequel, for example, he expresses legitimately gleeful surprise and joy at how passionate his fans were, and how thousands of children had literally written to him out of the blue demanding more Oz stories, while with each subsequent sequel his tone becomes more and more snarky, ala "Well, dear and wonderful children, you've yet again demanded another Oz book like the sheep you are, so here it is, you screeching little monsters." In fact, in book six of the series, 1910's The Emerald City of Oz, Baum flat-out states that it's going to be the very last Oz book, and it's no coincidence that many fans actually consider this one to be the best of the original fourteen, because of Baum's extra attention to and enthusiasm for this particular storyline, thinking as he erroneously did that it would be the grand finale of the entire Oz universe; but after his later financial failures forced him back into the Oz business again, the gloves finally come off in his introductions, with most of the rest sounding to today's ears something like, "Well, okay, here again is the sugary teat you all apparently can't get enough of suckling, you infuriating little animals, so open wide and take your medicine." Now, of course, you shouldn't feel too bad for Baum; by the last years of his life, his combined books and plays were generating for him in today's terms roughly a quarter-million dollars a year just in personal royalties.

So all in all, an experience I'm glad I had, reading all fourteen original Oz books in a row, but not something I'd recommend to others; instead, maybe better just to read the first, then skip to the sixth, then skip straight to the 14th, 1920's Glinda of Oz, because of its unusual darkness (probably caused, many scholars agree, by Baum knowing that he was near death). As with many authors I've looked at here at CCLaP, history seems to have correctly adjusted itself in Baum's case, with most of his books now rightfully falling into the obscurity they deserve, even while his one true masterpiece is still rightfully recognized as such. (less)

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Apr 22, 2009

Frank rated it

· review of another edition

I liked this one. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry come to Oz to live and Dorothy also to stay this time. Oz is attacked. I think Baum intended this to be the last book, He stated in the prior book the next one would be the last one and in this one Dorothy sends him a note and says that will be the last note from them. Glenda the good makes Oz invisible and so no one can communicate with it from now on. It will be interesting to see what happens in book 7. Baum really comes up with lots of strange charac...more

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Jan 21, 2009

Runa rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 14, 2010

Mike rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

Too many consider the Oz books to be children's literature, but their message is much more profound. Baum was many things, but he loved to paint caricatures of personality types and idiosyncracies of people. This follows in the great tradition of Lewis Carroll and William Shakespeare who both devoted their lives to using fiction to carry political and philosophical statements.

All of Baum's books are available for free at gutenberg.org.

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Sep 05, 2011

Derrick added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, children, unfinished, fantasy

Dorothy's aunt and uncle come to Oz after failing to make the farm work. It was just to much "oh, everyone is good and happy in Oz" in one chapter while the next shows some neerdowell getting together all the malcontent elements of Oz. Baum just contradicted himself and it was all extremely, too much so for me, sugary syrupy sap. My last Oz book.

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Jan 15, 2012

Renae rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, ebook

I ranked this one higher since there was some unique element to the plot. I found some of the earlier books extremely repetitive, but this one at least had some new elements.

I find it amusing that it appears to be Baum's attempt to detach himself from the franchise, something like the author in Misery. Although not so sinister...

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Jul 31, 2009

Lori Anderson rated it

· review of another edition

My son is six and we've been reading all the Oz books. They've done wonders for his reading comprehension and for his ability to just sit still and let me read three chapters at a time and have him actually understand and remember night to night what happened!

This book is where L. Frank Baum finally seems to get tired of writing about Oz and Dorothy and tidies everything up and says goodbye. Yet there are more books. We haven't picked up the next one yet (but will tonight) so I'm ...more

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May 16, 2011

Danns rated it

· review of another edition

What a delightful read. All the friends are back and Dorothy comes to live in the land of Oz with her Aunt and Uncle permanently. But what is this brewing on the horizon? The return of the Nome king with an army of wicked denizens from the outskirts of the Oz ready to invade the Emerald City via a tunnel they make beneath the Deadly Desert.

I loved reading about some of the other hidden villages and kingdoms of Oz. Utensia was a delightful play on words, hilarious and a land I hop...more

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Jul 11, 2009

Leo rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, classics

This book was alright. Some parts go off the deep end with eye-rolling puns. I like a good pun now and then, but give me a break. Some of the peoples the character meet seem to be there just so Baum can puntificate on the myriad of puns available in utensia and bunville.

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Jun 24, 2010

Afsana rated it

· review of another edition

This was a good story and finally allows dorothy to show her uncle and aunt the land of oz.

yet again there is adventures and they also defeat the gnome king and etal without the use of violence so in keeping with tehir prnciples.

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Mar 14, 2008

The other John rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, oneofthekidsbooks, heyiwasbored

This is one of the Oz books--I don't know where it falls in the series and I've been told that after the first three, it doesn't matter. It's essentially a couple of travelogues. One is the journey of the general of the Nome King, who ventures to odd lands to recruit troops to conquer and destroy the Land of Oz. The other trip is that taken by Dorothy and assorted companions, who, oblivious to the growing threat, are touring some unvisited corners in Oz's vast realm. As plots go, this one's pret...more

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Oct 26, 2008

Fizzgig76 rated it

· review of another edition

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry face losing the farm and Dorothy Gale convinces Ozma to allow them to live in Oz. Dorothy shows Aunt Em and Uncle Henry the land of Oz, but Dorothy and Ozma are unaware that the Nome King is amassing an army to invade. This is one of the better Oz books. Essentially it is full of short stories due the travels of Dorothy, Aunt Em, and Uncle Henry. The format allowed Baum to introduce multiple strange characters and use his style of word play to explain the oddities pro...more

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Nov 28, 2008

Wils Cain rated it

· review of another edition

Emerald City is under attack and the usual cast of characters comes together to defend the city and the princess. The bad guys come together as well as three evil groups figure out how to get passed the desert and into the city.

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About L. Frank Baum

Lyman Frank Baum was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator W. W. Denslow, of one of the most popular books in American children's literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, better known today as simply The Wizard of Oz. He wrote thirteen sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and a plethora of other works (55 novels in total, 82 short stor...more

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Quotes from The Emerald City of Oz

“To be angry once in a while is really good fun, because it makes others so miserable. But to be angry morning, noon and night, as I am, grows monotonous and prevents my gaining any other pleasure in life.” — 7 people liked it

“Now then, Mr. Crab," said the zebra, "here are the people I told you about; and they know more than you do, who live in a pool, and more than I do, who live in a forest. For they have been travelers all over the world, and know every part of it."
"There's more of the world than Oz," declared the crab, in a stubborn voice.
"That is true," said Dorothy; "but I used to live in Kansas, in the United States, and I've been to California and to Australia--and so has Uncle Henry."
"For my part," added the Shaggy Man, "I've been to Mexico and Boston and many other foreign countries."
"And I," said the Wizard, "have been to Europe and Ireland."
"So you see," continued the zebra, addressing the crab, "here are people of real consequence, who know what they are talking about.” — 1 person liked it

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The Emerald City of Oz (Oz #6)

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