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Oz #3

Ozma of Oz

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1907

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About the author

L. Frank Baum

2,982 books2,722 followers
also wrote under the names:
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald


Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,434 reviews
Profile Image for Jason Koivu.
Author 7 books1,387 followers
April 15, 2014
The original title for this was...Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, Tik-Tok, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein.

You gotta think Baum was just fucking with his readers at this point.

L. Frank Baum: Full-Time Author, Part-Time Prick
description

This time around Dorothy is on a voyage to Australia to help soothe her Uncle Henry's rattled nerves (running a farm with hair-brain, heartless, cowardly help will do that to you!) when a storm washes her overboard. She ends up in a fairyland, as per usual, and from there her journey takes her on an adventure, which does not quite live up to the epic nature of the well-known film, The Wizard of Oz, but is entertaining nonetheless.

Along the way she meets many interesting and fun new characters like Tik-Tok the wind-up machine, a many-headed princess, the subterranean Nome King, and my favorite, Billina the smart and sassy talking chicken. As that ridiculously long subtitle suggests, Dorothy also reunites with her old pals from her previous adventures.

The story drags occasionally and the plot is not masterly. Seldom does the action near nail-biting excitement. It's Baum's inventive character creations that are the real draw. He's also good at sprinkling into his dialogue some clever double entendre and light gibes, though his intended victims probably barely smarting from the ineffectual attacks.

Baum knew his audience was young and female, and while his stories can be enjoyed by all, there is definitely a feminine leaning. The female:male ratio of characters is heavily in favor of women, or more specifically, girls. The main character is a girl. The rulers of the fairylands tend to be princesses. The wizards are often women and, you may recall, the one male wizard turned out to be a fraud! Quite frankly I think this is a refreshing kind of world-building for its time!


Rating Note: This feels more like 3.5 stars.
1,197 reviews159 followers
July 1, 2021
The best of a great series

Though I first read this book about 70 years ago, it still remains one of the best books I have ever read. Adults may feel that it is a kid's book, and of course it is perfect for kids, but believe me, it can be enjoyed by people of any age. All you need is love of a good story. It takes you away from taxes, worries about high blood sugar, lying politicians and pandemics. I have read it many times throughout my life. For many years Ozma was my heroine--I dreamed that I would meet her somehow, somehow be transported like Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Though these dreams faded, I still often think that this book might be my favorite book of all time. Dorothy's new adventures, the rescue expedition from Oz that crosses the Deadly Desert, and the spooky confrontation between good and evil in the caverns of the Nome King. Transformations into ornaments and a heroic chicken, a vain princess with many heads (don't you see them on TV nowadays?). The Oz characters have accompanied me through life and inspired me to venture afar. I did so, traveling all around the world, though I never met a talking scarecrow or the Nome King. Dorothy was brave and Ozma, beautiful and kind. I never wanted to close the book. The end.
Profile Image for Dannii Elle.
2,299 reviews1,820 followers
December 28, 2021
This is the third instalment in the Oz series.

This begun in a similar fashion to the infamous first series instalment - with a natural disaster that transports our protagonist to a different magical world. This new world she sets about exploring is the fairy realm of Ev, neighbour to the wonderful world of Oz. Dorothy is also accompanied by a talking hen, rather than the lovable Toto for companionship, on her travels.

Despite these early similarities, and the smattering of already introduced characters that reappear, this felt like enough of its own story not to be confused, or appear as a copy, of the beloved former. I can't accurately assess why it did not wholly work for me, however. It was a brief yet fun and magical read yet I did not feel any pressing need to continue with the story at any juncture. Perhaps it was due to my lacklustre feelings towards Dorothy herself, or maybe it is time to end my own adventures alongside her, here.
Profile Image for Obsidian.
3,187 reviews1,124 followers
February 25, 2015
I like the fact that L. Frank Baum wrote this book to appeal to all of his young fans who wanted to know what happened to Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion after book two in the series.

For those who have not read books 1 and 2, please note that some details below will contain spoilers about those books.

I only gave this book 4 stars though, mainly because the character of Dorothy just bugged me throughout. Also this book dragged a lot, unlike with book one and two I had a hard time just reading this one straight through. This is still a really good fairy tale though some of the subject matter I thought was probably a bit too old for most kids to be reading about.

The story begins with Dorothy and her Uncle Henry on a trip to Australia to visit some of their relatives there. I had so many thoughts here at this point.

One, why in the world did Aunt Em not get to come along. I know that it was said that Aunt Em stayed behind to run the farm, but Kansas and Australia in the 1900s was a very long sea voyage apart. So it was bewildering that Uncle Henry set off on such a journey without his wife.

Two, how old is Dorothy? We get the idea that time has passed since book one, but I still don't think that Baum has ever said her age. She's always referred to as a little girl. She definitely speaks like one.

We eventually get to Dorothy being blown overboard and she meets Billina the Hen. I actually thought that Dorothy had some nerve changing Billina's name from Bill to Billina because "Bill is a boy's name." Reading further along and seeing how Billina didn't suffer fools, I am surprised she didn't tell Dorothy to get over it.

How dreadful! exclaimed Dorothy, in a shocked voice.
What is dreadful? asked the hen, lifting her head to gaze with one bright eye at her companion.
Why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly ants. You ought to be 'SHAMED of yourself!


I do love how Billina calls out Dorothy for her hypocrisy since humans eat things that were one alive and eat animals that do eat bugs. I would have also asked her so you live on a farm right? You have never seen hens and roosters eating bugs? Did you think we survived on sunshine and air?

Dorothy comes across trees that contain lunch and dinner pails and seriously I want to find those trees and plant some of them in my backyard.

We then have Dorothy and Billina meeting the strange people called the Wheelers and coming across Tiktok the Machine Man. I think it is kind of cool that L. Frank Baum pretty much describes a robot. Remember that this book was written in 1907.

Eventually the threesome depart and come across the niece of the late King of Ev who sold his family to the Nome King. The niece is the Princess of Langwidere who has 30 heads....I don't know why but the whole thing with the Princess of Langwidere creeped me out.

Dorothy and her friends after being locked out are eventually rescued by the Princess of Ozma and her group and that is when the action at least starts to pick up.

Every time I try to picture the Princess of Oz I can't stop laughing though.



We do get a lot of scenes with the Scarecrow acting even less intelligent than usual and the Cowardly Lion has picked up a friend called the Hungry Tiger whose constantly lamenting about how nothing can fill him up got tiresome after the first dozen times.

We do find out that Ozma of Oz came to the Kingdom of Ev to free the former queen and princes and princesses from the Nome King after they were sold to the Nome King. At this point I was 45 percent in the book and was surprised that it took this long for Baum to actually get to the bare bones of the book.

The interaction that the group had with the Nome King was interesting and that was probably the only time in the whole book that I thought the action really picked up and everything flowed together much more smoothly than in the other sections. I think that Baum was playing this book more for laughs than anything else since we had everyone at one time or another showing how not intelligent they were. After the first few times it was funny, after that I was groaning out loud and mumbling get on with it.

We eventually get to our happily ever after but we have to have the whole group travel back to the Emerald City where Dorothy gets to meet old and new friends alike.

There is one passage in the book that explains what happened to the character Jinjur who was a major character in book two. This whole passage made me cringe inwardly. I know that Baum was probably going for laughs, but I didn't chuckle at all. I felt like Baum was one making fun of women who could possibly want more than just being married to define them. And I thought him turning Jinjur into a husband beater was just bad form. I liked that Jinjur and her Army actually went and took down the Kingdom of Oz. I wasn't thrilled that their main reason to do so was so that they could get jewels for bracelets and to sell for gowns though.

I've married a man who owns nine cows, said Jinjur to Ozma and now I am happy and contented and willing to lead a quiet life and mind my own business.


Yep, cause when we women get married that's it. We are therefore happy and have no ambitions at all.

Where is your husband? asked Ozma.
He is in the house nursing a black eye, replied Jinjur calmly.
The foolish man would insist upon milking the red cow when I wanted him to milk the white one; but he will know better next time, I am sure.



The book ends and since readers already know that there are 14 Oz books, you know that Dorothy and crew have many adventures awaiting them in Oz.
Profile Image for Suhailah.
394 reviews20 followers
June 29, 2024
◇ The 3rd installment of the Oz Series ◇

This was so much fun! My favorite so far of the series! ♡

I loved the introduction of all the new characters (even though I ended up recognizing all of them from the 1985 dark fantasy Disney movie Return to Oz!). TikTok, the machine; Billina, the talking hen; the wheelers; the princess with the head collection*; and of course the villain, the Nome King!! I was so surprised at how many references the movie used from this book plus some from the 2nd book. I loved it!!! We also get a quick reunion with a major character from book 2 – Jinjur which was a bit odd probably simply due to the time era the book was written in.

*The princess with the head collection still creeps me out! It was the most terrifying scene in the movie, too!

The plot was very simple, but I didn’t mind it at all! It was still quick-paced and brought back so much nostalgia for me. ♡ I loved the little twist at the end and who really ended up saving everyone! It was all so very creative. I also really loved Dorothy’s outcome. It makes me super excited for future books! There will definitely be more adventures to come in Oz!

Favorite idea from this story: the dinner pail tree!! With the high costs of food, I would love to have one growing in my backyard!

I’m having surgery on Monday, so I was relieved to have a light, comfy, and relaxing read to turn to before bed every night! I’m so happy L. Frank Baum kept returning to the world of Oz to satisfy his young readers! I can’t wait to continue with the series.
Profile Image for TJ.
1,006 reviews123 followers
June 14, 2016
So im reading all the Oz books plus the side books but feeling a little sick so review to come when i'm feeling better
Profile Image for Paul.
2,617 reviews20 followers
September 27, 2018
Dorothy returns to Oz (she wasn't in book two) and meets all the new characters from the last book and catches up with all her friends from book one.

I love this one and was a little scared of the Wheelers and the Nomes when I first had it read to me as a child. With my adult eyes, they're not so scary. Honest.

I've rated this 5 stars to stop my five-year-old self travelling through time to beat the poop out of me but I did have one slight problem with this book: whatever happened to the Cowardly Lion's courage?!
Profile Image for Doug.
85 reviews68 followers
February 3, 2020
I’m going to keep reading these books, just because I love the whimsical and colorful world of Oz that L. Frank Baum paints on each page of his stories, but I think it’s clear with this one he may have experienced a bit of writers fatigue, if you want to call it that.

Barely any of the story takes place in Oz - it takes place in another land that I’ve already forgotten the name of. In this case I wish Oz had been featured again - these books are the Oz books, after all. Baum seems to have the strange habit of adding seven or eight new characters to his books, but also needs to include all of the previous characters from his other books - Jinjur, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, etc. It makes for a story that each time feels a little weaker and more dependent on the previous ones.

All in all though, I love the world of Oz. It’s tough to find another book series with a world quite like this one. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books and I’m confident that Baum still has some good, wholesome stories hidden up his sleeve.
Profile Image for Allison Tebo.
Author 28 books462 followers
August 10, 2021
Frank Baum was a true storyteller and romped with such freedom through his fictional tales it never fails to bring a smile to my face. Here’s our heroine (and our very sassy barnyard companion) wandering around on a desert island, dodging Wheelers and looking for food and—presto!—there’s a tree brimming with shiny dinner pails, bursting with good old-fashioned American food! Baum waves his fist and laughs at the idea of trying to write a “serious work” and, consequently, we have some of the most enduring children’s fiction of all time. The sheer zaniness of Dorothy’s adventure in the land of Ev delight me ever single time. From the quirkiness of Billina the chicken to the enchanting (and hilarious) kingdom of the gnomes, Ozma of Oz is a rollicking gold story that is sure to capture you.
Profile Image for Joe.
189 reviews104 followers
August 4, 2020
The first book in the Oz series (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) is a dark fairy-tale featuring hordes of monsters, gruesome battles and a series of heroes each with a lesson to learn.

The second book (The Marvelous Land of Oz) is a clever comedy full of wry wordplay and silly situations.

In Ozma of Oz, the third book in the series, Frank Baum shows off another genre held within his legendary land. This story is built more like a mystery by way of a shipwreck adventure. Dorothy returns to the lands of magic, this time after going overboard during a family trip to Australia. She spends the first section of her journey alone but for her talking hen Billina, neither of them knowing where they are or how they'll survive.

This sense of mystery and unknown peril persists for the first half of the novel, as Dorothy faces down the a legion of creepy 'wheelers' and the imperious Princess Langwidere (who keeps a collection of heads that she changes into to suit her mood.) Fortunately, Dorothy befriends a kindly, capable robot named Tik Tok (who normally spends his days making minute-long dance videos.) Tik Tok keeps Dorothy safe while she keeps him active by turning the key that winds his clockwork gears.

Eventually Ozma, the queen of Oz, show ups with her massive retinue to explain the situation and set-up the 2nd half conflict. If this sounds abrupt that's because it is. It turns out the wicked Gnome King is behind the disappearance of the rightful local ruling family and it's up to Ozma and company to save them and restore the proper order.

I won't go too much into who the Gnome King is and what his insidious plans are, but a rough descriptions is he's like if Rumpelstiltskin was a fascist. The way he ensnare his victims and holds them trapped forever involves quite a clever scheme. Unfortunately, his eventual defeat at the hands of our heroes proves arbitrary, and the mysteries promised in the early chapters never come together in a satisfying way.

So if you like the sound of this grand, mysterious adventure, I'd suggest checking out Return to Oz, a Disney movie from 1985 based on this book. It's scarier, weirder and bears a more cohesive version of the story. But whatever road you take to Oz, know that it stretches on for many miles... I still have 10 more books to cover after all.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
102 reviews26 followers
June 18, 2009
I just finished reading Ozma of Oz, third book in the Oz series by L. Frank Baum. There was a funny quote near the end. Ozma, speaking to Dorothy, says, "You see, in this country are a number of youths who do not like to work, and the college is an excellent place for them." There are a number of such youths in our country today!

I like the Oz books quite a bit so far, although I was a little distracted by the way Dorothy spoke in this book, leaving out vowels all over the place, pronouncing words like "b'lieve" and "prob'ly." I do not remember her speaking this way in the first book. But it's not a big deal you get used to it by the end of the book.

Dorothy makes a new friend, Tik-Tok, who is considered the first robot to appear in modern literature, although he's not called a robot. I think he's described as a machine man. But for early 1900s, I'm impressed with all the technology Baum imagines up. It's an example of how fantasy easily blurs with the genre of sci-fi.

Another funny thing in the book is the army Ozma brings with her. There's 26 or so officers that are in command over one private, and Baum pokes fun at this military parody throughout the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, although I think you should read the previous Oz books first. It is a book that can stand on it's own, for Baum refers to the occurances of the previous stories briefly to give the reader the background she needs. I'm looking forward to reading the next segment of the Oz series.
Profile Image for L.S. Popovich.
Author 2 books443 followers
November 23, 2021
Very much in line with the film, Return to Oz, a personal favorite of mine. Rife with weird objets d'art and dramatic situations void of any real danger. The underground fortress and faint-hearted exploration were reminiscent of Narnia, which is to say I was entertained and sometimes absorbed. It boils down to a rather simple but effective fantasy story, magical enough, if regarded through the uncircumspect eyes of childhood. I may continue through this infinitely nostalgic series, zipping through the audiobooks. The world effectively resides in my psyche now, so that I might visit Oz in my spare moments, only slightly distracted by the haphazard nature of this creative paradise.
Profile Image for Rissa.
1,556 reviews44 followers
April 12, 2020
Very strange but what else was i expecting? We follow Dorothy Gale on a new adventure with similar friends and a Hen.
Inevitably Dorothy wants to go home in the end because she misses her family but she will always remember the fun and joys she had with all her new friends.
Profile Image for Amy.
799 reviews165 followers
September 24, 2014
This is my favorite Oz book so far and would make an amazing movie. It makes me a little sad that kids aren't still reading this series and that the internet isn't filled with Ozma kitch. If I dressed like Ozma for Halloween, would anyone recognize me? I'm guessing not, and that makes me a little sad.

The book starts with Dorothy and a yellow hen surviving a shipwreck by riding a chicken coop to shore. Upon landing, the (previously ordinary) yellow hen becomes enchanted and begins to talk. The first thing the hungry companions encounter is the most magnificent tree in the world: a lunchbox tree.

Among the companions, acquaintances, and foes Dorothy meet along the way are a wind-up copper robot named Tiktok, a princess who likes to wear a different head for every occasion, and a Very Hungry Tiger. How hungry is the tiger? Very hungry indeed. I laughed myself silly at the conversation Dorothy has when she first meets the Very Hungry Tiger, mainly because it is uncomfortably horrible (much like the macabre story of how Nick Chopper turned into the Tin Woodsman):
"Oh! Are you hungry?" she asked, turning to the other beast, who was just then yawning so widely that he displayed two rows of terrible teeth and a mouth big enough to startle anyone.

"Dreadfully hungry," answered the Tiger, snapping his jaws together with a fierce click.

"Then why don't you eat something?" she asked. ...

"But you eat harmless things, so it doesn't matter," replied the Tiger. "For my part, I'm a savage beast, and have an appetite for all sorts of poor little living creatures, from a chipmonk to fat babies. ...Fat babies! Don't they sound delicious? But I've never eaten any, because my conscience tells me it is wrong. If I had no conscience I would probably eat the babies and then get hungry again, which would mean that I had sacrificed the poor babies for nothing. No; hungry I was born, and hungry I shall die. But I'll not have any cruel deeds on my conscience to be sorry for."


The best part of the story comes when Dorothy and friends try to release the Queen and royal children of Ev from the enchantment of the evil Nome King who has turned them all into palace ornaments. Dorothy, her companions, and all the members of Ozma's small army go in one-by-one to try to guess which of the Nome King's ornaments were once people. The one caveat is that if a person doesn't get any of the guesses correct (which is the usual case), they also turn into palace ornaments.

Oh, I love this book. I hope the rest of the series is as delightful. Onward now to Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (Oz, #4) by L. Frank Baum Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz which starts with an earthquake. Now I'm wondering if every book featuring Dorothy is going to start with a disaster: first a tornado, then a shipwreck, then an earthquake.
Profile Image for DivaDiane SM.
1,169 reviews117 followers
November 11, 2024
I really enjoyed rereading this book. I’m sure I read it when I was about 10. I read all of the Oz books, but I remember zero details. Perhaps because the book isn’t actually about Ozma. She doesn’t even show up until halfway through, and then she doesn’t do much either. The story takes place in Ev, a land separated from Oz by an impassable desert (that later turns out to be passable, but only with the help of magic). Dorothy and a new friend end up there after they get washed off the ship taking them to Australia (Oz - haha!) with Uncle Henry. They have a series of adventures and eventually Ozma shows up. Then they have more adventures, including a puzzle to work out.

I discovered belatedly, that Ozma’s story of being turned into a boy as an infant and living as one until she was an adolescent, when she undergoes another transformation is actually in the 2nd book in the series, The Marvelous Land of Oz, which I now have to go back and reread. Silly me, thinking “Ozma of Oz” would actually be about Ozma.
Profile Image for Marley.
128 reviews134 followers
August 12, 2007
Still loopy but a tad darker. Again, haven't read this in ages; if anything, I remember it better from the cult classic Return to Oz movie, which made for an interesting comparison.

But this one gives you lots of fun with Dorothy and the delightful queen Ozma, not to mention an intrepid hen given powers of speech by transition to the fairylands, one of the most Grimm's-ian villains yet with the Nome King and his dangerous guessing game, and my deep and abiding favorite Tik-Tok, whose wind-up personality has a lot more fun to it than he admits--not to mention the endless bickering between the Tin Man and the Scarecrow over who's better off than the poor mechanical fellow (Brains! a heart! etc).

It's no wonder this is a lot of people's favorite, and I won't argue with it. Might like the pure bizarreness of Marvelous Land a hair better, but that's a matter of taste.
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,824 reviews248 followers
March 8, 2019
Dorothy Gale returns in this third entry in L. Frank Baum's Oz series, after her notable absence in the second volume, The Marvelous Land of Oz . Traveling with her Uncle Henry to Australia, the Kansas farm-girl is lost at sea during a terrible storm, washed overboard in a chicken coop which serves as an impromptu raft. Together with Billina, a talking hen who is also aboard the coop/raft, Dorothy eventually washes up on the shore of the Land of Ev, a magical country located not far from Oz. Here girl and hen confront the Wheelers - a gang of bullies with wheels instead of hands and feet - rescue a mechanical man named Tiktok from his rocky prison, and earn the severe displeasure of the Princess Langwidere, ruling in place of the true royal family of Ev, who are being held captive by the Gnome King. With Dorothy made a prisoner, Tiktok immobilized, and Billina slated for the dinner table, matters look grim, until Ozma of Oz and her entourage arrive, using a magical carpet to traverse the seemingly impassable desert separating Oz and Ev. After a council of war, Ozma and her companions - the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, Hungry Tiger, and a number of fairly useless army officers, as well as Dorothy and Billina - set out to rescue the royal family of Ev from captivity.

Despite its title, Ozma of Oz is a book which, like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , has as its main heroine Dorothy Gale, who once again finds herself transported to enchanted realms by severe acts of nature. I enjoyed meeting up with Dorothy again, and found Billina, although an unlikely companion, actually quite appealing as a character, with her tart retorts, and practical sangfroid in the face of astonishing adventures. Ozma of Oz has always been one of my favorites of the Oz series, partly because I feel the story works so well overall - although a distinct pleasure of my youth, there is no denying that some of the stories in the Oz series feel a little bit scattered, almost as if they were travelogues, with an endless supply of new characters, rather than significant development of existing ones - and partly because of some of the more memorable incidents. Princess Langwidere's cabinet of heads has certainly stuck with me over the years, as has Billina's triumph, in discovering the Gnome King's secret, and using it to free the royal family of Ev. As always, the artwork here is gorgeous! I particularly like the portrait of Ozma at the beginning of the book, and then the plate in which she and her entourage are crossing the desert. The latter is undoubtedly the inspiration for the subsequent Del Rey paperback cover-art. However that may be, this is an entertaining and fantastical story, one of the strongest in the series. I recommend it to any child who enjoys whimsical adventures, with the proviso that they really must read the first two Oz books beforehand.
Profile Image for Kurt Reichenbaugh.
Author 5 books77 followers
December 15, 2019
Sailing across the ocean to Australia with her Uncle Henry, Dorothy is blown overboard in a storm. Luckily she finds safety in a floating chicken coop of all things and rides out the storm with a hen named Billina (really named Bill, but Dorothy insists that "Bill" is not a fitting name for a hen!) who can talk. Together they wash ashore in a strange land of angry shouting creatures known as Wheelers. Escaping from the angry Wheelers, Dorothy finds Tik-Tok, a mechanical man who requires winding up in order to move, talk and think. Tik-Tok informs Dorothy that she's in the Land of Ev, separated from Oz by an inhospitable desert. In Ev they meet Princess Langwidere, who has a collection of 30 heads that she changes each day. After refusing to trade her own head for one of the Princess's cast off heads Dorothy is thrown into a tower as a prisoner. Meanwhile, Ozma of Oz (first appearing in book two of the series) crosses the desert into Ev thanks to a magic carpet provided by Glinda, the Good Witch. Along with Ozma are our old friends The Scarecrow, The Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, his pal a perpetually Hungry Tiger, and an army of twenty nine officers and one private. The private, of course, is required for the officers to have someone to order around. They're in Ev to rescue the Queen of Ev from the Nome King who rules the underground. This book is a lot of fun, and builds on the world created in the first two books.
Profile Image for Lydia Presley.
1,387 reviews114 followers
December 30, 2010
Shortly into reading Ozma of Oz I started having strange flashbacks. You know those kind of flashbacks when parts of your youth you have forgotten come creeping in and making you think.. did this happen or was it deja vu?

Turns out - it did happen! This book was the biggest influence on Disney's 1985 movie, Return to Oz. I knew the changing heads woman was something I hadn't thought up of on my own!

So, once my curiosity was appeased I settled in to enjoy the wildly fun ride Ozma of Oz gave me. And oh, what fun it was.

This book has everything - from old friends to new, such as the fun Tik-Tok (whom I fell in love with). And you can't forget the private (because the 26 officers need someone to boss around). I giggled, laughed and felt like a child again. I thoroughly enjoyed Billina, the smart hen that.. well, when you read the book you'll know what she does.

I think this is exactly how fairy-tales should be written - full of fun, magic, talking chickens, mechanical objects and happy endings.
Profile Image for Greg.
2,183 reviews17 followers
April 2, 2017
I believe what makes a great children's classic is that it can be read by anyone at any age and be enjoyable. I found the first book in this series amazingly creative. And I liked the second volume, as the author emphasizes such political issues as equality for all. But for me, this one was specifically written for children, as it all seems rather silly. Baum brings back the original characters, including Dorothy, just to bring them back to his audience but not in service to a good story. That's not necessarily a bad thing: still, this entry to the series feels, well, childish.
Profile Image for Joni.
121 reviews2 followers
August 8, 2014
I have to say I was quite disappointed with this book. The storyline and characters were just as good as ever - Billina the chicken is perfectly adorable! However, Dorothy makes a reappearance in this book, and it seems that she has made some major regression in her ability to speak proper English. I think Auntie Em should be concerned enough to have a developmental evaluation and consider some interventions. Seriously, though, my only guess is that Baum chooses to have Dorothy speak poor English (poorly constructed sentences and many abbreviated words with apostrophes cutting out letters or syllables) to convey that she is a child. However, this is bothersome to me on several levels. First of all, she spoke perfectly good English in book 1, and we had no problem understanding that she is a child. Second, being young does not excuse poor grammar, and I don't like the heroes of books being shown as a model of not speaking properly. (Side note: This is my major complaint with the Junie B. Jones books and why I don't encourage my first grader to read them.) Third, since the intended audience in the book is children, I would expect that the unorthodox words would make it harder for them to read, therefore making the book less accessible to them. So I fervently hope that Dorothy has an intellectual awakening before the fourth book, or I may not be able to continue the whole series the way I had intended to.
Profile Image for booklady.
2,678 reviews99 followers
March 23, 2024
Princess or Queen Ozma was introduced to us in the previous book and Dorothy makes a comeback here as Baum’s fans had clamored so much for her! I concur; having Dorothy and her down-to-earth Kansas common sense lends just the right touch of reality to this sweet fantasy. Baum manages, as most other fairy tale authors do not, to stay just inside the ‘not too scary’ in his villains while still making them disagreeable and quirky, yet more to be pitied than feared*. All of the characters he invents—so far—show his skill; then how he blends the various characters’ abilities and limitations makes the story take on its own ‘Oz’ flavor as well as teaching his readers to note and remember individual differences. We are never in doubt that our band of heroes will come out on top, which is what timid and squeamish young readers want to know, but there is still that unknown element of HOW they will do it which is not clear. And a few surprises thrown in. Just plain fun reading. On to the next one!

This has been my favorite, so far!

*Each villain has his/her fatal flaw/weakness which shows vulnerability. Very important!
Profile Image for Jesus Flores.
2,523 reviews59 followers
June 11, 2025
Esta entretenido, acá vemos un país distinto a Oz, al inicio empezamos con Dorothy, y el personaje de Billina que es una maravilla de personaje.
La luego aparece Ozma y más personajes, y pues si tiene el mismo feeling que los libros anteriores

4 stars
Profile Image for Philip.
1,723 reviews105 followers
June 28, 2019
Okay, so I know I'm gonna piss off a lot of people here, but bear with me...

I never read the Oz books as a child, so have none of the nostalgic foundation a lot of my GR friends do. So other than the infamous MGM movie, my first exposure was just a month or two ago with the thoroughly delightful Eric Shanower/Skottie Young MARVEL graphic updates, (of which I have already bought a set to share with my someday-grandchildren). So THAT is where I am completely coming from here.

So...having finished the MARVEL series, I decided to read one of the original stories just for comparison, and picked up Ozma because that and The Wonderful Wizard were my favorites. And I have to say that - again, coming with no previous history here - IMHO they have not aged well, at least in the original. Yes, they are charming and imaginative inventions, so definitely deserving of a good remake. But Baum's writing style is extremely dated, and Neill's illustrations in many cases frankly creeped me out. The Wheelers are scary in a purely WTF way, as is the picture of the rock wall full of Nomes. Ozma herself looks like a Maxfield Parrish outtake, and I'm pretty sure Dorothy stepped right out of "The Shining."

So in the end, I just came away with an even greater respect for the Shanower/Young redos. I hadn't realized when I first read them, but the dialogue is all lifted virtually straight from the book, although MARVEL thankfully spares us Baum's verbal tics, where Dorothy sounds like a real hick with her endless use of "immed'i'tly" and "pss'bly" and "tel'phones," and Tiktok wears out his welcome after just one page of hy-phen-a-ting e-ve-ry frick-in ut-ter-rance, be-cause he is a mech-an-i-cal man...WE GET IT.

So looks like I'm really done with Oz this time - until I pick up and look through one of the MARVEL books again...Young's drawings REALLY are a joy.
Profile Image for Mary Catelli.
Author 54 books202 followers
December 17, 2021
Book 3

The adventures continue! Not quite so charming. . . despite the title, it opens with Dorothy being swept off at sea, and meeting the chicken Bill in the morning, when she lays an egg -- and talks. Dorothy renames her Billina, and they set out on an island they find.

The tree of lunchpails and dinnerpails reveal, on top of Billina's voice, that they have gotten to magical lands.

Subsequent adventures turn on a clockwork man, the king of the land's bargain with the king of the Nomes (Baum believed in phonetic spelling), Ozma arriving over what is now the deadly sands of the Deadly Desert in one of the series' continuity glitches and rescuing Dorothy from a princess, the honesty of the Nome king's offer, discussions of bargains, and more.
Profile Image for Sukriti .
3,358 reviews1 follower
October 15, 2023
"Ozma of Oz" by L. Frank Baum is the delightful third installment in the Oz series. In this enchanting tale, Dorothy finds herself back in the magical land of Oz, facing new challenges and making new friends. The story is filled with whimsical characters and imaginative adventures, making it a captivating read for all ages. Baum's vivid descriptions and creative storytelling transport readers to a world of wonder. While the plot may be simple, the book's charm lies in its imaginative landscapes and memorable characters, making it a classic that continues to enchant readers with its timeless magic.
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