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    Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
    Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
    Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
    Ebook162 pages2 hours

    Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

    By L. Frank Baum

    3.5/5

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    The fourth book in Baum's Oz series, Dorothy returns to lands of magic and fantasy with her cousin Zeb, kitten Eureka, and a cab-horse named Jim. They encounter vegetable people living under the world, and Dorothy is reunited with the Wizard of Oz when he floats down in his hot air balloon. They later are aided by invisible people in the Valley of Voe, and must escape several unfriendly mythical creatures to return to Oz. Baum's vivid imagination and creativity are readily apparent in this adventurous work, for he combines wonderful characters with an entertaining plot in a land at once familiar and full of enigmatic possibility.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateJan 1, 2010
    ISBN9781596252547
    Author

    L. Frank Baum

    L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 and received enormous, immediate success. Baum went on to write seventeen additional novels in the Oz series. Today, he is considered the father of the American fairy tale. His stories inspired the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, one of the most widely viewed movies of all time. MinaLima is an award-winning graphic design studio founded by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, renowned for establishing the visual graphic style of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film series. Specializing in graphic design and illustration, Miraphora and Eduardo have continued their involvement in the Harry Potter franchise through numerous design commissions, from creating all the graphic elements for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort, to designing award-winning publications for the brand. Their best-selling books include Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, Harry Potter Film Wizardry, The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Archive of Magic: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts screenplays. MinaLima studio is renowned internationally for telling stories through design and has created its own MinaLima Classics series, reimagining a growing collection of much-loved tales including Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and Pinocchio.

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    Reviews for Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

    3.5/5

    404 ratings21 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Dorothy and others are swallowed up by cracks in the earth, and fall into an underground cavern, where begin their adventures.Not much in the way of a plot. The best part was the trial of Eureka near the end.
    • 4/5
      This isn't as much of an Oz book as some, taking place mostly somewhere within the earth. Our main characters only make it to Oz near to the end. This doesn't mean that Baum's storytelling was wasted, however. Everyone goes on a typical Oz-like journey through all sorts of unusual countries, giving the reader's mind so much to work with in terms of creating a visual for the places that they should "see" in the text.Not a favorite in the series, but not a mistake at all, this book has all of the wonderful characteristics of an Oz story while introducing many new lands outside of Oz or its neighbors. Every turn in the adventure brings more to the imagination than could be possible with many other writers.
    • 4/5
      This is the fourth book in the L. Frank Baum’s Oz series of books. In this book, as the name suggests, the Wizard returns to Oz. He and Dorothy find themselves drawn into the Earth and back to Oz. This is an interesting story that is a bit different from the other stories found in the series.
    • 4/5
      This was very well done. This volume follows Dorothy into another fairy world, this time being joined by her new kitten Eureka, her California cousin Zeb, his old horse Jim, and the wizard Oz with his nine miniature piglets. They make their way through multiple adventures in many lands, all in a quest to return to the surface world. Finally, they end up trapped just below their goal of the surface and call on Ozma to whisk them away to Oz when things seem hopeless. Eureka the cat and Jim the horse make bad impressions in Oz. There's a trial over Eureka trying to eat one of the nine piglets, which turns out to be untrue, and Dorothy, Zeb, Jim, and Eureka all return home. Oz stays in Oz and becomes Ozma's royal wizard. Ozma stays in charge. Happy story. Good book.
    • 2/5


      Maybe it was because I expected something for an older reader but I wasn't impressed with this book. In addition I did not realize they this was the fourth book in the series and did not actually know what was going on. Other than that I think the book was a little slow and if took way too long to finish this because I just couldn't get into it.
    • 4/5
      Dorothy and the wizard fall through a crack in the earth and eventually reach Oz. The climax of the story is the trial of the kitten Eureka for allegedly eating one of the wizard's nine performing piglets. It is rather a let-down.
    • 4/5
      The imagination of L. Frank Baum astonishes me. Just when you think he can't possibly come up with something new and unique, he did it again in this fourth book of Oz. Creative method of traveling back to Oz? Check. Interesting new people and dangers? Check. Lessons learned? Check. Then there's.. unusual things - such as walking on air, people made of vegetables, fruit that makes one invisible, miniature piglets and a whole slew of new characters to fall in love with (Eureka the Cat had me laughing). I think, however, one of my favorite parts of each of these books is quickly becoming the letter to his readers that Baum includes in the forward. His appreciation of the children, of their enthusiasm and his humble joy at the love for his characters make reading the book that much sweeter. Fun, fun addition to the books.
    • 3/5
      If it wasn't for the ending trial this would have been a waste of time. Various episodes throughout with no real plot. It seemed like the author was just trying to bring all the characters together from the past three books.
    • 3/5
      Another 'journey to Oz, meet strange people along the way' tale. Moderately interesting. Enjoyed the Wizard's reunion with Oz.
    • 3/5
      Not the greatest of the Oz books. True, we get the return of the Wizard, but it lacks the excitement and intrigue of the other books. It's not until the gang reaches Emerald City that the book gets really exciting. I did like the idea behind the Kingdom of the Vegetables, but the way it came out, and the journey before it and after just fell really really flat. The new characters, Jim and Zeb, also added absolutely nothing to the plot that we didn't already . But still, it's L. Frank Baum, so I can't rate it all that badly. Not to mention, the reunion of the Wizard with the rest of Emerald City was just amazing to read, because after the Wizard of Oz, who would have thought we'd ever see that reunion, right? Awesome!
    • 1/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed the original Wizard of Oz, and some of the others... but this book felt like it had been written by a 4th grader. I was glad this was not the first Baum book I'd ever read, or I would never have read any others. It had a very unfinished feel to it, like it needed to go back to the editor another time or two.
    • 3/5
      Originally published in 1908, this fourth Oz novel sees Kansas farm-girl Dorothy Gale once again transported to magical lands, this time thanks to a California earthquake, during which our heroine falls into the depths of the earth, together with a boy name Zeb, his carriage-horse Jim, and Dorothy's mischievous kitten, Eureka. Far underground, in the strange land of the Mangaboos - heartless root-people who grows on bushes - Dorothy and co. meet up with the Wizard (that is to say, the original Wizard from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), who has also fallen into the earth. Together the companions face many dangers, from the xenophobic Mangaboos to the ferocious invisible bears of the Valley of Voe, on their long journey back to the surface of the earth. Eventually, after confronting a cave full of dragonettes, the travelers are rescued by Ozma of Oz, who transports them to the Emerald City. Here Dorothy and Wizard meet many old friends, while Eureka meets trouble...I was struck, reading Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, by the many stratagems that Baum must employ in these early Oz books, to transport his heroine to that magical land. In the first, she is whisked away by a cyclone, in the third she is washed overboard in a terrible storm, and here she falls into the earth during an earthquake! Eventually the borders of Oz are closed (I forget in which title this occurs), but until that point the author must contend with the question of how to reunite his characters. The result, I am finding, is that a great deal of the action of the story takes place outside of Oz. However that may be, I enjoyed my reread of this installment of the series, although sometimes Dorothy's "adorable" little-girl accent grated a bit - I don't recall her speaking this way in the original...? - and I could have lived without the trial of Eureka, at the close of the book. Still, I was entertained to meet the Wizard again, and look forward to my reread of the fifth Oz novel, The Road to Oz.
    • 4/5
      I decided to try to get through the books of Oz that are written by L. Frank Baum this year and I have thus far gotten through the first four books of the series. I am finding them fascinating because this and the previous book (Ozma of Oz) take place mainly outside of the land of Oz itself and in other fairy lands that Baum has created for the stories. It is interesting to see him say that they are Oz stories simply because they contain the characters briefly or at the end of the tale.

      I do, however, like the book even though they are not truly Oz stories in my opinion. I enjoy reading them because they are whimsical and light-hearted in a way that most children's books simply are not. These books are truly something that I can see someone reading to their children before bedtime to make them believe that anything can happen in their lives. They are beautiful stories. There are times that Baum is harsh though in his writing about certain characters, such as in this book he again treats the sawhorse badly because of how he was created. He also calls the Wizard a humbug repeatedly. Some of these words feel like they are rude and putting someone down, which I don't like. They are classics though and they are produced from a different time period. They are an enjoyable read and easy to understand why they have stood the test of time.
    • 3/5
      This is the fourth book in Baum’s “Wizard of Oz” series of fantastical children’s adventure books.
      We’re not in Kansas anymore! The book starts with Dorothy visiting California with Uncle Henry, when an earthquake opens a passage to another land. Dorothy, her kitten Eureka (Toto is nowhere to be found in this book), and her new friend Zeb fall through the crak along with the horse Jim and the buggy, eventually alighting in the Land of the Mangaboos (a people who grow like vegetables). There they meet up with the Wizard of Oz (whose ballon has again run away with him), and begin numerous adventures in their quest to get back to earth’s surface.

      The series are enjoyable children’s books that have remained popular over generations, and are now in their second century.
    • 3/5
      Dorothy's traveling through San Francisco, when a earthquake occurs and she falls into the Earth. Once again, she's traveling through some dangerous magical lands, this time accompanied with her eat Eureka, her cousin Zeb, and his cab-horse Jim.I couldn't help notice that this is the first book of the series where Baum doesn't proclaim it to be the last Oz book ever in the introduction. I guess by this point Baum was resigned to the selling power of Oz, and it sort of shows in how much of Dorothy feels like him settling on a formula instead of the major tonal shifts he tried with Marvelous Land and Ozma (which made them back-to-back highs). I mean, what says more sequel fatigue than bringing back two favorite characters from previous books, and putting their names in the title!To be fair, Dorothy and the Wizard are the most interesting characters here: Dorothy her usual common-sense self and taking everything in stride (particularly now that fairy lands are basically normal to her now) and the Wizard managing halfway between magician and humbug. In contrast, Baum doesn't seem to be too interested in Zeb or Jim as characters (and poor Zeb is the only human visitor in the Oz books who never gets a return, let's face it, because he's boring and he's a teenage boy).Despite the overall disappointing "plot", there's still a lot of Baum's trademark inventions on display. I don't think anyone who reads this can forget the land of the vegetable people (who gain consciousness when they're plucked full grown off the vine)—a rather unsettling passage enhanced by some wonderful line illustrations by John R. Neill. Or the land of the invisible people (who voluntary stay so to avoid being eaten by the invisible killer bears). Those are the kind of dark, weird one-off creatures that made the Oz books memorable, long past any generic stumbling-about storylines.
    • 5/5
      this is not the original baum book where dorothy meets the wizard, but a followup with new adventures. I gave it high ratings because of the imaginative entities dorothy and those with her meet. i also like the talking kitten, hen, horse, and nine little piglets the qizard carried around in his pocket. the water boogle professor, wise with all book knowledge, was a trip. the kitten in her laconic nastiness poured into the mould of a cat's personality in my mind.These so=called "children's books" resurrect the delight of imagination in me at 67 years of age and i hope children never never ever become so "sophisticated" to not enjoy them.
    • 2/5
      More violence, which frankly make the books better. If you're going for that Grimm thing, you should just let people get chopped up or the whole thing feels weird. There are some mean people in this one. Including weird-ass vegetable folk.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful story that brings back the Wizard of OZ and in the end it is decided that he should become a real wizard and not a humbug.
    • 3/5
      I was rather disappointed to see Dorothy make such a big comeback in the series considering I absolutely cannot stand her. Her character is written as weak and idiotic to the point of extreme annoyance and ridiculous sexism (seriously you really needed to say Dorothy fainted while Zeb did not because he is a boy).Plot-wise this book is rather random, but the adventures are interesting. As with the other Oz books, I would not recommend for very young children, considering some of the more violent scenes, but overall a fun adventure tale.
    • 4/5
      This was one of the first Oz books I ever read. I'll always remember the PINHEAD part!
    • 3/5
      Baum introduces some new characters, of which Eureka the cat is the most interesting, and sends Dorothy and friends into some outrageous and dangerous adventures, which are inventive and entertaining, but have very little purpose other than to go from here to there.They are rescued at the end by a literal deus et machina (The Nome King's magic belt) and none of the participants questions Dorothy as to why she didn't signal Ozma earlier when everyone was in mortal danger.Ozma and the Wizard seem to have both forgotten his part in deposing her and selling her to Mombi, as they tell a totally new story about her forebears and the history of the country.Baum most like chose the story in "Land of Oz" for simple convenience, as he had no intention of continuing the series; once committed, he didn't dare sully the character of the beloved wizard.I suppose that the book/play "Wicked" adheres to the first version, although the remainder of the series (in my memory) conform to the less reprehensible figure.

    Book preview

    Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz - L. Frank Baum

    DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ

    BY L. FRANK BAUM

    A Digireads.com Book

    Digireads.com Publishing

    Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3236-2

    Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-59625-254-7

    This edition copyright © 2011

    Please visit www.digireads.com

    Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

    A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures

    in an Underground World; and How with the

    Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eureka

    the Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse,

    They Finally Reached the

    Wonderful Land

    of Oz

    by

    L. Frank Baum

    Royal Historian of Oz

    CONTENTS

    CHAPTER ONE. THE EARTHQUAKE

    CHAPTER TWO. THE GLASS CITY

    CHAPTER THREE. THE ARRIVAL OF THE WIZARD

    CHAPTER FOUR. THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

    CHAPTER FIVE. DOROTHY PICKS THE PRINCESS

    CHAPTER SIX. THE MANGABOOS PROVE DANGEROUS

    CHAPTER SEVEN. INTO THE BLACK PIT AND OUT AGAIN

    CHAPTER EIGHT. THE VALLEY OF VOICES

    CHAPTER NINE. THEY FIGHT THE INVISIBLE BEARS

    CHAPTER TEN. THE BRAIDED MAN OF PYRAMID MOUNTAIN

    CHAPTER ELEVEN. THEY MEET THE WOODEN GARGOYLES

    CHAPTER TWELVE. A WONDERFUL ESCAPE

    CHAPTER THIRTEEN. THE DEN OF THE DRAGONETTES

    CHAPTER FOURTEEN. OZMA USES THE MAGIC BELT

    CHAPTER FIFTEEN. OLD FRIENDS ARE REUNITED

    CHAPTER SIXTEEN. JIM, THE CAB-HORSE

    CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. THE NINE TINY PIGLETS

    CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. THE TRIAL OF EUREKA THE KITTEN

    CHAPTER NINETEEN. THE WIZARD PERFORMS ANOTHER TRICK

    CHAPTER TWENTY. ZEB RETURNS TO THE RANCH

    TO MY READERS

    It's no use; no use at all. The children won't let me stop telling tales of the Land of Oz. I know lots of other stories, and I hope to tell them, some time or another; but just now my loving tyrants won't allow me. They cry: Oz—Oz! more about Oz, Mr. Baum! and what can I do but obey their commands?

    This is Our Book—mine and the children's. For they have flooded me with thousands of suggestions in regard to it, and I have honestly tried to adopt as many of these suggestions as could be fitted into one story.

    After the wonderful success of Ozma of Oz it is evident that Dorothy has become a firm fixture in these Oz stories. The little ones all love Dorothy, and as one of my small friends aptly states: It isn't a real Oz story without her. So here she is again, as sweet and gentle and innocent as ever, I hope, and the heroine of another strange adventure.

    There were many requests from my little correspondents for more about the Wizard. It seems the jolly old fellow made hosts of friends in the first Oz book, in spite of the fact that he frankly acknowledged himself a humbug. The children had heard how he mounted into the sky in a balloon and they were all waiting for him to come down again. So what could I do but tell what happened to the Wizard afterward? You will find him in these pages, just the same humbug Wizard as before.

    There was one thing the children demanded which I found it impossible to do in this present book: they bade me introduce Toto, Dorothy's little black dog, who has many friends among my readers. But you will see, when you begin to read the story, that Toto was in Kansas while Dorothy was in California, and so she had to start on her adventure without him. In this book Dorothy had to take her kitten with her instead of her dog; but in the next Oz book, if I am permitted to write one, I intend to tell a good deal about Toto's further history.

    Princess Ozma, whom I love as much as my readers do, is again introduced in this story, and so are several of our old friends of Oz. You will also become acquainted with Jim the Cab-Horse, the Nine Tiny Piglets, and Eureka, the Kitten. I am sorry the kitten was not as well behaved as she ought to have been; but perhaps she wasn't brought up properly. Dorothy found her, you see, and who her parents were nobody knows.

    I believe, my dears, that I am the proudest story-teller that ever lived. Many a time tears of pride and joy have stood in my eyes while I read the tender, loving, appealing letters that came to me in almost every mail from my little readers. To have pleased you, to have interested you, to have won your friendship, and perhaps your love, through my stories, is to my mind as great an achievement as to become President of the United States. Indeed, I would much rather be your story-teller, under these conditions, than to be the President. So you have helped me to fulfill my life's ambition, and I am more grateful to you, my dears, than I can express in words.

    I try to answer every letter of my young correspondents; yet sometimes there are so many letters that a little time must pass before you get your answer. But be patient, friends, for the answer will surely come, and by writing to me you more than repay me for the pleasant task of preparing these books. Besides, I am proud to acknowledge that the books are partly yours, for your suggestions often guide me in telling the stories, and I am sure they would not be half so good without your clever and thoughtful assistance.

    L. FRANK BAUM

    CORONADO, 1908.

    CHAPTER ONE. THE EARTHQUAKE

    The train from 'Frisco was very late. It should have arrived at Hugson's Siding at midnight, but it was already five o'clock and the gray dawn was breaking in the east when the little train slowly rumbled up to the open shed that served for the station-house. As it came to a stop the conductor called out in a loud voice:

    Hugson's Siding!

    At once a little girl rose from her seat and walked to the door of the car, carrying a wicker suit-case in one hand and a round bird-cage covered up with newspapers in the other, while a parasol was tucked under her arm. The conductor helped her off the car and then the engineer started his train again, so that it puffed and groaned and moved slowly away up the track. The reason he was so late was because all through the night there were times when the solid earth shook and trembled under him, and the engineer was afraid that at any moment the rails might spread apart and an accident happen to his passengers. So he moved the cars slowly and with caution.

    The little girl stood still to watch until the train had disappeared around a curve; then she turned to see where she was.

    The shed at Hugson's Siding was bare save for an old wooden bench, and did not look very inviting. As she peered through the soft gray light not a house of any sort was visible near the station, nor was any person in sight; but after a while the child discovered a horse and buggy standing near a group of trees a short distance away. She walked toward it and found the horse tied to a tree and standing motionless, with its head hanging down almost to the ground. It was a big horse, tall and bony, with long legs and large knees and feet. She could count his ribs easily where they showed through the skin of his body, and his head was long and seemed altogether too big for him, as if it did not fit. His tail was short and scraggly, and his harness had been broken in many places and fastened together again with cords and bits of wire. The buggy seemed almost new, for it had a shiny top and side curtains. Getting around in front, so that she could look inside, the girl saw a boy curled up on the seat, fast asleep.

    She set down the bird-cage and poked the boy with her parasol. Presently he woke up, rose to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes briskly.

    Hello! he said, seeing her, are you Dorothy Gale?

    Yes, she answered, looking gravely at his tousled hair and blinking gray eyes. Have you come to take me to Hugson's Ranch?

    Of course, he answered. Train in?

    I couldn't be here if it wasn't, she said.

    He laughed at that, and his laugh was merry and frank. Jumping out of the buggy he put Dorothy's suit-case under the seat and her bird-cage on the floor in front.

    Canary-birds? he asked.

    Oh no; it's just Eureka, my kitten. I thought that was the best way to carry her.

    The boy nodded.

    Eureka's a funny name for a cat, he remarked.

    I named my kitten that because I found it, she explained. Uncle Henry says 'Eureka' means 'I have found it.'

    All right; hop in.

    She climbed into the buggy and he followed her. Then the boy picked up the reins, shook them, and said Gid-dap!

    The horse did not stir. Dorothy thought he just wiggled one of his drooping ears, but that was all.

    Gid-dap! called the boy, again.

    The horse stood still.

    Perhaps, said Dorothy, if you untied him, he would go.

    The boy laughed cheerfully and jumped out.

    Guess I'm half asleep yet, he said, untying the horse. But Jim knows his business all right—don't you, Jim? patting the long nose of the animal.

    Then he got into the buggy again and took the reins, and the horse at once backed away from the tree, turned slowly around, and began to trot down the sandy road which was just visible in the dim light.

    Thought that train would never come, observed the boy. I've waited at that station for five hours.

    We had a lot of earthquakes, said Dorothy. Didn't you feel the ground shake?

    Yes; but we're used to such things in California, he replied. They don't scare us much.

    The conductor said it was the worst quake he ever knew.

    Did he? Then it must have happened while I was asleep, he said thoughtfully.

    How is Uncle Henry? she enquired, after a pause during which the horse continued to trot with long, regular strides.

    He's pretty well. He and Uncle Hugson have been having a fine visit.

    Is Mr. Hugson your uncle? she asked.

    Yes. Uncle Bill Hugson married your Uncle Henry's wife's sister; so we must be second cousins, said the boy, in an amused tone. I work for Uncle Bill on his ranch, and he pays me six dollars a month and my board.

    Isn't that a great deal? she asked, doubtfully.

    Why, it's a great deal for Uncle Hugson, but not for me. I'm a splendid worker. I work as well as I sleep, he added, with a laugh.

    What is your name? said Dorothy, thinking she liked the boy's manner and the cheery tone of his voice.

    Not a very pretty one, he answered, as if a little ashamed. My whole name is Zebediah; but folks just call me 'Zeb.' You've been to Australia, haven't you?

    Yes; with Uncle Henry, she answered. We got to San Francisco a week ago, and Uncle Henry went right on to Hugson's Ranch for a visit while I stayed a few days in the city with some friends we had met.

    How long will you be with us? he asked.

    Only a day. Tomorrow Uncle Henry and I must start back for Kansas. We've been away for a long time, you know, and so we're anxious to get home again.

    The boy flicked the big, boney horse with his whip and looked thoughtful. Then he started to say something to his little companion, but before he could speak the buggy began to sway dangerously from side to side and the earth seemed to rise up before them. Next minute there was a roar and a sharp crash, and at her side Dorothy saw the ground open in a wide crack and then come together again.

    Goodness! she cried, grasping the iron rail of the seat. What was that?

    That was an awful big quake, replied Zeb, with a white face. It almost got us that time, Dorothy.

    The horse had stopped short, and stood firm as a rock. Zeb shook the reins and urged him to go, but Jim was stubborn. Then the boy cracked his whip and touched the animal's flanks with it, and after a low moan of protest Jim stepped slowly along the road.

    Neither the boy nor the girl spoke again for some minutes. There was a breath of danger in the very air, and every few moments the earth would shake violently. Jim's ears were standing erect upon his head and every muscle of his big

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