The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Dorothy Gale’s life is turned upside-down when a cyclone carries her off from Kansas, along with her little dog Toto, and drops her into the magical land of Oz. The only way for her to get back to her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry is to follow the yellow brick road, to seek help from the great and powerful Wizard of Oz in Emerald City. Along the way she befriends a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman, and a Cowardly Lion. Each has a quest to fulfill: the Scarecrow longs to have a brain instead of a head full of straw; the Tin Woodman wishes for a heart to allow him to love; the Cowardly Lion wishes for courage; and Dorothy wants to find her way home. The yellow brick road to the Emerald City is long, and there will be many adventures and perils along the way. Will the Wizard of Oz help them each find what they are seeking? An instant success when it was first published in 1900, the Wizard of Oz has been adapted into plays, musicals and films, and inspired a retelling in the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, also adapted into a musical and a film. Over a century later, the Wizard of Oz is one of the best-known stories in American literature, and the Library of Congress has declared it “America’s greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale”. This carefully prepared edition contains the complete text of this classic story of friendship and kindness.