Little Wizard stories of Oz

What could be better than a story about the unforgettable characters from the land of Oz? Six stories, of course! Featuring everyone's favorite friends—Dorothy, Toto, the Wizard, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman—these little tales contain the same Baum magic, with a few special surprises not revealed in the other Oz books. Also included are adventures with Tiktok, the Clockwork Man; the always ravenous Hungry Tiger; the amazing Jack Pumpkinhead; the incredible wooden Sawhorse; and the magical princess Ozma of Oz.

Discover how Dorothy and Toto escape from under the power of the terrible giant, Crinklink, join wise Princess Ozma and the Wizard as they match wits with three mischievous Imps; follow the adventures of Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse as they brave a great, gloomy forest to save two lost children. Whether or not you have visited the enchanted land of Oz before, you will delight in these and three other fanciful and exciting tales.

For over ninety years L. Rank Baum's fairyland has stirred the imaginations of readers of all ages. Now, in this lavishly produced edition featuring all forty-five of John R. Neill's striking full-color illustrations, young readers and listeners will enjoy six little Oz adventures about the beloved folk who make Oz so fascinating and enduring.

Afterword by Peter Glassman. This deluxe collection of six short stories was written especially for beginning readers and features forty-five glowing full-color plates. Everyone will enjoy these irresistible adventures about the beloved characters who make the land of Oz so delightful and enduring. A Books of Wonder Classic.

Six tales present further the adventures of Dorothy and Toto, Ozma, Tiktok, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Tin Woodman, and other characters from the land of Oz.

L. Frank Baum

Biography

Baum was born in 1856 to a family that had made a fortune in the oil business. Because he had a heart condition, his parents arranged for him to be tutored privately at the family’s Syracuse estate, “Roselawn.” As an adult, though, Baum flourished and failed at a dizzying variety of ventures, from writing plays to a stint with his family’s medicinal oil business (where he produced a potion called “Baum’s Castorine”), to managing a general store, to editing the Aberdeen Pioneer in Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 1897, following his mother-in-law’s advice, Baum wrote down the stories that he told his children. The firm of Way & Williams published the stories under the title Mother Goose in Prose, with illustrations by Maxfield Parrish, and Baum’s career as a writer was launched.

With the publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, Baum gained instant success. The book, lavishly produced and featuring voluptuous illustrations by William Wallace Denslow, was the bestselling children’s book of the year. It also set a new standard for children’s literature. As a commentator for the September 8, 1900 New York Times described it, “The crudeness that was characteristic of the oldtime publications...would now be enough to cause the modern child to yell with rage and vigor...” The reviewer praised the book’s sheer entertainment value (its “bright and joyous atmosphere”) and likened it to The Story of the Three Bears for its enduring value. As the film industry emerged in the following years, few books were as manifestly destined for adaptation, and although it took almost four decades for a movie studio to translate Baum’s vision to film, the 1939 film did for the movies what Baum’s book had done for children’s literature: that is, raised the imaginative and technical bar higher than it had been before.

The loss of parents, the inevitable voyage toward independence, the yearning for home -- in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Baum touched upon a child’s primal experiences while providing a rousing story of adventure. As his health declined, Baum continued the series with 14 more Oz books (his publisher commissioned more by other authors after his death), but none had quite the effect on the reading public that the first one did. Baum died from complications of a stroke in 1919.

Good To Know

Buam was married to Maud Gage, a daughter of the famous women’s rights advocate Matilda Joslyn Gage.