Out of Oz facts for kids
Out of Oz book cover
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| Author | Gregory Maguire |
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| Illustrator | Douglas Smith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Wicked Years |
| Genre | Parallel novel, Fantasy |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
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Publication date
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November 1, 2011 |
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Published in English
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November 1, 2011 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 592 |
| ISBN | 0060548940 |
| Preceded by | A Lion Among Men |
Out of Oz is the fourth and final book in Gregory Maguire's The Wicked Years series. It was released on November 1, 2011. This novel wraps up all the stories from The Wicked Years. It also gives a new look at L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz. The book includes ideas from Baum's original series and the 1939 movie. In Out of Oz, the land of Oz is in the middle of a big conflict. It faces tough times, seen through the eyes of Rain. Rain is the young granddaughter of Elphaba Thropp, who is Maguire's version of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Contents
Exploring the Story: What Happens in Out of Oz?
Many years after Dorothy left Oz, the land is facing a big war. The Emerald City is now ruled by Shell Thropp. He is Elphaba's younger brother. Meanwhile, Munchkinland has broken away from the rest of Oz. The conflict continues as Oz suffers from a drought. Munchkinland has the only large body of water.
Glinda the Good lives near the border of Munchkinland. Soon, her home is filled with soldiers from Loyal Oz. They are getting ready to attack Munchkinland with dragons. Munchkinland is also preparing to attack Loyal Oz. They are desperately looking for the Grimmerie. This is a large book of spells that can cause huge problems. The only person who could ever read the book was Elphaba. But people believe her family might have the same talent. After the events of Son of a Witch, Elphaba's son Liir is left alone. He places his baby daughter, Rain, in Glinda's care. He uses magic to make her skin a normal color, not green.
Rain grows up as a servant girl who is often ignored. But when Glinda gets the Grimmerie, soldiers from the Emerald City start to show interest in Rain. Glinda knows it is time for them both to leave. Glinda leaves the book and Rain with a traveling puppet show. This show is called the Clock of the Time Dragon. Among the crew is Brrr, the Cowardly Lion. He is looking to make up for his past actions. Brrr helps Rain reunite with her parents. But their reunion is short. He learns that Dorothy Gale has returned to Oz. She is being put on trial for the deaths of Elphaba and her sister Nessarose.
Brrr knows the Munchkins want someone to blame for the drought. He is sure Dorothy will be found guilty. So, he travels with his friends to rescue Dorothy. His friends are a dwarf named Mr. Boss and his wife, Little Daffy. Rain is hidden at a school for girls. There, she meets a mysterious boy named Tip and becomes very fond of him. Eventually, Rain's father, the Grimmerie, and Tip are all captured. This seems to be done by the leader of the Munchkinland rebels. Rain is then forced to take action herself.
Key Characters in Out of Oz
Book Release Information
Out of Oz was first released on November 1, 2011. It came out in hardcover in the United States by William Morrow. A paperback version was released at the same time in Great Britain.
Connecting to Other Oz Stories
Out of Oz uses many ideas from L. Frank Baum's second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz. In that book, the Emerald City's power is taken over by General Jinjur and her army of women. They are joined by a witch named Mombi. In Out of Oz, the revolution is led by new versions of these characters. They are called General Junjuria and La Mombey.
The main character of The Marvelous Land of Oz is a boy named Tip. He is actually Princess Ozma, who was changed by magic. The Wicked Years series had said that Ozma's story was just a legend. It suggested that the Wizard had killed Ozma herself. However, in Out of Oz, Rain meets Tip and falls in love with him. Just like in the original book, the magic spell that kept Ozma looking like Tip is broken. Rain then has to accept that she has lost her love to the throne of Oz.
Dorothy's return was also inspired by Baum's Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. In that book, Dorothy comes back to Oz during an earthquake in San Francisco. Other characters from the Oz books are also mentioned. These include Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Nome King, Princess Langwidere, Handy Mandy in Oz, and Ojo the Lucky. They appear briefly in the story. The novel also mentions songs from the musical and the 1939 film. It does this cleverly, so they didn't break any rules about using other people's work.
