Trouble Under Oz

I really liked Smith's _The Emerald Wand of Oz_, in which readers were introduced to Em and Dori, two modern-day descendents of Dorothy Gale of Kansas. Like Dorothy, Em and Dori are blown into Oz by a tornado and have many adventures there before returning home. _Trouble Under Oz_ follows the further adventures of Dori and Em and some of the Ozians they met in the first book. When they receive a call for help from Princess Ozma, Dori and Em decide that only one of them can return to Oz, since there's no tornado to cover for their absence this time. While Em stays at home, fending off questions and mediating between her separated parents, Dori goes to Oz, where she joins up with the nome Rik, on a quest to regain his kingdom from King Kaliko. Rik and Dori are assisted by Prince Inga of Pingaree, from _Rinkitink in Oz_, whom I was delighted to see, as _Rinkitink in Oz_ is one of my favorite Oz books, and Baum, at least, never returned to those particular characters. Like _The Emerald Wand of Oz_, _Trouble Under Oz_ combines a modern sensibility with the fantastic fairyland readers love, and _Trouble Under Oz_ goes deeper into setting and characters, making it, I thought, an even better book.