Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John

Summary
Patsy, Beth, Patsy's father, and the girls' Uncle John venture out west by train and car, and meet adventures along the way.

Review
This is the second travelogue among the Aunt Jane's Nieces books. The first was of Italy. This second is of the American West, and conveys Baum's awe at the majestic Grand Canyon and other spots. Unfortunately, it's also of its time and incorporates some unfortunate characterizations of Native Americans and Mexicans – the latter mostly voiced by characters meant to be unappealing, but the former fully owned by Baum. I didn't take them as meant to be derogatory, but the characterization of Wampus, the part-Native American chauffeur, is at the least lazy, and unfortunately runs through the book, though somewhat balanced by the fact that he's also shown as highly competent.

The mild twist in this book is that only two of the nieces appear – Patsy and Beth – but Louise is quickly replaced with an equally endearing young woman (and a dog), so there's not much change in the formula.

I found this – perhaps because of the wide-eyed but sincere travelogue – to be among the least appealing of the Nieces books so far. The happy ending plot twist is also predictable from early on, which makes the book even more reliant on the frail travelogue. Not bad, but only really for fans of the series, which is starting here to feel a bit stretched.