Rinkitink in Oz

As a child, I read and reread ALL the Oz books written by Baum. Later Oz books by a different author were a poor imitation of the original series. By far my favorite Oz book was - - - and still is: Rinkitink. The story itself, and the delightful characters, is still a pleasure to read. Bilbil the goat is a rude, hilarious animal and adds much humor to the story about brave little Prince Inga and his companion, King Rinkitink, as they set off to rescue Prince Inga's parents. The book deserves 5 stars or more if it were possible to give it more.

My 10 year old son read the book and loved it. He said it had interesting characters who had exciting adventures. He would recommend it to all his friends.

If you enjoy Oz books, this is a must to ad and is in the same style as the original with illustrations. I like these hardcover editions because they are so faithful to the original first editions.

Books of Wonder has reprinted the original 1916 edition of Rinkitink in Oz with color dust jacket and cover. This is a truly beautiful book with 12 color plates and nearly 100 black-and-white drawings by John R. Neill, the famous illustrator of almost all the Oz books.Rinkitink is the fat, lazy, and irresponsible king of the small kingdom of Rinkitink which lies on the shore of Baum's imaginary Nonestic Ocean. He is too lazy to walk any great distance and keeps a surly saddled goat named Bilbil near him always to provide him with transportation. His redeeming qualities are his jovial nature, his great love of life, and his ability to burst into spontaneous laughter or song. The story of the book mainly takes place on islands in the Nonestic Ocean and begins when Rinkitink, tired of the responsibilities of ruling, sneaks away without telling anyone where he is going. He visits Pingaree where Prince Inga is a quiet boy who spends much of his time reading books in a tree. Pingaree is a rich kingdom and is attacked by marauders soon after Rinkitink arrives. They loot and sack the island taking all the islanders back to their own islands of Regos and Coregos as slaves. Prince Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil are overlooked and left stranded on Pingaree. How can a lazy overweight king, a shy boy, and a surly goat rescue the Pingareeans? This is the drama of Rinkitink in Oz. The characters are among the best developed in any of Baum's work. The plot is tight and exciting. Danger and force are confronted with a charming grace that marks Baum's best works. Also, this is my favorite Oz book to read aloud. Rinkitink's joviality, laughter and songs are great for recitation.The title of the book may be a bit misleading because Oz is not even mentioned until the last five chapters of this 24 chapter book. According to the Afterword by Peter Glassman, Rinkitink was originally written in 1905, 11 years before it was published. Other commitments and illness prevented Baum from writing a book in 1916. So he took the unpublished Rinkitink and reworked the ending to bring Dorothy and the Wizard, as well as a brief visit to Oz, into the plot. Although this sudden shift is the weakest part of the book, loyal Oz fans will not mind once Ozma throws one of her famous banquets for Rinkitink and Inga. This is also a good book for readers not familiar with the Oz series since it stands on its own more than most of the other books in the series.

Baum has combined magic, suspense, adventure and pure delight into this wonderful odyssey. It's as fun to read today as it was over forty years ago.