Book info

• Title Tik-Tok of Oz
• Author L. Frank Baum
• Year 1914
• Genre Childrens

The fun begins in an isolated corner of Oz, in the small country of Oogaboo. There Queen Ann Soforth musters an unlikely army and sets off to conquer the rest of Oz. Meanwhile, a girl from Oklahoma named Betsy Bobbin and her companion, Hank the mule, are shipwrecked and washed ashore in the Rose Kingdom, a magical land of talking roses. There they meet the Shaggy Man, who is on a quest to rescue his brother from the clutches of the wicked Nome King. Betsy, Hank, and the Rose Princess join the Shaggy Man on his journey, and before long they meet up with Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter; Tik-Tok; and Queen Ann with her army. The rest of Baum's tale is filled with hairbreadth escapes, wild puns, and mystifying magic.

Thoughts

I feel like this entry in the vast Oz series is slightly misnamed because it’s more about the Shaggy Man and his quest to find his brother than it is about Tik-Tok. There are a few disparate stories here, with strands that come together in the end to provide the usual fun and games.

Queen Ann wants to take over the world, Betsy Bobbin is shipwrecked, the Shaggy Man is on a quest, and the nome king is up to his old tricks. I thought this wasn’t as strong as some of the previous Oz books but it was still entertaining enough to keep reading. I do always end up thinking Ozma’s mirror is a bit of a get-out-of-jail free card, but even so, all’s well that ends well.

Rating: 3 / 5