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The Emerald Wand of Oz Hardcover – June 1, 2005

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

Meet Em and Dori, two modern-day descendants of Dorothy Gale (yes, THAT Dorothy), who follow in her famous footsteps to the magical land of Oz -- and adventure.

Dori loves reading all of the wonderful old Oz books, imagining what it would be like to meet the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow. Her younger sister, Em, thinks that believing in Oz is for babies and that the magical snow globe Dori claims was left to them by Dorothy Gale is just an old souvenir. But when a tornado suddenly deposits the sisters in a place where unicorns hold beauty contests, Nome princes walk through solid rock, and magic takes care of daily chores, they realize they're not in Kansas anymore.

However, this is a new Oz, different in many ways from how it was when Dorothy traveled down the yellow brick road. Strange dark clouds hover over the Emerald City, Princess Ozma and her people are under an evil spell cast by Bastinda, the new Wicked Witch of the West, and Dorothy is nowhere to be found! It is up to Em and Dori to reverse the spell and save the people of Oz. But to do that they must get hold of the magic wand used to cast it -- a wand that belongs to the wicked witch!

Whether this is your first trip to Oz or you have visited many times before, prepare to be enchanted by Sherwood Smith's fresh new adventure!

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; First Edition (June 1, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060296070
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060296070
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 10 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 4
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.93 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

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Sherwood Smith
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Sherwood Smith was a teacher for twenty years, teaching history, literature, drama, and dance. Before that she worked in the film industry for several years. She writes science fiction and fantasy for adults and young readers; she has been working on the Sartorias-deles fantasy series all her life.

Readers ask where to start reading in the Sartorias-deles series? That seems a simple question, but it’s not simple to answer when a writer has been at it their entire life. Here are groupings according to possible entry points:

HISTORICAL ARC

“Lily and Crown”

Inda

The Fox

King’s Shield

Treason’s Shore

Time of Daughters (two volumes)

Banner of the Damned

To skip the past and start with the MODERN ERA, there are three starting points (two, if you begin with the children’s stories)

CHILDREN’S STORIES, (written when I was a kid) which introduce many of the characters central to later arcs.

CJ Notebooks

Senrid

Spy Princess

Sartor

All these come together in Fleeing Peace. If you don’t want to wade through all the kids’ stories, I suggest Spy Princess as a starting point, followed by Sartor, then Senrid, A Stranger to Command, then Fleeing Peace.

After that, the Rise of the Alliance begins.

A Stranger to Command is a prequel to Crown Duel, and occurs at the same time as A Sword Named Truth.

The second starting point skips the children’s stories, and shifts to a more adult POV in the RISE OF THE ALLIANCE arc.

A Sword Named Truth

The Blood Mage Texts

The Hunters and the Hunted

Nightside of the Sun

The third starting point would be the ROMANTIC STORIES, which mostly stand alone:

Crown Duel

The Trouble with Kings

Sasharia En Garde

THE NORSUNDER WAR

The Wicked Skill

Ship Without Sails

Marend of Marloven Hess (Oct. 2022)

Seek to Hold the Wind (Nov. 2022)

All Things Betray (Dec. 2022)

A Chain of Braided Silver (Jan. 2023)

The POSTWAR books and stories:

“Beauty” [published in Remalna Stores

“Court Ship” [published in Remalna Stores

Let the Torrent Dance Thee Down (May 2023)

Antiphony (September 2023)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018
    This book is recognized by the Baum Family Trust as an official story to the Oz saga. So, this is a real Oz story that you'd be reading. The principal author did a great job and wrote a meaningful story that does indeed belong in the Oz saga. One part of the story dragged a bit too much, like when the two protagonists were trapped in Unicorn Country. However, the rest of the story flowed well. There were minimal illustrations, but really, this book didn't need that many at all. I won't try to spoil the story for anyone, however, many famous Ozian characters return in this book (but not all of them). Also, it would help if you have read many other Oz books, prior to stumbling on this one, where it would help to gather yourself in this story. Yet, you can still read this particular book and follow it, even if you haven't read a single Oz book and you're only familiar with the 1939 MGM film "The Wizard of Oz". I recommend this book, even if you're only minimally an Oz fan. You will like it.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2016
    My kid enjoyed it.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2005
    The magic of the Oz books seems to appeal to every generation. Many writers have continued the stories, and now Sherwood Smith can be added proudly to the list. This is a fun little story about two sisters, Em and Dori, who are direct descendants of the original Dorothy Gale. Em is the practical one and concerned with much more grown-up things than Dori. Dori believes in everything to do with Oz and has a special snow globe that is supposed to have come from Dorothy. The girls are feeling sad and upset because their parents have separated. Then one day, in the middle of a quarrel, a tornado sweeps through. The first thing you know, Em and Dori have arrived at Oz!

    In Oz they find themselves in the middle of a group of beautiful unicorns who actually hold beauty contests and enjoy having themselves groomed. While this is all very interesting, the sisters become aware that they must make their way to the Emerald City and have princess Ozma send them back home. After they help a strange boy named Rik escape from the unicorns, he agrees to help get them to Ozma. Unknown to Em and Dori, Rik is a prince and is actually a gnome, which all goes into making this an even wilder adventure.

    When the magic snow globe shows the sisters that the Emerald City seems to be under some kind of spell, they are even more cautious as they approach. And indeed, Bastinda --- a young witch descended directly from the evil Wicked Witch of the West --- has succeeded in putting Ozma and the Emerald City under her spell. She eventually wants all of Oz to be under her control and will stop at nothing. Those two little girls and the weird boy with them most definitely do not frighten her. She, however, does underestimate their cleverness as they learn about and eventually switch green wands on Bastinda. A couple of little girls from Kansas are just as clever as their Aunt Dorothy!

    Em and Dori have happily encountered some of the more famous of the Oz folk, such as Scraps, The Scrapwork Girl, the Scarecrow and the beautiful (but conceited) Glass Cat. Together they will help bring about the downfall of Bastinda and restore Princess Ozma as leader of the Emerald City. There is a lot to be accomplished if they want Ozma to help them back home! And once they return home, will their parents get back together?

    Sherwood Smith has done a fine job reviving some of the older beloved characters and updating the Oz stories. The beautiful cover of the book carries The L. Frank Baum Family Trust official seal. The famous Oz illustrator and "historian," John R. Neill, is the direct inspiration for the outstanding illustrations by artist William Stout. New readers are sure to be enchanted by this entire package. And for those familiar with the other books, a fresh adventure awaits.

    --- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2005
    As a long-time fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz books, I'm generally suspicious of newer books by other authors set in his world; I'm not even a big fan of Ruth Plumly Thompson, his immediate successor. However, I liked Sherwood Smith's _Crown Duel_ enough that I thought it would be worth giving her Oz book a try -- and I loved it.

    Smith's heroines are Em and Dori, who live in Kansas and are reputedly related to the famous Dorothy Gale, who first visited Oz in _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_. When a tornado strikes their house, they're suddenly whisked away -- just like Dorothy -- to the land of Oz. Dori, who's loved Oz all her life, is thrilled, but the more practical Em can hardly believe it. Soon, they're pulled into a quest to save Princess Ozma and Glinda the Oz from a wicked enchantment that's been laid on them.

    Smith succeeds in bringing a more modern sensibility to her characters and a genuine sense of threat to the plot without dimming the charm and wonder of Oz. Em and Dori have family problems - their parents are separated - and Smith treats these realistically, with sympathy for the girls and for the adults. The threat to Ozma and Glinda and their country is vivid (particularly when a mysterious, frightening cloud shows up repeatedly), yet the country itself is every bit as inventive as Baum's, with pretty but vain unicorns, poppycocks (little scarlet birds which turn into flowers), and all manner of other Ozzy details. Smith handles Baum's characters nicely, too, particularly the dizzy Patchwork Girl.

    This is apparently the first in a series of four connected Oz novels Smith is writing. I'll happily read all of the others and am looking forward to them very much, particularly as _The Emerald Wand of Oz_ closes with some intriguing unanswered questions.
    16 people found this helpful
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