Oz
#3923.96 of 664 ranked universes · 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.
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 (523,670 ratings) |
 | The Marvelous Land of Oz | 1904 | 2 | core | 3.79 (26,738 ratings) |
 | Ozma of Oz | 1907 | 3 | core | 3.95 (27,700 ratings) |
 | Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz | 1908 | 4 | core | 3.72 (15,689 ratings) |
 | The Road to Oz | 1909 | 5 | core | 3.71 (13,799 ratings) |
 | The Emerald City of Oz | 1910 | 6 | core | 3.85 (12,183 ratings) |
 | The Patchwork Girl of Oz | 1913 | 7 | core | 3.85 (9,939 ratings) |
 | Tik-Tok of Oz | 1914 | 8 | core | 3.77 (9,031 ratings) |
 | The Scarecrow of Oz | 1915 | 9 | core | 3.76 (7,253 ratings) |
 | Rinkitink in Oz | 1916 | 10 | core | 3.77 (7,088 ratings) |
 | The Lost Princess of Oz | 1917 | 11 | core | 3.90 (7,101 ratings) |
 | The Tin Woodman of Oz | 1918 | 12 | core | 3.82 (6,266 ratings) |
 | The Magic of Oz | 1919 | 13 | core | 3.88 (6,643 ratings) |
 | Glinda of Oz | 1920 | 14 | core | 3.89 (7,333 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? #392 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 680,433 reader ratings across 14 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #392?
Ranked #392 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.96 across 14 core books.
- Backed by 680k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #391, The Last Binding (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 · 680k ratings · Ranks #392 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.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Oz and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Chrestomanci Portal fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.03
- Young Wizards Portal fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.01
- The Keys to the Kingdom Portal fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.90
- Harry Potter Portal fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.52
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.96 across 680,433 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.