❝Never give up . . . No one knows what's going to happen next.❞
-- L. Frank Baum
Children's writer and playwright, Lyman Frank Baum was best known for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which the series extended with thirteen additional stories. Baum was born on May 15, 1856 in Chittenango, New York. As a young boy, his education started with tutors at home and then he attended Peekskill Military Academy; when he was twelve years old, he left the school because of a health crisis. He never earned a high school degree, his experience came from acting and writing for the stage.
It wasn't until Baum was in his forties that he started writing children stories. Mother Goose in Prose (1897) was his first published collection. His up-coming work paired well with his first collection, it was titled Father Goose, His Book (1899). Shortly after, in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published and Baum said, " 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written solely to pleasure children today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.' "
Two years later, he transformed Wizard of Oz into a successful Broadway musical. He dedicated his life to writing in this series and also he wrote under a ray of pseudonyms. Glinda of Oz was the last book he wrote before passing away in 1919. The Wizard of Oz was so widely popular that Ruth Plumy Thompson and other writers were hired and continued to write in the series.
Discussion Questions:
What elements / tropes are associated with fantasy? Does The Wizard of Oz have these? And what would you say makes the series a 'modern day' fairy tale?
It's amazing to see how connected readers are to the series! What are the advantages to reading new writer's adaption? Which newest book in the series have you read?
What's your go-to character in any of L. Frank Baum's works? Which character do you resonate with?
Always open to additional questions and comments on about L. Frank Baum and his works.
If there is another author you would like to see a discussion on, please post your suggestion in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!
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