The Boy Fortune Hunters in China

L. Frank Baum

The fourth in a series, The Boy Fortune Hunters in China appeared in 1909, published by Reilly & Britton under Baums pseudonym, Floyd Akers. Unlike most of L. Frank Baums work, the series is told in first person narrative by the protagonist, 16 year-old Sam Steele. Sams father is a sea captain who was reported killed in a shipwreck. After being cheated of his inheritance, he finds his uncle and they set sail in the Pacific. Here, Sam Steele and his two pals, Joe and Archie, have fished a wounded Chinese Prince out of the ocean. Prince Kai Lun Po rewards the boys with detailed directions on how to plunder his family tomb of its treasure and he gives them his blessing to do so. All the boys have to do is get to China, hoodwink the palace staff, and get past Fo-Chu, the Sacred Ape that guards the treasure! Come adventuring with young Sam on one of his most exciting and dangerous adventures in China!

The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt

L. Frank Baum

Writing under a pseudonym, the prolific Wizard of Oz author created a series of far-flung adventure tales starring Sam Steele, a resourceful young sailor. In this story of mystery, deceit, and murder, Sam and his companions seek the legendary wealth of Karnak a 2,000-year-old treasure buried in the desert sands. The adventure begins when Sam rescues an escaped cabin boy from a sinking dinghy in Boston Harbor. Runaway Joe Herring, along with pampered aristocrat Archie Ackley, accompany Sam to Alexandria, Egypt. There, the trio learn of the legendary lost riches of Karnak and Luxor a wealth of pearls, gold, precious gems, and historic papyrus rolls, all hidden from invading Persians. Relying upon their pluck, luck, and quick wits, the American boys follow an ancient caravan route to uncover a secret from beyond the grave. Unusually for Baum, the tale of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt is told in the first person, by the title character.

The Boy Fortune Hunters in the South Seas

L. Frank Baum

If you like the books by Iain Lawrence The Wreckers, The Smugglers, and The Buccaneers youll love the adventures of Sam Steele. The Boy Fortune Hunters series began in 1906 with the novel Sam Steeles Adventures on Land and Sea (later re-published as The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska). The series lasted six novels, ending in 1911 with the novel The Boy Fortune Hunters in the South Seas. Here, Sam Steele and crew are shipwrecked on a forbidding and mysterious island where the natives worship a powerful Pearl God in a temple overflowing with the most luxurious pearls in the world. Sam is delighted at the prospect of such enormous riches but the boy-king of the island is forced to sentence Sam to a watery grave. Airplane rescues, uncharted islands, revolutionaries, a lost king, and riches beyond imagination await you as you travel with the Boy Fortune Hunters to fabulous adventure in the South Seas!

The Emerald City of Oz

L. Frank Baum

Join Dorothy and the Wonderful Wizard as they take Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a fabulous tour of Oz. During their journey they encounter such amazing and amusing people as King Kleaver with his Spoon Brigade and Miss Cuttenclip of the land of paper dolls. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry also meet old friends like the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead and H. M. Wogglebug T. E. But while Dorothy and her friends play, the wicked Nome King has joined forces with the terrible Whimsies, the fearsome Growleywogs, and the evil Phanfasms in a plot to capture the Emerald City. Will Dorothys friends discover the danger before its too late? Can they rescue the Land of Oz from destruction? L. Frank Baum had intended to cease writing Oz stories with this book, but financial pressures prompted him to write and publish between 1913-1920 The Patchwork Girl of Oz, with seven other Oz books to follow.

The Enchanted Island of Yew

L. Frank Baum

The Island of Yew is set at some undisclosed place in the Earths global ocean in the middle of the sea. A fairy has become bored with her life, and convinces some young girls to transform her into a human boy so she can go on fast and furious adventures. Transformed, he is Prince Marvel, but he keeps his fairy powers, as they might prove handy in a world where you will quite likely encounter giants, dwarves, wizards, rowdy robber gangs, talking dragons, damsels in distress, and overgrown hedges. He takes as a sidekick a dedicated masochist, which is just one of the ways the author keeps things interesting. Full of magic, and fairies and evil hearted villains, this a good read for young adults with a love of gentle adventure stories. The Enchanted Island of Yew is a 1903 childrens book, a fantasy written by L. Frank Baum. It is not an Oz book, though materials in it show a clear relationship and resemblance with Baums most famous fantasy country.

The Fate of a Crown

L. Frank Baum

Need an adventure story with plots and counterplots? Intrigue? A love interest? Politics? Murder? Follow our young American hero, Robert Harcliffe, as he goes on the adventure of his lifetime. A young man just out of college goes to Brazil as secretary of the prime mover in the revolution, and by so doing begins a series of adventures that run from tragic to comic, ending with the success of the conspiracy, a straightening out of many tangles, and the marriage of the hero to one of the most brilliant and beautiful conspirators. Written by the famous Oz author L. Frank Baum under the alias of Schuyler Staunton, The Fate of a Crown is a stirring novel of the events of a South American revolution against the monarchy at the turn of the 20th Century. It was Baums first novel for an adult readership.

The Last Egyptian. A Romance of the Nile

L. Frank Baum

When Gerald Winston, an English Egyptologist travelling on the Nile, meets Kara, who claims to be the last descendant of a royal Egyptian family, the scientists curiosity is sparked by the story Kara tells. Is it true that Karas ancestor Ahtka-Ra, High Priest of Ămen, ruled Rameses II as his puppet? As Winston tries to learn more about the strange Egyptian and his mysterious tale, he is drawn into Karas insidious intrigues. A complex tale of embezzlement, forgery, arranged marriages, bigotry and cheating keep the reader guessing the outcome until the last chapter. The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile was the only adventure novel and the last adult work of fiction of L. Frank Baum, creator of the Wizard of Oz, published eleven years after he wrote Mother Goose in Prose which first introduced a little girl by the name of Dorothy. Enjoy this masterpiece.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

L. Frank Baum

Every child knows about Santa Claus, the jolly man who brings gifts to all on Christmas. There are many stories that tell of his life, but the delightful version relayed in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is by far the most charming and original of all. Orphaned at an infant Claus is found and raised in the magical Forest of Burzee by a wood-nymph Necile, who convinces the great Ak to allow her to raise Claus for her own. As he grows older he meets his fellow humans, and sees the neglect of children. This sets him on the path to making toys and becoming the beloved Saint Nicholas we are familiar with today. Along the way we learn the origins of the Christmas tree and Christmas stockings and discover the stories behind many Christmas secrets, like why Santa slides down chimneys, how he picks his reindeer, and how he delivers all his toys in one night. Only L. Frank Baum, the man who created the wonderful land of Oz, could have told Santas tale in such rich and imaginative detail!

The Lost Princess of Oz

L. Frank Baum

Who is stealing almost all of the magical treasures of Oz including the Magic Picture, the Wizards black bag, and Glindas Book of Records? Dorothy and her friends set out to comb all of Oz, not only for magic stolen from Glinda and the Wizard, but also for the kidnapped princess, Ozma. Along the way, they explore regions never seen in other Oz books, meeting strange and interesting people and animals, and falling into peril more than once. Deep in the Winkie Country, Dorothys search party learns that Ozma is the prisoner of a mysterious villain. But if their new foe is powerful enough to steal Princess Ozma and all their magical treasures, how will they defeat him with no magic of their own? In this 1917 addition to the Oz series, L. Frank Baum delights readers of all ages with a spellbinding mystery that involves nearly every one of the amazing cast of characters that populate Americas favorite fairyland.

The Magic of Oz

L. Frank Baum

In this witty and imaginative tale, the Royal Historian of Oz, L. Frank Baum, takes young readers back across The Great Sandy Desert for more exciting adventures in the wondrous Land of Oz. Old friends such as Dorothy, the Wizard, and the Cowardly Lion reappear, along with endearing new characters the Glass Cat, the Hungry Tiger, Little Trot, Capn Bill, the Lonesome Duck, and others. In this story, Ozmas kingdom is threatened once again by Nome Ruggedo, the dastardly former Nome King. This time hes teamed up with a young munchkin lad named Kiki Aru whos discovered a secret word which allows him to transform anyone into whatever shape he pleases. When Dorothy, the Wizard, Cowardly Lion, and Hungry Tiger are caught by the wily pair and changed into other shapes, can anyone stop them in time to save all of Oz? Or will Ruggedo finally get his revenge on Ozma and Dorothy? Youll find out in the pages of this exciting story.

The Marvellous Land of Oz

L. Frank Baum

The sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, set shortly after the events in the first book. A fantastical tale of endless imagination, The Marvelous Land of Oz follows the adventures of a young boy named Tip, who, for as long as he can remember has been under the guardianship of a witch named Mombi in the Land of Oz. When Tips prank, in creating a pumpkin-headed man to frighten Mombi backfires, and he is threatened with the terrible fate of being made into a statue as punishment, the young boy runs away and heads for the Emerald City, taking the now living Jack Pumpkinhead with him. Here he meets with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends like the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump. They thwart the wicked plans of the evil witch Mombi and overcome the rebellion of General Jinjur and her army of young women. This story is as exciting and endearing today as it was when first published more than 80 years ago.

The Master Key. An Electrical Fairy Tale

L. Frank Baum

The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale was one of Baums earliest full length fantasy books for children, published in 1901 just one year after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Rob Joslyn is in most respects an ordinary American teenager; his one distinguishing peculiarity is his passion for the new science and craft of electricity. He has his own laboratory in the attic of the family home, and has rigged the house with his electrical gadgets. One day, amid the bewildering cluster of circuits and wires in his workshop, Rob causes a blinding flash of light from which emerges the Demon of Electricity. A young boy receives a series of gifts, electrical gifts, and has a series of unusual adventures. Rob travels the world, rendering assistance to European heads of state and narrowly escaping disaster at the hands of primitive cannibals, Turks and Tatars, pirates, and evil scientists who try to steal his inventions.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz

L. Frank Baum

Ojo the Unlucky, a Munchkin boy raised in isolation in the Blue Forest by his taciturn Unc Nunkie, finds himself setting out on a quest through the wider world of Oz in this seventh entry in L. Frank Baums series about that magical country. The reader accompanies Ojo, the Glass Cat and the Patchwork Girl on a journey to find five magic items in the wonderful Land of Oz to restore to life Ojos Uncle Nunkie and the Crooked Magicians wife, Margolotte, who turn to marble when the Magicians Elixir of Petrification accidentally falls upon them. On his journey, Ojo meets many strange creatures and interesting characters, some new, like the lovable block-headed Woozy, whose tail hairs are just one of the things Ojo needs to rescue Une Nunkie; the Hoppers and Horners and some familiar, like the Jack Pumpkinhead. As they travel to the Emerald City, home of the wise and powerful Ozma, they meet Dorothy, the kind and sensible girl from Kansas; the gallant Scarecrow; and, of course, Toto. But no one proves more loyal than the spirited Patchwork Girl, who, although she was brought to life as a servant, is determined to see the wide world for herself.

The Road to Oz

L. Frank Baum

Meet Dorothys new friends, the Shaggy Man, Button Bright and Polychrome, as you travel with them to the Emerald City. Share their adventures with the Musicker and the Scoodlers. See how they escape from the Soup-Kettle and what they found at the Truth Pond. Their adventures include: the secret behind the love magnet, entering the town of Foxville, the queen of the Scoodlers, the Truth Pond, Ozmas birthday party, why the way to Butterfield got split 7 ways, etc.... Find out how they are able to cross the Deadly Desert and finally get to the Emerald City of Oz. The Road to Oz invite you to make an amazing trip to the magical land of Oz, which was born as a result of the irrepressible imagination of the great American writer Lyman Frank Baum, whose books were beloved by more than one generation of children around the world. The fifth story of Oz and the fourth detailing the magical travels of Dorothy.

The Scarecrow of Oz

L. Frank Baum

The ninth book the action of which takes place in the wonderful Land of Oz is indeed a masterpiece. The mix of Oz and non-Oz characters into one story was the result of the request made by Baums readers and a great invention that gave birth to a story that captivates any reader, child and adult alike. This was published in July 16, 1915 and has been on record as being Baums personal favorite of his series. The story this time around revolves around Scarecrow and his adventures alongside Captain Bill and Trot as they take on a perilous quest through the Land of Oz to overthrow the villainous King Krewl of Jinxland and restore rule to its rightful successor. Capn Bill and Trot had previously appeared in two other novels by Baum, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. Apart from the appearances of familiar faces, the novel also accommodates a fresh set of characters and magical creatures residing in the Land of Oz, further contributing to its classification as a typical Baum masterpiece.

The Sea Fairies

L. Frank Baum

Enchanting fantasy novel from creator of beloved Oz stories L. Frank Baum whisks young readers away on an exciting underwater adventure! The Sea Fairies (1911) was designed as the first volume in a new series for children, to replace the Oz books. It was followed by Sky Island in 1912. Trot, the hero of the tales is a girl, like Dorothy in the Oz stories. An old captain, peg-legged Capn Bill taught her to love the sea. The sailor told her that mermaids is fairies, and aint meant to be seen by us mortal folk. One day while out sailing around, the pair is greeted by a beautiful mermaid who extends an invitation for them to come and visit their underwater kingdom and even become mermaids themselves for the adventure. The mermaids are hospitable and introduce them to the ways and other fantastic creatures of the sea. But as they make their way from place to place they must be cautious of the evil, magic sea serpent Zog...