Forced to venture out of the dark forest, Unc Nunkie and Ojo the Unlucky call on the Crooked Magician, who introduces them to his latest creation: a living girl made out of patchwork quilts and cotton stuffing. But when an accident leaves beloved Unc Nunkie a motionless statue, it is up to Ojo to save him. In his search for the magic ingredients that will restore his uncle to life, Ojo is joined by the Patchwork Girl and by the conceited Glass Cat, who boasts of her hard ruby heart, the resourceful Shaggy Man, and the lovable block-headed Woozy, whose tail hairs are just one of the things Ojo needs to rescue Une Nunkie.

As they travel to the Emerald City, home of the wise and powerful Ozma, they meet Dorothy, the kind and sensible girl from Kansas; the gallant Scarecrow; and, of course, Toto. But no one proves more loyal than the spirited Patchwork Girl, who, although she was brought to life as a servant, is determined to see the wide world for herself.

A 1913 children's novel, book 7 in the Oz series.

A boy searches Oz for ingredients to a magic spell to save his uncle.

C+ (Okay).

Once again, an Oz book that starts out really promising, with a bad second half. The Patchwork girl is delightful, but doesn't end up having anything to do in the book. And the ending is extremely lazy, with no surprises; Baum might just as well have declared that he was done writing now so go to bed, kids.

(May 2023) ( )

Very enjoyable. Introduced a few new characters and revisited some old ones. I particularly enjoyed Ojo the Unlucky and his monosyllabic Unc Nunkie. And the budding romance between the Patchwork Girl and the Scarecrow was a hoot. ( )

One of three books the prolific Baum published in 1913. I remember this as one of the best of the Oz books. The Patchwork Girl is a stuffed doll brought to life for the convenience of humans, similar to the Scarecrow. My brother pointed out what a terrible conundrum it is that Ojo the Unlucky must break the most important rule of Oz (do not harm any living creatures) in order to save his uncle's life. ( )

L. Frank Baum is an author I have read many times since I first discovered him in second grade. I find that his books stand up to the test of time and they are books that I enjoy re-reading. Some of them are stronger than others but as a whole I quite enjoy both the stories and characters. ( )