Tik Tok of Oz
Narrated by Andrew Bond
Tik-Tok of Oz is L. Frank Baum's eighth Oz book, a gentle quest through the Land of Oz, read slowly and softly for sleep.
Betsy Bobbin is washed up on a strange shore after a storm at sea, with only her mule Hank for company. Before long the pair fall in with the Shaggy Man, an old friend of Oz who is searching for his long-lost brother, taken prisoner somewhere deep in the mountain kingdom of the Nomes. They are soon joined by Tik-Tok, the wind-up copper man whose thoughts, speech, and actions each run on their own separate key, and by Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter, who tumbled out of the sky and cannot find her way home.
Their journey crosses with Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo, ruler of a tiny mountain kingdom, who has marched out with an army made almost entirely of officers to conquer the world. Combined, this mismatched company sets off toward the domain of Ruggedo, the bad-tempered Nome King, where cleverness and a little Oz magic will matter more than force.
This is a patchwork fantasy quest in the classic Baum style, full of talking animals, mechanical people, and small kingdoms with big ambitions. It's a fine pick for listeners who grew up with Dorothy and the Scarecrow, or anyone who enjoys an old-fashioned, gently funny fairy-tale adventure.
Every odd character gets room to breathe. The unhurried pace is made for winding down rather than racing to the end, so let this strange parade of travelers walk you gently down toward sleep.
