B is for Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum – Where He Fits In History

Baum was born in Chittenango, New York, in 1856. This was the same year that Borax was discovered in Tuscan Springs, CA, the Treaty of Paris is signed ending the Crimean war, the Republican Party has its first meeting, and John Brown and his men murder five men in the Pottawatomie Massacre.

His Stories, Especially The Ones For Young Kids

Frank Baum is most famous for the Wizard of Oz. A few people I know are aware that he wrote more Oz stories. In fact he wrote 14 Oz books, 200 poems, 83 short stories, and 41 other books.

My husband read all 14 of the Oz books to my kids when they were little. It was a special time he shared with them each evening when he came home from work, just before the little ones’ bedtime.

Something Special To Share With Your Older Children

Frank Baum intended for his Oz tales to be a retelling of many of the Grimm and Anderson fairy tales, for American children. But he also wrote a wonderful book called American Fairy Tales. This is a collection of short stories that we read aloud last year in our homeschool, when my children were in 8th grade. The stories are fantastic, although just as dark as the original Grimm tales and so perhaps not good for young readers. We especially liked, “The Glass Dog.”

A Great Place to Visit If You Live in South Dakota

We don’t live anywhere near Aberdeen, South Dakota, but I know for certain that if we did, we would have visited the Land of Oz there when the kids were young!