The Tin Woodman of Oz

Oz Series

Author: L. Frank Baum

Book 12 in the Oz series

Pages: 294

Published: 1918

Age: 9+

Join the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow as they journey across the fantastic magical Land of Oz in search of the Tin Woodman's long-lost sweetheart. In a series of adventures sure to thrill Oz fans both old and new, these beloved friends face such challenges as a selfish giantess and a group of quarrelsome dragons—all to fulfill a promise made long ago to a beautiful Munchkin girl.

The Tin Woodman sits on the glittering tin throne of his splendid tin castle, ruling the Winkle Country of the Land of Oz with the help of his best friend, the Scarecrow. All is peaceful and well, but when a young wanderer named Woot asks the Tin Woodman how he came to be made of tin, the emperor recalls his days as a flesh-and-blood woodchopper and his love for Nimmie Amee, a Munchkin girl so fair that the sunsets blushed when they fell upon her.

The three quickly decide to set out on a daring quest to reunite the Tin Woodman with his lost love and ask Nimmie Amee to be Empress of the Winkie Country. During their travels, they battle dragons and loons, a mighty sorceress, and an all-too-hungry beast called the Hippo-gy-raf. Luckily, they are joined in their search by their old friend Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, and are aided by Dorothy and Princess Ozma—the powerful fairy ruler of the Land of Oz. But just when they think their troubles are over and their quest is complete, they discover a surprise that leaves all of them truly astounded!

About the Oz Series

Reading age: 9+ years

This series should be read in order.

The Oz books by L. Frank Baum form a series of classic children's fantasy novels that begins with the most famous of Baum's creations, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and relate the fictional history of the Land of Oz and its colourful cast of inhabitants.

Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. Even as he lived, Baum was styled as "the Royal Historian of Oz" to emphasise the concept that Oz is an actual place. The illusion created was that characters such as Dorothy and Princess Ozma related their adventures in Oz to Baum themselves, by means of wireless telegraph.

Aside from the fourteen books that Baum wrote, many other authors over the past century have contributed to the canon of Oz. These include nineteen novels by Ruth Plumly Thompson, three by John R. Neill, two by Jack Snow and two by Rachel R. Cosgrove. In 2005, the Baum Trust authorised Sherwood Smith to create four more official Oz sequels, two of which have been published to date. For the purpose of authenticity, only the first fourteen Oz novels originally penned by Baum himself have been included in our list.