Penguin Classics has put together three Oz books under one cover: The Wizard of Oz; The Emerald City of Oz; and Glinda of Oz. These are NOT the first three books in the Oz series. They are the first, the 7th, and the 14th (the last written by Baum). I’m not entirely sure why we get these specific three books – I thought I had read an explanation, but if I did, I can’t seem to find it.

Editor and folklore specialist Jack Zipes provides a really great Introduction, giving us a snapshot of L. Frank Baum and how and why he came to writing the fourteen books in the Oz series between 1900 and 1920. This brief biography is worth the price of the book.

I’ve read and reviewed the first book years ago, but I’ve copied (and edited/updated) it here.

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

So many people think they know this book because they are so familiar with the classic MGM movie. Of course there really is so much more in the book that it might surprise people.

I have a very distinctive memory of when I first read this book in January 0f 1969. I was home from school for a snow day, bored, and I read this entire book in one day. It was the first actual novel I’d read in one sitting.

The book doesn’t seem to have the same excitement or energy that the movie has. However, I read this book aloud twice now. Once to my daughter, and once to my two boys. Each time it managed to hold my children’s interest – and they have seen the movie as well. They’ve all agreed that we should consider reading book two in the series.

I can see where this easily would have/could have been the Harry Potter of it’s day. Chock full of fantastic people and places and things. This definitely has a high, creative, fantasy element. But I often felt that we got something creative just for the sake of ‘adventure’ or even for the sake of creativity, rather than for moving the story forward.

The most recent edition that I’ve read is annotated and it was interesting to note how Baum was commenting on social and political mores of his time which explains some of the random-seeming scenes.

More people ought to read this classic.

4 stars

THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ

Things are looking bleak (even bleaker than normal) in Kansas, where Uncle Henry is likely to lose the farm. Dorothy makes contact with Ozma and gets transported back to Oz for good. She convinces Ozma to bring her aunt and uncle to Oz as well. Oz is pretty strange territory for good, American plains folk, but Dorothy takes her family on a tour of the country, meeting all sorts of odd characters.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the land of Oz, the Nome King is preparing for an invasion of the Emerald City where he plans to enslave of all of Oz’s citizens and destroy the country. He’s got a tunnel that will lead his army right up to the gardens of the palace. Ozma gets wind of the plan, but not until quite late and, worse yet, has no magic that will defeat the Nome King. This is going to take some serious thinking … someone with a lot of good brains is going to need to figure a way to save Oz. Now who in Oz has brains…?

According to the notes in my collection for this book, author L. Frank Baum was growing a little tired of the Oz books and had every intention of making this, the sixth book in the series, the final entry. Of course we now know that this didn’t turn out to be the end. It’s a funny thing about the need to have an income and how supply and demand works….

Of the Oz books that I’ve read (maybe four of them now?) this is my least favorite. The Nome King story is slightly interesting but very one-note and repetitive. The story of Dorothy bringing her aunt and uncle to Oz is not at all interesting. They don’t have much to do and it feels very much like what it is – meeting everyone we’ve met before to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’.

Ozma does not come across very well, as far as I’m concerned. She’s a bit flighty and does not seem to have the people of Oz in mind at all.

I guess there’s a reason that the entire Oz series isn’t more popular and based on this book, I have a pretty good idea as to why. In a literary world devoid of truly fanciful stories, one can see why these were popular in their day, but they don’t hold up particularly well.

Looking for a good book? The Emerald City of Oz, the sixth book in the Oz series by L. Frank Baum, was intended to be the last of the series. Perhaps it’s good that it was not because it wouldn’t have ended on a very high note.

2 stars

GLINDA OF OZ

Glinda of Oz … the 14th and final book in the Oz series, written by L. Frank Baum. Once again Baum has decided that he’s had enough with the series and he’ll finally put it to rest. This time he was right, though, as he died not long after this was published.

Life in Oz appears idyllic, thanks in large part to Princess Ozma’s compassionate rule. But words comes to Ozma that in some of the most remote reaches of Oz, two tribes – the Flatheads and the Skeezers – are preparing for war against each other. Taking her trusted advisor, Dorothy Gale, with her, Ozma travels to remote Oz to see if she can broker peace.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads is set on a war. Ozma hopes that Queen Coo-ee-oh of the Skeezers will be more reasonable. The Skeezers Queen captures Ozma and Dorothy and traps them in the submersing city.

Glinda the Good comes to the rescue, gathering all sorts of friends and acquaintances of both Dorothy’s and Glinda’s.

This definitely feels like a final book. I haven’t read the entire series, but everyone I’ve ever read about in the series, and a few others, make an appearance. It’s like a 1920’s version of The Love Boat – lots of guest star appearances!

Although the plot is relatively simple, I really liked the submersible city concept. If we’ve seen it before in the series I am not aware of it, but it’s worthy of being seen in more than just this one book. (Perhaps another author has picked up on this concept within the series?) Glinda’s solution to rescuing Dorothy and Ozma is clever.

In addition to a finale feel, this also had some of the most fantasy elements which I quite enjoyed. This definitely has me interested in reading the entire series. It is a little bit ‘simple’ – but if we bear in mind the target audience (as well as the era in which it was written) it holds up quite nicely.

Looking for a good book? L. Frank Baum’s final book in the Oz series, Glinda of Oz, is a delightful children’s fantasy, but start at the beginning and enjoy the entire series.

4 stars

This collection:

In regards to this volume which includes the three books reviewed above… I’m not entirely convinced that selecting these three books in particular is the best choice. I can understand the reasoning – Baum’s first, and then two ‘final’ editions – but we miss so much.

Editor and scholar Jack Zipes provides a lot of historical background and lets the reader know what they might have missed in previous books. Mostly this is quite helpful. I did get a bit tired of reading about how Baum was trying to influence readers to his political views (to be fair some of this may have come from other sources I was reading while confirming what Zipes was noting).

If the scarecrow was made from a Munchkin farmer’s clothes, would the Scarecrow be Munchkin sized?

I’m glad to have read this. It never hurts to reread a classic like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz but to get to invest in two more books from the series was a joy. I do wish they were sequential, but I can solve that by going back and reading the series.

Looking for a good book? The Wizard of Oz: And Other Wonderful Books of Oz: The Emerald City of Oz and Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum and edited by Jack Zipes is a classic children’s book set that everyone should take the time to read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Books | Penguin Classics and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I love all things OZ and this book is no exception. I loved that there were three OZ books in one volume. I enjoy looking at the illustrations in this book and the cover is amazing. There is a really nice introduction as well.

I highly recommend this for any OZ fan!