Rereading: THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ by L. FRANK BAUM

Illustrated by John R. Neill

In the 1960s, I filled in my Oz book collection with then-available recent hardcovers from publisher Reilly & Lee. There are no color plates, but otherwise these are nicely printed and fun to read.

The book alternates between two main storylines. In one, the Nome King is angry about Princess Ozma of Oz taking away his Magic Belt, and vows revenge. His new general, Guph, comes up with a plan for the nomes to dig a tunnel under the Deadly Desert so they can attack the Emerald City and destroy Oz. Because Oz has powerful magic, Guph enlists the aid of evil magic beings known to the Nomes to lead the attack. Each of those beings has plans of their own to take everything.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, along with Dorothy and Toto, are about to be evicted from their farm because Uncle Henry is in debt and can’t pay his bills. Dorothy uses a signal she has arranged with Ozma to bring her to Oz, and explains the trouble. Ozma invites Henry and Em to come live in Oz forever, along with Dorothy. When the elderly couple are brought to Oz, they are amazed and frightened, but everyone is very kind, and Dorothy helps them understand it all.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book is largely taken up by one of those wandering tours to remote and little-known towns and communities in Oz taken by Dorothy and her relatives along with the Wizard and other familiar characters. The plot is not advanced, and Baum amuses himself with lots of silly characters and bad puns as they visit places and characters like Miss Cuttenclip, the Fuddles, Utensia, Bunbury and Bunnybury. Eventually they get back to the Emerald City in time to witness the fearsome attack of their enemies, who Ozma refuses to fight!

Recommended, but not one of my favorites.

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