The Wizard of Oz

by L. Frank Baum, Anna Bond (Illustrator)

Genres: Classics

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 21, 2025

About the author

also wrote under the names:
* Edith van Dyne,
* Floyd Akers,
* Schuyler Staunton,
* John Estes Cooke,
* Suzanne Metcalf,
* Laura Bancroft,
* Louis F. Baum,
* Captain Hugh Fitzgerald

Lyman Frank Baum was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema.
Born and raised in Chittenango, New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first Oz book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.
His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).

Reviews

[Emily Tosson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is so frickin adorable i love it so much i love the wizard of oz i love wicked i love it all

[Helen Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved seeing what they did and didnt pull from the book. The story themes reminded me a lot of The Nutcracker and was so odd, so the Wicked book had some solid inspiration. Will hold on to for my kids someday!

[Marifer Ramirez Acevedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fue divertido leer la obra original, si creía que iba a ser más similar a la película, como que la bruja malvada aparezca desde el inicio, pero se enfoca mucho en el viaje desde los 4 protagonistas, y en parte esta lindo ver el mundo fantástico que creo Baum, también el que él mismo menciona que creo estas historias porque no quería que los niños leyeran las historias con moraleja de los hermanos Grimm que estaban más oscuras, y aunque no había muertes humanas, si había muchas de animales.

[Brian Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read any version, and after watching both Wicked's and the original Oz in the last couple weeks this was a fun read, and it was full of differences that were fun to pick out.

[May Crain · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOD THE COVER IS GORGEOUS! I hope they do Pollyanna too!

[annabelle 🎀 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There’s no place like home!” ❤️