Showing results by author "Frank L. Baum" in All Categories

One frosty Christmas Eve, while all the children are dreaming of the presents soon to appear under the tree, the unthinkable happens - Santa Claus is kidnapped. Who in the world would do such a thing, and what possible purpose could it serve?

In this beautifully packaged anthology, discover lesser-known and tender stories and poems from classic authors you know and love. Each selection honors the spirit of the season and celebrates the beauty, mystery, and joy found at this time of year. From O. Henry’s iconic story “The Gift of the Magi” to L. Frank Baum’s quaint and clever history of Santa Claus and his reindeer, the stories gathered in A Timeless Christmas honor the yuletide tales and traditions passed down through generations.

This is a delightful collection of fairy tales and fables written by the most beloved of all children's authors and read with charming wit and tenderness. Includes the story of that fleet-footed Gingerbread Man who commences running as soon as the oven door is opened.

Woot the Wanderer finds himself at the home of the Tin Woodman of Oz and desires to hear the story of how a woodman made of tin could come to be. The Tin Woodman tells the tale of how he was once Nick Chopper, a man of flesh and blood, in love with a young girl named Nimmie Amee. The Wicked Witch of the East was not happy about this and so she enchanted his axe and had him cut off his limbs one at a time, which were replaced with limbs made of tin.

Most of us remember The Wizard of Oz as the film starring Judy Garland and Bert Lahr. But the film was based on an immensely popular early 20th century Oz series. In these novels, Oz is the utopian land beyond the rainbow where threats are turned back with valor and ingenuity. Their success is due to the way they induce children to look for the element of wonder in the world around them.

Tip, a young Gillikin boy, runs away from his cruel guardian, the wicked witch Mombi. He meets up with the Scarecrow, now ruler of the Emerald City; the Tin Woodman; many new friends; and an army of girls who want to overthrow the Scarecrow. Before it's over, Tip finds out that he is part of a dark secret from Oz's past.

Here is Linda Marshall’s BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of L Frank Baum's children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, originally broadcast as part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season.... When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are lifted to the magical Land of Oz, the strange home of the Munchkins. There she embarks upon a perilous journey to find the wonderful Wizard of Oz and a way back home.

After being lost at sea, Dorothy washes up on the shores of the Land of Ev, reconnects with old friends, and meets Princess Ozma. Together they face the arrogant Princess Langwider and the terrible Nome King to restore Ev's ruling family.

Dorothy is swallowed by an earthquake! And that is just the start of Dorothy's adventures in this exciting and fun audiobook. She and her kitten, Eureka, are on their way home and stop to visit a relative in California. But the earthquake opens the ground under their feet and everyone, including the horse and buggy and her cousin Zeb fall deep, deep into the Earth. Down there they find they can walk on air, but are attacked by the strange and dangerous vegetable creatures. But who should drop in but Dorothy's old friend the Wizard of Oz with nine tiny piglets!

"A Kidnapped Santa Claus" is a short story by L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz stories. In it, The Daemons of the caves, resentful of Santa Claus, who rebuffs their attempts to subvert him by temptation, capture him in his sleigh on Christmas Eve and imprison him in their caves. Santa's helpers: a fairy, pixie, knook, and ryl, finish his deliveries with a few comical mishaps. Assembling a magical army of good beings, the queen of the fairies leads an attempt to rescue Santa Claus from the clutches of the evil Daemons.

The financial stress of rebuilding their family farm leaves Dorothy Gale's family facing mountains of debt. Upon hearing about her aunt and uncle's situation, Dorothy contacts Princess Ozma and arranges for her and her family to live in Oz, where they can be forever safe and at peace.

Dorothy, an orphan lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in the bleak landscape of a Kansan farm with her little dog Toto, who is her sole source of happiness. One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy and Toto inside, is caught in a cyclone and deposited in a field in the Munchkin Country in The Land of Oz. Dorothy only way home is if The Wizard of Oz who lived in The City Of Emeralds helps her find her way back.

Short stories for children from Beatrix Potter, Andrew Lang and E. Nesbit.

The Emerald City is built all of beautiful marbles in which are set a profusion of emeralds, every one exquisitely cut and of very great size. There are other jewels used in the decorations inside the houses and palaces, such as rubies, diamonds, sapphires, amethysts and turquoises. But in the streets and upon the outside of the buildings only emeralds appear, from which circumstance the place is named the Emerald City of Oz.

Professor Wogglebug gets the characters of Oz thinking about their genealogy and where they came from because he wants to write The Royal Book of Oz recording all this information. This topic especially upsets the Scarecrow, as he knows that he was discovered by Dorothy hanging from a beanpole in a cornfield and he thinks that this mean he can't possibly have a family history. Woggleburg agrees and hurts Scarecrow's feelings by noting that because of Dorothy's discovery, Scarecrow has no family tree and should get the slightest mention in their Royal Book of Oz.

The story begins in a faraway corner of Oz, in the small country of Oogaboo. There Queen Ann Soforth musters an unlikely army and sets off to conquer the rest of Oz. Meanwhile, a girl from Oklahoma named Betsy Bobbin and her companion, Hank the mule, are shipwrecked and washed ashore in the Rose Kingdom, a magical land of talking roses. There they meet the Shaggy Man, who is on a quest to rescue his brother from the clutches of the evil Nome King.

Princess Ozma is missing! When Dorothy awakens one morning to discover that the beloved ruler of the Land of Oz has disappeared, all of the Emerald City's most celebrated citizens join in the search for the lost princess. But Ozma isn't all that's gone missing. The magical treasures of Oz have disappeared, too, including the Magic Picture, the Wizard's black bag, and even Glinda's Great Book of Records. With no clues to guide them, Ozma's friends separate into four search parties and spread out across their vast country in a desperate quest for their absent ruler.

Rinkitink of Oz is the 10th Oz book. In this story, you meet a kindhearted king named Rinkitink. When the king sails for a visit to the island kingdom of Pingaree, he and his talking goat, Bilbil, are welcomed with open arms. Before long, Rinkitink's lighthearted ways and merry songs endear him to the king and queen of Pingaree, as well as to their son, Prince Inga.But when the peaceful isle is invaded, everyone from the rulers to the smallest child is taken off in chains.

This story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz. As Baum says in the introduction "It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out." And it succeeds wonderfully. It is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated.

In the short story The Girl Who Owned a Bear, Jane Gladys Brown’s mother leaves her in the care of Nora the maid when she goes shopping. While Nora is busy in the pantry, Jane Gladys works on her embroidery, until a mysterious little man arrives and gives her a large book titled Thingamajigs. When she opens it, the pictures come to life and appear in the room, including a monkey, a donkey, a leopard and a bear. When her mother returns, all of them jump back into the book.