The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
by L. Frank Baum
11690The Wonderful Wizard of Oz1900L. Frank Baum

The WONDERFUL WIZARD of OZ BY L. FRANK BAUM PICTURES BY W.W. DENSLOW

By L. Frank Baum

Illustrated by W. W. Denslow

Father Goose: His Book

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The Songs of Father Goose

With music by Alberta N. Hall
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GEO. M. HILL CO.
Publishers

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INTRODUCTION.

Folk lore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations.

Yet the old-time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incident devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder-tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.

Having this thought in mind, the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written solely to pleasure children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out.

L. Frank Baum.

Chicago, April, 1900.

Copyright 1899
By L. Frank Baum
and W. W. Denslow.
All rights reserved

LIST OF CHAPTERS.

This book is dedicated to my good friend & comrade. MY Wife L.F.B.
This book is dedicated to my good friend & comrade. MY Wife L.F.B.

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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