TheWizardofOzandOtherWonderfulBooksofOz

The Wizard of Oz In his fourteen books about Oz, three of which are collected here, Baum developed his vision of a socialist paradise. The Wizard of Oz (1900) introduces Dorothy, who arrives from Kansas and meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and a host of other characters. The Emerald City of Oz (1910) finds Dorothy, Aunt Em, and Uncle Henry coming to Oz just as the wicked Nome King is plotting to conquer its people. In Baum’s final novel, Glinda of Oz (1920), Dorothy and Princes Ozma try to prevent a battle between the Skeezers and the Flatheads. Tapping into a deeply rooted desire in himself and his loyal readers to live in a peaceful country which values the sharing of talents and gifts, Baum’s imaginative creation, like all great utopian literature, holds out the possibility for change. “I am a writer today because I learned to love reading as a child—and mostly on account of the Oz books.” —ELIZABETH GILBERT PENGUIN THREADS With paper and pen or needle and thread, storytelling has many traditions. Penguin’s award-winning art director Paul Buckley presents Penguin Threads, a series of Penguin Classics Delux......