"Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities."— L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
The man who built the land of Oz
Frank Baum had probably the strangest career path of any famous author. Before he wrote Oz, he'd been, a chicken farmer, a stage actor, a traveling salesman, a store owner (it went bankrupt), a newspaper editor (it folded), and a magazine writer about window displays.
Through all of it, he loved one thing, telling stories to kids. His mother-in-law Matilda, a famous women's-rights activist, heard him telling his sons bedtime stories about a magical land. She told him, "You really need to write these down."
Quick Facts
- Born: May 15, 1856
- From: Chittenango, New York, USA
- Job: Writer (and 12 other jobs first)
- Famous for: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz + 13 Oz sequels
He claimed he named 'Oz' after looking at his filing cabinet, the bottom drawer was labeled O–Z. Whether that's true or not, the name stuck.
His Famous Stories
Read Baum's stories on Worldly
Oz is one of the great American fantasy worlds. On Worldly, every page is adapted to your reading level.
★ On Worldly
1900A Kansas tornado drops Dorothy in a magical land. She follows a yellow brick road, meets a scarecrow, a tin woodman, and a lion, and tries to find the way home.
1907Dorothy is on a ship when a storm sweeps her overboard. She washes up in a strange new corner of Oz, with new friends and a new royal princess to meet.
1904A boy named Tip and his pumpkin-headed friend Jack escape from a witch and journey to the Emerald City, finding the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and a few surprises.
1908An earthquake drops Dorothy, her kitten, and the Wizard into an underground land of glass cities and invisible bears.
His Life, Year by Year
From chickens to the Emerald City
Baum tried at least a dozen careers before Oz hit. He didn't get successful until he was 44, proof that it's never too late.
Born in upstate New York
Lyman Frank Baum is born in Chittenango, New York. He's a sickly kid with a weak heart who spends a lot of time inside, reading.
Raising fancy chickens
Frank's first real job, breeding Hamburg chickens (a fancy egg-laying breed) and writing a newsletter about chicken-farming. Yes, really.
He marries Maud Gage
Frank marries Maud Gage. Her mother, Matilda Joslyn Gage, is a famous American feminist. Matilda will later push Frank to write down his bedtime stories.
He moves out west
Frank and Maud move to South Dakota to start over. He opens a general store. It goes bankrupt. He starts a newspaper. It folds.
Mother Goose in Prose
At 41, Frank publishes his first kids' book, retellings of nursery rhymes. It gets some praise but doesn't sell big. He keeps trying.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Frank publishes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with illustrator W.W. Denslow. It's an instant hit. Kids ALL want to know more about Oz.
Oz becomes a musical
A Broadway musical version of Oz runs for nine years. Frank becomes rich and famous, at last, after a lifetime of failed ventures.
He moves to Hollywood
Frank moves to Hollywood and tries to make Oz movies. The technology of the time can't really do them justice (the famous MGM film with Judy Garland comes out in 1939, twenty years after his death).
End of the Royal Historian
Frank dies in Hollywood at age 62. He'd written 14 Oz books and 27 other novels. Other authors kept writing Oz books for decades after.
The Land of Oz
What Baum invented
Almost everything you know about Oz, even from the movies, was Baum's idea first.
Wizard of Oz · 1900
The Yellow Brick Road
A bright yellow road winding to a green city. There's nothing else like it in older fairy tales. It became one of the most famous images in American kids' books.
Wizard of Oz · 1900
Three friends who need things
A scarecrow who wants a brain. A tin man who wants a heart. A lion who wants courage. Three of the most beloved characters ever invented.
Wizard of Oz · 1900
The wizard isn't a real wizard
Spoiler from 1900: the great and powerful Wizard turns out to be a regular guy from Kansas pulling levers behind a curtain. The kindest surprise twist ever.
Wait… really?!
Six surprising things about L. Frank Baum
He had at least 12 different jobs
Before he wrote Oz, Frank was a chicken farmer, actor, salesman, store owner, newspaper editor, magazine writer, and more. None of them worked out, until Oz.
His mother-in-law was a famous feminist
Matilda Joslyn Gage was one of America's leading women's-rights activists. She pushed Frank to write his stories down, and influenced the strong female characters in Oz.
He named Oz after a filing cabinet
Frank said he was making up the story for the neighborhood kids when one asked the country's name. He looked at his filing cabinet, saw the drawer labeled 'O-Z,' and said, 'Oz.'
He wrote 13 sequels
Kids kept demanding more Oz. Frank wrote 13 more Oz books, like Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard, and The Patchwork Girl of Oz. After he died, other writers kept the series going for another 40 years.
He had a weak heart all his life
Frank was born with a heart condition and was a sickly kid. He spent a lot of his childhood reading. The condition eventually killed him at 62, but he packed a lot of life in.
The MGM movie came out 20 years after he died
The famous 1939 film with Judy Garland singing 'Over the Rainbow' wasn't the first Oz movie, Frank made silent versions himself. But the MGM one made Oz famous all over again, two decades after his death.
Good questions, answered
L. Frank Baum FAQ
What does L. Frank stand for?+
Lyman Frank! But he hated the name Lyman and always went by Frank. The 'L.' on his book covers is just a fancy initial.
How did he come up with the name 'Oz'?+
Frank told reporters he was making up the story for some neighborhood kids when one asked what the country was called. He looked at his filing cabinet, saw the bottom drawer labeled 'O-Z,' and said 'Oz.' Whether the story is 100% true or not, the name stuck.
Did he write all the Oz books?+
Frank wrote the first 14 Oz books. After he died in 1919, other authors continued the series, most famously Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote 19 more. The whole Oz library is more than 40 books.
What age is The Wizard of Oz good for?+
Ages 6 and up. The book is gentler than the famous movie (no scary flying monkeys, no melting witch in close-up). The Worldly version is adapted further to fit each reader's level.
Is the movie the same as the book?+
Mostly yes, but with some differences! In the book, Dorothy's slippers are SILVER, not ruby. The Wicked Witch of the West is barely in the book. And the whole adventure takes much longer than the movie.
Ready for an adventure?
Dive in with L. Frank Baum
Start with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, adapted to fit your reading level. Free in the Worldly app.