History Literature / HandyMandyInOz

* BalefulPolymorph: Ruggedo was turned into a jug in a previous book and is still a jug; [[spoiler: by the end of the story both Ruggedo and Wutz are turned into cacti by Himself the Elf. Wutz's minions, including King Kerr, are transformed into moles by Ozma]].

''Handy Mandy in Oz'' is the thirty-first installment in the ''Literature/LandOfOz'' book series, and the seventeenth Oz novel written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, released in 1937. Like all of her books, it was illustrated by John R. Neill. It is one of Thompson's final five Oz books in the Famous Forty which failed to have its copyright renewed, thus becoming public domain.

The book's heroine is a seven-armed goat herder named Mandy, who grazes her flock on the slopes of Mt. Mern, a location due east of Oz on the other side of the Deadly Desert. One day as she chases one of her goats up the mountain a geyser erupts underneath her, sending her hurdling atop a rock across the desert and crash landing into the tiny kingdom of Keretaria in Oz's Munchkin Country. Here she is startled to see that everyone has two arms, while seven arms are the norm at Mt. Mern; and the king is equally startled by her. She is saved from being put in a museum by Nox the Ox, the "royal ox", who takes a liking to Mandy. Nox is preoccupied by the Keretarian political situation: the rightful king, a boy named Kerry, has disappeared, and the throne has been usurped by his uncle Kerr. The Royal Ox is an unusual creature: his right horn grants wishes, and his left horn offers clues. When a clue indicates that King Kerry can be found at a place called the Silver Mountain, the enterprising Mandy leads Nox on a search for the missing monarch.

* BalefulPolymorph: Ruggedo was turned into a jug in a previous book and is still a jug; [[spoiler: by the end of the story both Ruggedo and Wutz are turned into cacti by Himself the Elf, and Wutz' minions, including King Kerr, are transformed into moles by Ozma]].

* WackyWaysideTribe: In the grand Oz tradition. Mandy and Nox encounter the Topsies in Turn Town, who are always spinning, and the Hook Noses, who literally have hook-shaped noses.

* DistressedDude: King Kerry, who's basically a gender-flipped typical royal damsel in distress.

* BalefulPolymorph: Ruggedo was turned into a jug in a previous book and is still a jug; [[spoiler: by the end of the story both Ruggedo and Wutz are turned into cacti by Himself the Elf]].

* WackyWaysideTribe: In the grand Oz tradition. Mandy and Nox encounter the Topsies in Turn Town, who are always spinning, and the Hook Noses, who literally have hook-shaped noses.

* PardonMyklingon: Nox takes great offense when Mandy calls him a "hoopadoop", though we're never told what that means.

* LoopholeAbuse: After reading a sign warning newcomers to Oz about Ozma's [[BanOnMagic ban on practicing magic]], she laughs and says she's not "practicing" magic because her magic is already perfect.

* WackyWaysideTribe: In the grand Oz tradition. Mandy and Nox encounter the Topsies in Turn Town, who are always spnning, and the Hook Noses, who literally have hook-shaped noses.

''Handy Mandy in Oz'' is the thirty-first installment in the ''Literature/LandOfOz'' book series, and the seventeenth Oz novel written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Like all of her books, it was illustrated by John R. Neill. It is one of Thompson's final five Oz books in the Famous Forty which failed to have its copyright renewed, thus becoming public domain.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Handy Mandy can and does use her arms to weild several weapons, as seen when she makes her bold escape from Keretaria with Nox.

* VocalTic: Mandy has a few, such as saying "Mmm-mmm!", and stuttering her words, saying things like "Dear-ear!" or "Mercy-ercy!"

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Handy Mandy can and does use her arms to weild several weapons, as seen when she makes her bold escape from Keretaria with Nox.