L. Frank Baum and his Wonderful Land of Oz

When you think of The Wizard of Oz, do you think of the classic movie or the book?  I always used to think of the movie.

When we first embarked on this wonderful reading journey, thanks to Alice Ozma (The Reading Promise) and her father, I had no idea there was more than just The Wizard of Oz.  After reading The Reading Promise, we learned that there are 14 books in the Land of Oz Series.  I read The Wizard of Oz to my daughter and a couple of years later to my son.  My son and I decided to continue with the series.  We have just finished all 14!  All the stories are different, but all have the unifying theme of love, friendship, and adventure.  We met so many interesting characters.  My favorite was H.M. Wogglebug T.E. (highly magnified, and T.E. because he was found in a college classroom and is therefore thoroughly educated) and the Patchwork Girl (or Scraps because she is made of scraps of fabric).  My son’s favorites were Tik Tok (a mechanical friend that Dorothy and her friend Billina find in the Land of Ev) and Button Bright (a little boy everyone loves, but who always seems to get lost from the group). 
And, of course, there is Princess Ozma.  If you only read The Wizard of Oz (the 1^st in the series) you will never know her.  She is the Princess of all of Oz, everyone admires her.  She is a beautiful young woman with a heart as big as the Land of Oz. There are so many more in each of the books.  Sometimes Dorothy and the Wizard are in the story, sometimes the Cowardly Lion or the Tin Man or Scarecrow appear.  What remains with each new character and each new book is the friendship, camaraderie, and love amongst all of them.

What a treat it has been to read these books and get to know these characters.  Some were better than others, but we are happy that we read all of them.  And, my son has read an additional 14 books over the last year or so! 

Happy Reading!📚💕

Here is a list of all the Oz books.

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz      1900
• The Marvelous Land of Oz           1904
• Ozma of Oz                                      1907
• Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz    1908
• The Road to Oz                                1909
• The Emerald City of Oz                 1910
• The Patchwork Girl of Oz             1913
• Tik Tok of Oz                                   1914
• The Scarecrow of Oz                     1915
• Rinkitink in Oz                               1916
• The Lost Princess of Oz                1917
• The Tin Woodman of Oz              1918
• The Magic of Oz                             1919
• Glinda of Oz                                    1920