Ozma of Oz (Puffin Classics)

Rating:
Summary: The return of Dorothy. Gotta love it!
Review: After Baum's success with the first book, he penned the sequel "The Marvelous Land of Oz". It was a decent book, but it was missing one important element. Dorothy. He corrects that oversight in this one, and the book (and the rest of the series) is all the better for it. Dorothy makes her second trip to Oz, this time with her chicken Billina (don't worry, Toto would also return in later volumes) and the action is non-stop. If you planned on reading the series and had a tough time getting through book 2, don't stop. They keep getting better and better as Baum develops into a first-rate author. Read them in order and don't stop until you've finished book 14 (and then even dip into the books by other authors, none are as inspired as Baum's, but some of them are pretty good).

And if you've read all the Oz books and are looking for other titles that are just as magical and just as inspired, try the Chronicles of Narnia, King Fortis the Brave or Abarat. All will introduce you to other magical worlds that are every bit as fun to visit as Oz.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite of the Series
Review: All of Baum's Oz books were enjoyable, but this one was unquestionably my favorite. It seems somehow different from the others in numerous ways. Humor was prominent in many of the books, but in this book the humor was somewhat subdued. Also, the sense of danger and menace was quite profound, from Dorothy's initial shipwreck to being chased by the Wheelers to the battle of wits with the Nome King. The Nome King, incidentally, is protrayed as cunnning and (for the most part) subdued. This makes his presence as the villian very intriguing, much moreso (in my opinion) than when he is protrayed as a bellowing buffoon (as in book 8).

Other enjoyable elements are the introduction of the fiesty and clever Billina (my favorite Oz character), and the enchantment of the major characters by the Nome King. In later books Ozma is an almost god-like figure who seems unscathable, and often acts as a deux ex machina. In this book, however, we see her in a moment of rare vulnerability, whic makes her much more interesting in my opinion.

I found all of Baum's Oz books to be enjoyable in some way, but the drama and tension of "Ozma of Oz" was never quite matched, and it remains my favorite of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely book
Review: Firstly, if you are new to the Oz series, read The Marvelous Land of Oz before reading this book. Marvelous Land of Oz is what directly follows the original, infamous Oz book.
Believe me they just keep getting better.
This is a lovely book to read aloud to children of all ages. I highly reccomend all of the Oz books for their amusing, imaginitve characters(in this book, The Wheelings and Billinia are introduced) , their fantastical situations (trees with lunch boxes full of food, talking chickens, a shipwreak, all in this one), sweet plot and storylines. These books still stand the test of time (written over 100 years ago!)for good reason.
This book really sets the tone for the rest of the books to follow and in my opinion the best. A must read for every family.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely book
Review: Firstly, if you are new to the Oz series, read The Marvelous Land of Oz before reading this book. Marvelous Land of Oz is what directly follows the original, infamous Oz book.
Believe me they just keep getting better.
This is a lovely book to read aloud to children of all ages. I highly reccomend all of the Oz books for their amusing, imaginitve characters(in this book, The Wheelings and Billinia are introduced) , their fantastical situations (trees with lunch boxes full of food, talking chickens, a shipwreak, all in this one), sweet plot and storylines. These books still stand the test of time (written over 100 years ago!)for good reason.
This book really sets the tone for the rest of the books to follow and in my opinion the best. A must read for every family.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Oz Bunch
Review: If you've only read the first book and were thinking of trying a second, try the third!

I'm sure no one will be popping into the world of Oz without having read "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," but if one were to do so, this makes a better starting point that the somewhat disappointing second in the series.

This third book is, I think, the best of the Oz stories (which have a tendency to give in to an increasingly episodic nature and abandon storyline completely.)

Dorothy has returned to Oz, and ultimate ends up in the underground Kingdom of the Nome King (a marvelous creation), where her task is to discover whom he has transformed into chachkas, or be transformed herself (honestly, that's the plot!)

It's delightfully full of incident, the villain has real (comic) menace, and call me a heretic, but I prefer the elegant Art Nouveau illustrations of John R. Neill to the Denslow art in the first book.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.

Rating:
Summary: Oz at its best
Review: In my opinion, this was the book that saved the series. The first book, as wonderful as it was, did not successfully set the stage for the rest of the series - in fact the entire plot of the first book was based upon Dorothy's efforts to get away from Oz. The second book was an experiment that I feel failed. Baum's writing style was improving (the first book, though the most famous, was also the most crudely written) but the plot left much to be desired. In book three, this book, Baum did what he should have done in book two. He reintroduced Dorothy to Oz. And Oz starts to become the Oz that thrives throughout the rest of the series (and most of the incarnations by other writers) - a place of wonder where anything can happen and usually does. Baum also introduced another concept that became a staple in many of his books (and many of Thompson's after Baum) - the quest through other fairy lands to get to Oz. Oz is no longer alone, instead it is an island surrounded not only by the deadly sea of sand as established in the first book, but surrounded even further by a host of other fairy lands, all wonderful in their own right but none as spectacular as Oz.

I read the entire series in order. When I finished book two, I didn't even want to read any more. But I decided to give it one more try and I'm glad I did. Ozma of Oz defines what an Oz book should be like and sets the stage for the rest of the series. By the time I finished this wonderful novel I was hooked and I didn't stop until I had read every one of Baum's books. Even today, with such wonderful novels as the Harry Potter series and King Fortis the Brave being published, it is still fun to occasionally go back and relive the magic that only Baum could create.

Rating:
Summary: The best of a great series
Review: Though I first read this book nearly 50 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. 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 the favorite book of my life. 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. The Oz characters have accompanied me through life. Try them---you will never forget them.

Rating:
Summary: Suchisman's Review
Review: Though The Wizard of Oz is a beloved classic, the utter popularity of Baum's work has blinded the public to just how rare a talent this man actually was. Ozma of Oz would be seen as a great work of literature but for the fact that it was a best selling childrens book. It is every bit as bizzare as Raymond Roussel's "Impressions of Africa", & Baum was doing this AGES before his more seriously taken European counterparts. It's loaded with imagery both charming & creepy--- talking hens, an evil princess with a room full of living severed heads, a race of men with wheels instead of hands--- stories so strange that no one today has matched them. Baum concocted these tales purely to amuse the children who hung out around his general store. His wife suggested he write them down, and suddenly, rather late in life he became a bestselling author. Ozma of Oz is the basis of the Disney film "Return to Oz", a movie that Roger Ebert warned would give children nightmares. Indeed. The actual book is far stranger still.