I’m joining in with a year long readathon hosted by Lory at Entering The Enchanted Castle blog (read her review and thoughts around book #1 of the collection here.) And CurlyGeek04 from The Book Stop blog.
The readathon is slow paced, running between December 2023 and January 2025 taking in all 14 books of the series. Anyone can take part and there is no pressure to read the books in order. I bought a copy of the collection for kindle at just 49 pence from Amazon.co.uk.
The Road To Oz is book #5 in the classic children’s collection and it was written in 1909.
This story opens with Dorothy back at the farm in Kansas. She offers to show a lost stranger (who she calls The Shaggy Man) his way, and ends up walking with him for a while until they both become lost at a great crossroads.
On their walk they pick up a lost boy called Button-Bright and a lost rainbow dancer called Polychrome. As with all these stories, the adventurers will meet others; some good, some bad. Their road eventually leads to Oz, where it is time to celebrate Princess Ozma’s birthday.
I wasn’t a fan of The Shaggy Man, a stranger who enticed a young girl away from the safety of her home with his claims of a special love magnet. It felt creepy and dangerous by today’s standards. Button-Bright was also quite odd, mostly saying ‘I don’t know’ to everything.
Not my favourite of the stories so far; it took a while to read and dragged towards the end.
Book description:
Meet Dorothy’s 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. Find out how they are able to cross the Deadly Desert and finally get to the Emerald City of Oz.
1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
2. The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
3. Ozma of Oz (1907)
4. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
5. The Road to Oz (1909)
6. The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
7. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
8. Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
9. The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
10. Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
11. The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
12. The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
13. The Magic of Oz (1919)
14. Glinda of Oz (1920)
Rosie Amber 
I completely agree with you about the Shaggy Man. He felt creepy and dishonest to me when I was a kid. And this book doesn’t have much of a plot. I love the other books so there has to be a few that aren’t as good. I’m so glad you’re joining our readathon!
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That’s interesting that you felt that vibe even as a child. I wondered if it was just my parental reaction. Perhaps Baum was trying to show that not all rough looking strangers are dangerous and should be treated without judgement as you might meeting anyone new.
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I think Rosie is right about what Baum meant to show with the Shaggy Man, but it’s also completely true that there is an uncomfortable undercurrent there. It’s good that the Love Magnet is taken away in the story — it could indeed be dangerous in the hands of any one person.
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