The Wizard of Oz

Hailed as the first original American fairy tale,The Wizard of Ozinspired countless sequels and imitations, as well as the classic American musical film and the Broadway musicalThe Wiz.In L. Frank Baum's imaginative story, Dorothy Gale takes a magical journey from the American heartland into the wonderful land of Oz to meet the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.

Lyman Frank Baum was born in Chittenango, New York, on May 15, 1856. Over the course of his life, Baum raised fancy poultry, sold fireworks, managed an opera house, opened a department store, and an edited a newspaper before finally turning to writing. In 1900, he published his best known book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Eventually he wrote fifty-five novels, including thirteen Oz books, plus four “lost” novels, eighty-three short stories, more than two hundred poems, an unknown number of scripts, and many miscellaneous writings. Baum died on May 6, 1919. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California.

Eloise Jarvis McGraw was an author of children's books and young adult novels.