The Gnome King of Oz facts for kids
Cover of The Gnome King of Oz.
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| Author | Ruth Plumly Thompson |
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| Illustrator | John R. Neill |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Oz books |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Reilly & Lee |
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Publication date
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1927 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Preceded by | The Hungry Tiger of Oz |
| Followed by | The Giant Horse of Oz |
The Gnome King of Oz is an exciting adventure book from 1927. It's the twenty-first book in the famous Oz series, which was first started by L. Frank Baum. This particular story was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, making it her seventh Oz book. Just like most of the other Oz books, it features wonderful drawings by John R. Neill.
Contents
The Story of The Gnome King of Oz
The Quilties and a New Queen
In the Quadling quadrant of Oz, there's a place called Patch. This land is home to the Quilties, who are amazing at sewing and making quilts. But they have a big problem! Their queen, Cross Patch the Sixth, has fallen into tiny pieces.
To find a new queen, the Quilties' leaders use a special "Spool of Succession." They follow its golden thread. This thread leads them all the way to the Emerald City. There, it chooses Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, to be their new queen. Scraps was first introduced in her own book, The Patchwork Girl of Oz. The two Quilty leaders, who are used to queens not wanting the job, quickly kidnap Scraps.
Peter and the Wicked Gnome King
Meanwhile, a boy named Peter Brown from Philadelphia has an adventure. A balloon bird carries him to Runaway Island. This is where Ruggedo, the wicked Gnome King, has been sent away for five years. You can read about that in Kabumpo in Oz.
A seaquake then reveals a sunken pirate ship. It belonged to Polacky the Plunderer. Inside the ship is a magic chest from Soob the Sorcerer. This chest holds many magical items. One is a magic cloak that should make the wearer invisible and let them teleport anywhere. But the cloak is torn and doesn't work right. Still, the old ship helps Peter and Ruggedo float to the Land of Ev.
Ruggedo's Return and a Tricky Cloak
Ruggedo promises to make Peter a general in his army. They return to the Gnome Kingdom. Ruggedo forces the current king, Kaliko, to give up his throne. Ruggedo wants to get his magic belt back from the Emerald City. This belt has amazing power!
First, he needs the magic cloak fixed. But he learns that only the expert tailors in Patch can repair it properly. So, Ruggedo and Peter travel to Patch. Ruggedo offers Peter as a slave in exchange for the cloak's repair. The Patch ministers agree, and the cloak is fixed.
Friends and a Daring Escape
In Patch, Peter meets Scraps and makes new friends. These include Grumpy the Bear and Ozwold the Ostrich. Together, they escape from Patch. They head for the Emerald City to warn Ozma about Ruggedo's plans.
Meanwhile, Ruggedo uses his now-repaired cloak. He becomes invisible and teleports to the Emerald City. He causes some trouble before Peter even arrives. Still invisible, Ruggedo manages to steal the magic belt. He is about to use its power to send Ozma and her friends to the bottom of the ocean!
Peter's Heroic Act
But Peter acts fast. He throws a "silence stone" at Ruggedo's head. Peter had taken this stone from the sunken pirate ship. The stone makes Ruggedo unable to speak. Since the magic belt only works with spoken commands, Ruggedo becomes harmless. The Wizard of Oz then makes him visible again.
Ozma wants to make Peter a Prince of Oz. But Peter decides to go back to Philadelphia. He can't let his team down!
