''Dorothy of Oz'' is a 1989

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

written by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

's grandson Roger S. Baum. The book details

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the 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 o ...

returning to the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Countr ...

when a

Jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

has been using the wand of the

Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West, a fictional character in the classic children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) by the American author L. Frank Baum, is the evil ruler of the Winkie Country, the western region in the Land of Oz. ...

(which also contained the ghost of the Wicked Witch of the West) to take over the

Plot summary

Several weeks after returning to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

from the

looks out of her bedroom window and sees a bright and beautiful rainbow on the horizon. She notices that the rainbow is approaching her and Toto as both of them run towards it. Dorothy starts to see

Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...

, who tells Dorothy that she must return to Oz so that she can save the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...

, the Tin Man, and the

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, and like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Although he often self-doubt, doubts himself, the Cowardly Lion no ...

. Dorothy and Toto reclaim the

silver shoes The Silver Shoes are magical footwear appearing in L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' as heroine Dorothy Gale's transport home. They are originally owned by the Wicked Witch of the East but passed to Dorothy when her hous ...

as they find a note from Glinda and

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma of Oz, formally known as Tippetarius, is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears for the first time in the second Oz book, '' The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904), and in every ...

stating that the silver shoes can’t take her to the Land of Oz and back, for the Impassable Desert has taken away much of their power. Dorothy and Toto arrive in the Land of Oz, where the items that Dorothy has in her pocket are a small mirror, a safety pin, a glass bottle, and four of Aunt Em's homemade oatmeal cookies. Dorothy and Toto were wondering which direction they should take when they encounter a molasses-covered

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

named Wiser. Wiser tells Dorothy that she is in

Gillikin Country The Gillikin Country is the northern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color purple worn by most of the local inhabitants as well as the color of their surroundings. The inhabitants of Gillikin Country a ...

and tells her to head to Candy County and ask the Great Royal

Marshmallow Marshmallow (, ) is a confectionery made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. This sugar confection is inspired by a medicina ...

that rules over Candy Country. Following an incident where Dorothy was busted by a

candy apple Toffee apples (in Commonwealth English) or candy apples are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at fall festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Hal ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

for breaking the "Do Not Pick the Lollipops" rule and helping the Great Royal Marshmallow with his stomach ache enough to get her pardoned, she receives some supplies from him Arriving at Princess Gayelette's palace, Dorothy and Toto encounter the castle's

who welcomes them. The Jester tells them that Princess Gayelette and Prince Quelala have gone missing, adding that they disappeared during a party at the palace which had become haunted and points them in the direction of the castle. When Dorothy and Toto enter the palace, they find a wand that belonged to the

lying on the table. With

Tin Woodman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, or the Tin Man, is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in his 1900 book '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappeared in many other subsequent Oz ...

, and the China Princess as his prisoners, Jester is talked into letting them accompany Dorothy to Glinda. He agrees, but Toto must stay behind. Dorothy and her group ran into Wiser again as Dorothy tells him of her next mission involving going to Quadling County to meet with Glinda. Wiser tells Dorothy to build a boat and drive it down the Munchkin River. Wiser tells Dorothy that the wood for the boat must come from the Talking Trees that grow along the banks of the Munchkin River. The Talking Trees are persuaded to lend their limbs to them due to them knowing Wiser. The tree limbs are combined with wood, straw, vines, and a hollow log giving it a tugboat appearance. It starts to speak when a face is made from paint from water and wild berries and it is called Tugg. Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, China Princess, and Tugg experience a lot of things on the Munchkin River like a cursed maze run by a

gamekeeper In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g., areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure that there is enough Game (hunting), game for hunting, or fish ...

that was created from Purplefield by the Wicked Witch of the West's curse, a dark tunnel filled with

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

s who are then promised a new home, and a displaced brick from the

yellow brick road The yellow brick road is a central element in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by American author L. Frank Baum. The road also appears in the several sequel Oz books such as '' The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904) and '' T ...

as well as an encounter with the

Wicked Witch of the East The Wicked Witch of the East is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is a crucial character but appears only briefly in Baum's classic children's series of ''Oz'' novels, most notably '' The Wonderful Wizard of ...

's ghost. After returning the China Princess to the China Country and Tugg returning to speak to the Talking Trees, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion are met by

Sawhorse In woodworking, a saw-horse or sawhorse (saw-buck, trestle, buck) is a Trestle support, trestle structure used to support a lumber, board or plank (wood), plank for sawing. A pair of sawhorses can support a plank, forming a scaffold. In certa ...

who carries them past the Hammer-Heads' hill to Glinda's palace. Glinda and Princess Ozma learn about the Jester using the Wicked Witch of the West's wand in violation of Princess Ozma's rules. Returning to China Country, the China Princess is told by Dorothy of a plan that would involve making a china replica of Glinda for her and the others to hide in. With the Sawhorse moving at a speed passed the Hammer-Heads' hill enough to not break the china. Arriving at Princess Gaylette's castle, Wiser arrives to help Dorothy unload the china. Dorothy reminds the Jester that jesters are supposed to make people happy, causing the Jester to freeze in his tracks as the Wicked Witch of the West's ghost urges the Jester to turn Dorothy into a china doll. The Jester gives up the wand as the Wicked Witch of the West's ghost fades away. Thus, the spell is broken and everyone is returned to normal. The Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto rejoice now that the spell is broken. When the Cowardly Lion asks Dorothy on what she plans to do with the Wicked Witch of the West's wand, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man plan to keep the wand locked up in a case until they can give it to Glinda and Princess Ozma. When Dorothy asks Princess Gayelette and Prince Quelala if the Jester can stay and jest for them again as a way to prove that he is sorry, Princess Gayelette accepts Dorothy's deals and has the Jester entertain them again. Princess Ozma arrived with Glinda and the Wizard of Oz telling Dorothy that they are proud of her and that the Great Book of Records stated that Dorothy would overcome the Wicked Witch's magic. Glinda plans to take the Wicked Witch of the West's wand and put it someplace where it won't cause any more trouble. The sound of a foghorn brings everyone to the edge of the Munchkin River as Tugg arrives with Wiser and the dragons stating that they have found a place near Princess Gayelette's palace for the dragons to live in. Dorothy knew that it was time for her to return to Kansas and says her goodbyes to Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Tugg, and Wiser. Dorothy then uses the power of the silver shoes to take her back to Kansas. Dorothy and Toto return to Kansas where they reunite with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. The four of them then see a rainbow in the twilight sky which Dorothy has not seen before. Dorothy knows that is must be Princess Ozma, Glinda, and the Wizard of Oz's way of saying goodbye to her. The rainbow shimmers over the prairie with all the bright and true colors of the Land of Oz.

Film adaptation

Summertime Entertainment (the family entertainment division of Alpine Pictures) has adapted the book into the film '' Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'', which was released in 2014.

References

External links

* {{Oz 1989 American novels 1989 fantasy novels Oz (franchise) books American fantasy novels adapted into films 1989 children's books