''The Giant Horse of Oz'' (

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

) is the twenty-second in the series of

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's bo ...

created by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

and his successors, and the eighth written by

Ruth Plumly Thompson Ruth Plumly Thompson (27 July 1891 – 6 April 1976) was an American writer of children's stories, best known for writing many novels placed in Oz, the fictional land of L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

. It was Illustrated by

John R. Neill John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 – September 19, 1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three o ...

Plot

The tiny kingdom of the Ozure Isles, perched on five islands in Lake Orizon, surrounded by high mountains in a remote region of Munchkin Land, has little contact with the outside world—of Oz. The evil witch

Mombi Mombi is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's classic children's series of Oz Books. She is the most significant antagonist in the second Oz book ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904), and is alluded to in other works. Mombi plays a very impor ...

has turned her malice in the Ozure direction. After kidnapping Queen Orin, Mombi has left a fire-breathing lake monster named Quiberon in Lake Orizon to keep the natives prisoner. Even after Mombi was vanquished, Quiberon remains. Conditions grow worse when Quiberon orders the Ozurites to kidnap a mortal maiden to keep him company. Since Oz is a fairyland, the only mortal maidens are three American girls living in the Emerald City:

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of its ...

Betsy Bobbin This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. ''Land of Oz, Oz'' is made up of four ...

, and Tiny

Trot The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is someti ...

. Two Ozurites respond to the crisis in two separate ways. The heroic Prince Philador escapes from the islands to seek the aid of the Good Witch of the North, whose name is Tattypoo. The unheroic Akbad, the Ozure Isles soothsayer, steals a pair of magic wings, flies to the Emerald City, and kidnaps Trot. He also accidentally kidnaps the Scarecrow and an animated statue called Benny (short for "public benefactor") along with Trot. In his search for Tattypoo, Prince Philador teams up with High Boy, a giant horse with telescoping legs, Herby the Medicine Man, an eighteenth-century

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

with a medicine chest in his own chest due to an incomplete disenchantment,''Who's Who in Oz'', pp. 92-3. and Jo King, a monarch with a sense of humor. Various adventures ensue, in strange locations like Cave City, and with even stranger beings like the Roundabouties and Shutterfaces. Eventually, matters are sorted out satisfactorily: the Wizard turns Quiberon into a great bronze and silver statue, and the good Witch Tattypoo is revealed to be the missing and amnesiac Queen Orin. She is restored to her family and kingdom. Trot becomes a princess of the Ozure Isles, welcome in their Sapphire City whenever she chooses to visit. By Ozma's decree, Jo King is made ruler of the entire Gillikin Country of Oz.

References

External links

On ''The Giant Horse of Oz''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giant Horse of Oz Oz (franchise) books 1928 American novels 1928 fantasy novels Fictional horses 1928 children's books