The Wizard of Oz Books

by Aisha Gilani

Home > Different Forms of Oz > The Wizard of Oz Books

Like most of Baum's early writings, it started off as a story he was telling his sons and their friends in 1898. At that time in Frank's Chicago neighbourhood, a number of children would come to the Baum's house to listen to his stories in the evening. He came to Dorothy meeting the Scarecrow when one of his listeners asked, "Mr. Baum, where did they live?" He thought about it for a moment, and replied, "The Land of Oz," and continued the story. Later that night, his wife, who had also been listening as she worked on her sewing, urged Frank to write the story down, and he quickly produced a manuscript. His friend W. W. Denslow agreed to illustrate it, and they tried to find a publisher. But at that time American publishing firms were only interested in children's stories from European, and especially British, writers. Nobody was interested in an American fairy tale. Finally, Baum and Denslow struck a deal with the publisher of their previous book. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published May 15, 1900, and became the biggest selling children's book of the year. After Baum's death, the popularity of the Oz series did not fade away and so other authors continued the Oz series.

Here is a list of some of the Famous Oz books, along with their authors and dates of publication:

· The Wizard of Oz (originally published as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) (L. Frank Baum, 1900)
· The Land of Oz (originally published as The Marvelous Land of Oz) (L. Frank Baum, 1904)
· Ozma of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1907)
· Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1908)
· The Road to Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1909)
· The Emerald City of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1910)

· The Royal Book of Oz (Ruth Plumly Thompson [but originally attributed to L. Frank Baum], 1921)
· Kabumpo in Oz (Ruth Plumly Thompson, 1922)
· The Cowardly Lion of Oz (Ruth Plumly Thompson, 1923)
· Grampa in Oz (Ruth Plumly Thompson, 1924)

· The Wonder City of Oz (John R. Neill, 1940)
· The Scalawagons of Oz (John R. Neill, 1941)
· Lucky Bucky in Oz (John R. Neill, 1942)

· The Magical Mimics in Oz (Jack Snow, 1946)
· The Shaggy Man of Oz (Jack Snow, 1949)

· The Hidden Valley of Oz (Rachel R. Cosgrove, 1951)

· Merry Go Round in Oz (Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren McGraw Wagner, 1963)

Home | About Baum | Different Forms of Oz | Various Interpretations of Oz | References