Little Wizard Stories of Oz

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Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Little Wizard Stories of Oz (1914) Cover.jpg
First edition cover
Author L. Frank Baum
Illustrator John R. Neill
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Reilly & Britton
Publication date
1914
Media typePrint (hardcover)

Little Wizard Stories of Oz is a set of six short stories written for young children by L. Frank Baum, the creator of the Oz books. The six tales were published in separate small booklets, "Oz books in miniature," in 1913, and then in a collected edition in 1914 with illustrations by John R. Neill. [1] [2] The stories were issued to promote the new Oz novel, The Patchwork Girl of Oz . Each booklet is 29 pages long, and printed in blue ink rather than black.

Contents

Development

The stories were part of a project, by Baum and his publisher Reilly & Britton, to revitalize and continue the series of Oz books that Baum had written up to that date. The story collection effectively constitutes a fifteenth Oz book by Baum. [3]

Baum had attempted to end the Oz series with the sixth book, The Emerald City of Oz (1910). In the final chapter of that book, he sealed off the Land of Oz from the outside world. He began a new series of books with The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912). [4] Also, he reacted to his 1911 bankruptcy by increasing his literary output. [5] He produced five books that year, his greatest output since 1907. Baum tried to launch two other juvenile novel series in 1911, with The Daring Twins , released under his own name, and The Flying Girl , under his "Edith Van Dyne" pseudonym. [6]

None of the new series were as successful as the previous Baum and Van Dyne series; the Oz books and Aunt Jane's Nieces . Both the Flying Girl and Daring Twins series ended with their second volumes, The Flying Girl and Her Chum and Phoebe Daring , both published in 1912. Disappointing sales through 1911 and 1912 convinced Baum and Reilly & Britton that a return to Oz was needed. Baum wrote The Patchwork Girl of Oz for a 1913 release, and in the same year his publisher issued the six Little Wizard stories in individual booklets at a cost of $0.15 each. The goal was to reach the youngest beginning readers, and create in them an interest in the larger Oz canon, as part of a "promotion of L. Frank Baum and all of his books." [7]

Content and publication

The six tales in the Little Wizard Stories are:

The strategy of reaching beginning readers was successful enough for Reilly & Britton to repeat it within a few years. The publisher released selections from L. Frank Baum's Juvenile Speaker (1910) in six smaller books called The Snuggle Tales in 1916–17, and again as the Oz-Man Tales in 1920.

Four of the Little Wizard Stories were re-issued in 1932 in a new form, as The Little Oz Books with Jig Saw Oz Puzzles. A year or two later the four tales were released again, as part of a promotion for a Wizard of Oz radio program (sponsored by Jell-O). Rand McNally published the six stories in three booklets in 1939. [8]

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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, 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.

<i>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</i> 1913 novel by L. Frank Baum

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John R. Neill</span> Childrens book illustrator (1877–1943)

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<i>Aunt Janes Nieces</i> 1906 novel written by L. Frank Baum

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reilly & Britton</span> American publishing company

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<i>The Sea Fairies</i> 1911 novel by L. Frank Baum

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John Dough and the Cherub is a children's fantasy novel, written by American author L. Frank Baum, about a living gingerbread man and his adventures. It was illustrated by John R. Neill and published in 1906 by the Reilly & Britton Company. The story was serialized in the Washington Sunday Star and other newspapers from October to December 1906. Like the Oz books but unlike many of the author's other works, John Dough was issued under Baum's name rather than one of his pseudonyms. The book was popular; as late as 1919 it was selling 1500 copies a year. The 1974 Dover Publications edition features an introduction by Martin Gardner.

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<i>Policeman Bluejay</i> 1907 novel by L. Frank Baum

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<i>L. Frank Baums Juvenile Speaker</i> 1910 anthology of literary works by L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum's Juvenile Speaker: Readings and Recitations in Prose and Verse, Humorous and Otherwise is an anthology of literary works by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. The book was first published in 1910, with illustrations by veteran Baum artists John R. Neill and Maginel Wright Enright; a subsequent 1912 edition was retitled Baum's Own Book for Children. The book constitutes a complex element in the Baum bibliography.

<i>The Flying Girl</i> 1911 novel written by L. Frank Baum

The Flying Girl is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. It was first published in 1911. In the book, Baum pursued an innovative blending of genres to create a modern flying adventure melodrama. The book was followed by a sequel, The Flying Girl and Her Chum, published the next year, 1912. Both books were illustrated by Joseph Pierre Nuyttens, the artist who also illustrated Baum's Annabel and Phoebe Daring in 1912.

<i>The Daring Twins</i> 1911 childrens novel by L. Frank Baum

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<i>Annabel</i> (Baum novel) 1906 juvenile novel written by L. Frank Baum

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<i>Sam Steeles Adventures on Land and Sea</i> 1906 book by L. Frank Baum

Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea is a juvenile adventure novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The book was Baum's first effort at writing specifically for an audience of adolescent boys, a market he pursued in the coming years of his career. The novel was first published in 1906, under the pen name "Capt. Hugh Fitzgerald", one of Baum's pseudonyms.

<i>Aunt Janes Nieces at Millville</i> 1908 young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum

Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville is a 1908 young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. It is the third volume in "the successful Aunt Jane Series," following Aunt Jane's Nieces and Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad. These books for adolescent girls constituted the second greatest success of Baum's literary career, after the Oz books. Like the other books in the series, the Millville volume was released under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's multiple pseudonyms.

<i>Aunt Janes Nieces in the Red Cross</i> 1915 young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum

Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross is a 1915 young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. It is the tenth and final volume in Baum's Aunt Jane's Nieces series of books for adolescent girls — the second greatest success of his publishing career, after the Oz books themselves. As with all the previous books in the series, Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross was released under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's various pseudonyms.

This is a complete bibliography for American children's writer L. Frank Baum.

References

  1. Douglas G. Greene and Peter E. Hanff, Bibliographia Oziana: A Concise Bibliographical Checklist of the Oz Books of L. Frank Baum and His Successors, revised and enlarged edition, Kinderhook, IL, International Wizard of Oz Club, 1988.
  2. David L. Greene and Dick Martin, The Oz Scrapbook, New York, Random House, 1977; pp. 38–9.
  3. L. Frank Baum, The Complete Book of Oz: 15-in-1 Omnibus, Radford, VA, Wilder Publications, 2007.
  4. Katharine M. Rogers, L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz: A Biography, New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002; pp. 184, 190–1, 210 and ff.
  5. Rogers, pp. 175–8.
  6. Rogers, pp. 186–9.
  7. Rogers, p. 194.
  8. Green and Martin, p. 38.