Oz
#4833.96 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 14 books Status Complete 1900–1920 Reading commitment High L. Frank Baum Last reviewed 2026-08-13
Overview
L. Frank Baum's foundational American fantasy series: a girl from Kansas is swept by a cyclone into the magical land of Oz, the first of fourteen novels Baum wrote following Dorothy, Oz's ruler Ozma, and a widening cast through the Emerald City and beyond, beginning with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and ending with the posthumously published Glinda of Oz (1920). Baum styled himself "the Royal Historian of Oz," presenting the books as true accounts relayed to him from the real land of Oz. After his death, publisher Reilly & Lee continued the series with further authors under the same "Royal Historian" conceit, eventually reaching forty canonical volumes known as "the Famous Forty." The original series' enduring popularity has inspired decades of authorized sequels and reimaginings, including Gregory Maguire's revisionist Wicked series.
Portal fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (14 works) counts toward ranking
The Oz Books L. Frank Baum
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | 1900 | 1 | core | 4.00 (525,325 ratings) |
 | The Marvelous Land of Oz | 1904 | 2 | core | 3.79 (26,826 ratings) |
 | Ozma of Oz | 1907 | 3 | core | 3.95 (27,750 ratings) |
 | Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz | 1908 | 4 | core | 3.72 (15,730 ratings) |
 | The Road to Oz | 1909 | 5 | core | 3.71 (13,834 ratings) |
 | The Emerald City of Oz | 1910 | 6 | core | 3.85 (12,211 ratings) |
 | The Patchwork Girl of Oz | 1913 | 7 | core | 3.85 (9,958 ratings) |
 | Tik-Tok of Oz | 1914 | 8 | core | 3.77 (9,053 ratings) |
 | The Scarecrow of Oz | 1915 | 9 | core | 3.76 (7,273 ratings) |
 | Rinkitink in Oz | 1916 | 10 | core | 3.77 (7,099 ratings) |
 | The Lost Princess of Oz | 1917 | 11 | core | 3.90 (7,121 ratings) |
 | The Tin Woodman of Oz | 1918 | 12 | core | 3.82 (6,280 ratings) |
 | The Magic of Oz | 1919 | 13 | core | 3.88 (6,657 ratings) |
 | Glinda of Oz | 1920 | 14 | core | 3.89 (7,348 ratings) |
L. Frank Baum's own 14 Oz novels, one continuous author-written saga (1900-1920, the last published posthumously a year after his 1919 death). Registered per the credited-authorship-as-bright-line precedent: Core Canon = Baum's own 14 novels only. Ruth Plumly Thompson (and, later, John R. Neill, Jack Snow, and others) continued the series with an officially licensed further ~26 'Famous Forty' Oz books after Baum's death -- explicitly out of scope (a sprawling multi-author catalogue to register in a later pass rather than all at once); logged as a future candidate for a later pass. No formal literary award existed for children's fantasy in this era; this project's genre-historical-significance precedent (King of Elfland's Daughter, The Worm Ouroboros, Lud-in-the-Mist) applies -- Oz is a foundational work of American fantasy, adapted into the 1902 Broadway musical and the 1939 MGM film.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Oz? Oz's Core Canon is 14 books.
- What is the reading order for Oz? Publication order, starting with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Oz finished? Complete (1900–1920).
- How much reading does Oz take? High reading commitment (estimated from 14 Core Canon books).
- How is Oz ranked? #483 in this site's official ranking, based on 682,465 reader ratings across 14 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #483?
Ranked #483 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.96 across 14 core books.
- Backed by 682k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #482, The Second Apocalypse (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 14 books · Complete · 682k ratings · Ranks #483 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (14 Core Canon books)
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
- The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
- Ozma of Oz (1907)
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
- The Road to Oz (1909)
- The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
- Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
- The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
- Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
- The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
- The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
- The Magic of Oz (1919)
- Glinda of Oz (1920)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No formal literary award existed for this genre/period at the time of original publication.
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- Tales of Magic Portal fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.00
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.96 across 682,465 ratings on 14 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Oz admitted; Core Canon = L. Frank Baum's own 14 novels (1900-1920) accepted 2026-08-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: List of Oz books Tier 2
- FantasticFiction: L. Frank Baum's Oz books in order Tier 3
- Wikipedia: L. Frank Baum Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-13
Rule: Core = the 14 Oz novels L. Frank Baum personally wrote (1900-1920), one continuous author-written saga, per the credited-authorship-as-bright-line precedent.