Tik-Tok of Oz (Oz Series, Book 8)

Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth book in the Oz series written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in The Road to Oz) to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King. The book was based on Baum‘s play The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, which was produced in Los Angeles in spring 1913. Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo, a small monarchy separated from the rest of Oz‘s Winkie Country, sets out to raise an army to conquer Oz. Betsy Bobbin, a girl who is a year older than Dorothy Gale, and her loyal mule Hank have washed ashore during a storm. They arrive at a large greenhouse that is the domain of the Rose Kingdom, where the roses tell them that no strangers are allowed. Just as the Royal Gardener is about to pass sentence on Betsy and Hank, the Shaggy Man falls through the greenhouse‘s roof, and charms the Gardener into sparing all of their lives with his Love Magnet. The travelers leave, taking with them the newly plucked Rose Princess Ozga, a cousin of Ozma, the ruler of Oz.