The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum

"The Road to Oz" is the 5th book in the beloved Oz series by L. Frank Baum. In this book Dorothy and Toto meet a new friend, the Shaggy Man, and she travels with him a short ways to give him directions. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) they find themselves in a maze of magical roads and obviously very far from Kansas!

Not knowing what else to do; Dorothy and her companions start out along a random road to see where it leads. Before long they discover that the road leads to Oz, and that Princess Ozma is having a birthday! Dorothy and her friends decide to follow the road until they reach Oz, because Dorothy would love to see her friend again, and they know that Ozma would be able to help them reach home again.

As they travel to Oz Dorothy, Toto, and the Shaggy Man pick up some more companions and travel through yet more strange lands. Baum's capacity for coming up with new concepts is astounding! We meet fox people, donkey people, and a man who makes music whenever he breaths. Dorothy also becomes friends with the daughter of the rainbow.

Golem in the Gears by Piers Anthony

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Golem in the Gears (The Magic of Xanth, Book 9)

I've been looking forward to getting to "Golem in the Gears" as I read through the Xanth books. I knew from reading some of his author's comments at the back of his books that this was the first book he wrote using a computer! Piers Anthony had said in those notes that the computer managed to work it's way into the book, and I was curious to see how that worked out.

"Golem in the Gears" stars Grundy Golem, the little Golem that was transformed awhile ago into a living being. He's still quiet small though, and he's struggled with his feeling of self worth. Now he has a chance to prove his worth by going on a quest for the princess.

Traveling in Xanth is always an adventure, and fortunately Grundy doesn't have to go alone. He travels with the monster from under the Princess's bed as his stead, and eventually meets up with Rapunzel. Rapunzel is part elf, and she's able to change her size. She likes being his size, admires what he's doing, and begins to fall for him. Can a golem find love?

And yes, they do encounter the computer, and a battle of wits ensues!

Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures

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Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures

Poems by Julie Larios, Paintings by Julie Paschkis

"Imaginary Menagerie" is a wonderful book for any parent who wants to introduce their children to fantasy! There are fourteen different poems, each one dealing with different creature from myth, and each accompanied by a beautiful painting on the opposite page. This book is not only an interesting (and easy) read, but a feast for the eyes!

I also really appreciated that they have a couple pages at the end of the book that give you more details about each of the fantastic creatures in the book. So, depending on the age of the child, you can go into more detail or not as you wish. This would be a great book to read to your child, or to give them to read if their old enough!