What do you think?
Rate this book
Oz #6-10
The Emerald City of Oz: Novels Six Through Ten of the Oz Series
Lyman Frank Baum penned fourteen novels in his famous Oz chronology. The sixth, The Emerald City of Oz, was published in 1910 and introduced Aunt Em and Uncle Henry to the Land of Oz, transported there by Ozma, at Dorothy's request. This volume of Original Oz Stories is formatted not only for ease of reading, but to emulate the textual structure of that original publication.
792 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2014
25 people are currently reading
677 people want to read
About the author
L. Frank Baum
3,210 books2,764 followersalso 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 In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts.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).
* 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 In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts.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).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 13, 2020
Check out my reviews on the main page of each individual book!
May 5, 2024
"No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire."
November 9, 2019
My daughter and I are reading through all 15 Oz novels. They make good bedtime reads. Definitely quirky and a bit long-winded at times, but still enjoyable and quite imaginative.
July 5, 2022
Cute stories but really strange at times.
July 2, 2020
Check out my reviews on the main versions of each book.
May 11, 2019
6 - I quite like Henry and Em in Oz. The villains (returning) was an interesting plot too. I enjoyed this exchange about school pills: (on page 53)
“...It is easier to swallow to swallow knowledge than to acquire it laboriously from books. Is it not so, my friends?”
“Some folks can swallow anything,” said Aunt Em, “but to me this seems too much like taking medicine.”
“Young men in college always have to take their medicine, one way or another,” observed the Wizard with a smile.”
I also quite liked:
“Some of the college lecturers and ministers are certainly related to these people [who it would take a whole library to say the cow jumped over the moon]...For here, if one can’t talk clearly, and straight to the point, they send him to Rigmarole Town; while Uncle Sam lets him roam around wild and free, to torture innocent people.” (129)
7 - The patchwork girl is just annoying. (Though she was cute with the Scarecrow.) Though the phonograph makes some interesting (if dated) digs on music. It was also nice to see some story beats come full circle. The concept of the glass cat was neat. Favorite quote:
“My daughters are being brought up according to the rules and regulations laid down by a leading bachelor who has given the subject much study and is himself a man of taste and culture.” (311) Yep, that’s a man who knows how women should act.
8 - God, these characters are all boring -- not Dorothy (I don’t remember her name) and the new cast, but even the recurring ones. (I do wonder if the ugly brother was ever in fact ugly or not, which we don’t know as no one ever saw him that wasn’t biased. By a wide margin the best part of this novel was when Toto talked. After Dorothy promises he can run away if he talks, he says, “All right. Here I go.” Toto, you scamp, you.)
9 - Wow, I don’t care about any of these people.
10 - We have a plot and interesting characters that aren’t just Dorothy wannabes. I liked this story, I liked this story a lot. It was a good ending to the tales of Oz (even though there were three stories after this that I don’t think I’ll be reading).
Fun quote: “that’s the reason I’m sounding our own praise, Bilbil. Those who do the least, often shout the loudest and so get the most glory. Inga did so much that there is danger of his becoming more important than we are, and so we’d best say nothing about him.”
“...It is easier to swallow to swallow knowledge than to acquire it laboriously from books. Is it not so, my friends?”
“Some folks can swallow anything,” said Aunt Em, “but to me this seems too much like taking medicine.”
“Young men in college always have to take their medicine, one way or another,” observed the Wizard with a smile.”
I also quite liked:
“Some of the college lecturers and ministers are certainly related to these people [who it would take a whole library to say the cow jumped over the moon]...For here, if one can’t talk clearly, and straight to the point, they send him to Rigmarole Town; while Uncle Sam lets him roam around wild and free, to torture innocent people.” (129)
7 - The patchwork girl is just annoying. (Though she was cute with the Scarecrow.) Though the phonograph makes some interesting (if dated) digs on music. It was also nice to see some story beats come full circle. The concept of the glass cat was neat. Favorite quote:
“My daughters are being brought up according to the rules and regulations laid down by a leading bachelor who has given the subject much study and is himself a man of taste and culture.” (311) Yep, that’s a man who knows how women should act.
8 - God, these characters are all boring -- not Dorothy (I don’t remember her name) and the new cast, but even the recurring ones. (I do wonder if the ugly brother was ever in fact ugly or not, which we don’t know as no one ever saw him that wasn’t biased. By a wide margin the best part of this novel was when Toto talked. After Dorothy promises he can run away if he talks, he says, “All right. Here I go.” Toto, you scamp, you.)
9 - Wow, I don’t care about any of these people.
10 - We have a plot and interesting characters that aren’t just Dorothy wannabes. I liked this story, I liked this story a lot. It was a good ending to the tales of Oz (even though there were three stories after this that I don’t think I’ll be reading).
Fun quote: “that’s the reason I’m sounding our own praise, Bilbil. Those who do the least, often shout the loudest and so get the most glory. Inga did so much that there is danger of his becoming more important than we are, and so we’d best say nothing about him.”
June 10, 2021
Book Six: I really enjoyed this one. Reminded me a lot of Alice in Wonderland with the different creatures and clever word play. I was bummed that all the different people they visited didn’t come back in some way at the end. The overall story, and how it concluded, was good. It is abundantly clear Baum was done with these books. Poor guy tried so hard to make this one the last. Guess it didn’t take...
Book Seven: Another surprisingly good entry. The book had a decent MacGuffin that keeps the story moving and used the returning characters well but I also really enjoyed the new characters like Ojo and the Patchwork Girl. It’s hard to believe the quality of this book given Baum’s clear desire to move on from Oz by this point in his career.
Book Eight: another story with a decent plot that used familiar and new characters well, for the most part. It was odd that this was titled Tik-Tok of Oz as I didn’t find him to be at all central to the story. I also thought Betsy Bobbin lacked anything of interest to make her stand out. But I loved the farmers of Ooogaboo and the fun twist at the end involving Toto.
Book Nine: Another one with an odd title as the Scarecrow doesn’t enter until well into the book and isn’t that central to the story. Overall, this was one of my favorites. The story was good and it moved at a good pace. Having read Maguire’s Out of Oz simultaneously, I appreciated that this book covered some of the same geographical terrain, even if it left me a little confused at times as to which Oz I was in.
Book Ten: I understand this one was written as a non-Oz book and was then retrofitted which may be why it felt so fresh. I really enjoyed the characters and Mason got into a habit of dancing and pantomiming every time Rinkitink sang which we all loved. The Deus Ex Ozma at the end was a bit phoned in but I guess that was the easiest way to tie this into the Oz universe.
Book Seven: Another surprisingly good entry. The book had a decent MacGuffin that keeps the story moving and used the returning characters well but I also really enjoyed the new characters like Ojo and the Patchwork Girl. It’s hard to believe the quality of this book given Baum’s clear desire to move on from Oz by this point in his career.
Book Eight: another story with a decent plot that used familiar and new characters well, for the most part. It was odd that this was titled Tik-Tok of Oz as I didn’t find him to be at all central to the story. I also thought Betsy Bobbin lacked anything of interest to make her stand out. But I loved the farmers of Ooogaboo and the fun twist at the end involving Toto.
Book Nine: Another one with an odd title as the Scarecrow doesn’t enter until well into the book and isn’t that central to the story. Overall, this was one of my favorites. The story was good and it moved at a good pace. Having read Maguire’s Out of Oz simultaneously, I appreciated that this book covered some of the same geographical terrain, even if it left me a little confused at times as to which Oz I was in.
Book Ten: I understand this one was written as a non-Oz book and was then retrofitted which may be why it felt so fresh. I really enjoyed the characters and Mason got into a habit of dancing and pantomiming every time Rinkitink sang which we all loved. The Deus Ex Ozma at the end was a bit phoned in but I guess that was the easiest way to tie this into the Oz universe.
January 7, 2018
FINALLY. Holy shit this book dragged. Especially in the third and fourth stories, "Tik-Tok of Oz" and "The Scarecrow of Oz" in which we're introduced to Betsy Bobbin and Trot, two boring little Dorothy clones with no personalities. "Rinkitink in Oz" was quite good though, by far the best story in the book, and I blew through it pretty fast.
Read
August 7, 2016its at great book about how an army of creatures from outside of oz lead by the nome king. all meanwhile dorathy had brought her anut and uncle the first time to oz. they went away to expore the land of oz
Want to read
January 1, 2018I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12992407
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12992407
May 4, 2017
The artwork is beautiful and the stories are captivating
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews