When the renowned author of the wonderful Oz stories surpasses himself with a full-blown fairy tale, complete with magic wishes, palace life, an evil hag, and a poor boy and girl, we know we are in for something exceptional in storytelling. 'In some ways,' Baum confided to his son, 'Queen Zixi is my best effort.' The critic Edward Wagenknecht goes further, terming it flatly one of the best fairy tales ever written by anyone. The master tale-spinner captures suspenseful attention at once with a m