Definitely was better than most the Oz books, but I don't think any of them deserve more than 3 stars! just because it was better compared to the previous books in the series does not (1.) Make L. Frank Baum a better writer (2.) Mean this book Succeeded in holding a more complicated plot or (3.) mean he ended yet another book with an awfully convenient item that wraps everything up perfectly.

I couldn't help but think throughout this book that as a toddler I would have loved to hear this story read out loud to me. Baum's imagination outshines his writing skills by a lot. If you are looking for a nice, simple bedtime story to read to your children I couldn't recommend this series enough, but to anyone else it might just be a waste of time.