The Magic of Oz

Oz Series

Author: L. Frank Baum

Book 13 in the Oz series

Pages: 270

Published: 1919

Age: 9+

There's trouble once again in the land of Oz!

The mischievous boy Kiki Aru has discovered a magical word—Pyrzqxgl—which can transform him and anyone else into whatever Kiki demands. Worse yet, Kiki has been recruited by the villainous Nome King in his latest attempt to get revenge on Princess Ozma and all her friends.

While Ozma's court plans a spectacular celebration for her birthday, Dorothy and the Wizard set out with the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger to find a gift for their beloved princess. But in the Forest of Gugu they become entangled in the wicked plans and magical transformations of Kiki and the Nome King.

Can Dorothy and the Wizard stop the evil-doers before they conquer Oz? Or will Kiki's incredible powers finally give the Nome King the revenge he has craved for so long?

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.