The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
SynopsisPlot
First published in 1901, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” follows the magical adventure of Dorothy, a young girl who lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a farm in Kansas. One day when Dorothy is caught up in tornado with her little dog, Toto, she finds her farmhouse has been magically transplanted to Munchkin Country in the mystical Land of Oz. Her house lands on the evil Wicked Witch of the East, killing her, and freeing the Munchkins from her rule. As a reward the Good Witch of the North gives Dorothy the magical Silver Shoes that belonged to the Witch and sets her on her way down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard for help in returning to Kansas. Along the way she meets several interesting characters including the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion who join her on her travels to ask the Wizard for help of their own.
Story
About this book
Dorothy lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a Kansas farm until a tornado carries her, her house, and her small dog Toto into the Land of Oz. The farmhouse lands in Munchkin Country, and Dorothy finds herself far from anything familiar, wearing a pair of magical Silver Shoes and facing a long road to the Emerald City. She hopes the powerful Wizard who rules there can send her home.
Along the yellow brick road she meets three companions, each seeking something they believe they lack: a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin Woodman who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. Together they travel through strange and sometimes dangerous territory, encountering witches both kind and hostile as they press toward the Emerald City and the audience with Oz that each of them needs.
L. Frank Baum first published the story in 1900, and it is often described as the first American fairy tale. Unlike the European folk traditions it drew from, the book set its fantasy in a distinctly American landscape, beginning on the flat prairie of Kansas before shifting into a bright, invented world with its own geography, rules, and politics.
