Wonderful country of the lake. The Land of Oz or the Magic Land, L.F.

Who doesn’t know Volkov’s fairy tale about the girl Ellie, who ended up in a magical land? But not everyone knows that in reality Volkov’s work is just a free retelling of the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by Lyman Frank Baum. In addition to this fairy tale, Baum dedicated thirteen more works to the Oz universe; in addition, other, no less interesting children's fairy tales came from his pen.

Baum Lyman Frank: biography of his early years

Frank was born in May 1856 into the family of a cooper in the small American town of Chittenango. Due to heart problems with the baby, doctors predicted a short life for him - 3-4 years, but, to everyone's surprise, the boy outlived all his brothers and sisters.

Soon after Frank was born, his father became rich and was able to provide his children with better conditions to grow up. Baum spent his entire childhood with private teachers teaching him.

Having become interested in books at an early age, Baum soon read his father’s entire huge library, which made him proud. Baum's favorite authors were Dickens and Thackeray.

In 1868, the boy was sent to the military academy in Peekskill. True, Frank soon persuaded his parents to take him home.

One day, a guy received a miniature printing machine designed for publishing newspapers as a birthday gift from his father. Together with his brother, they began publishing a family newspaper. The Baums' home newspaper published not only chronicles of family life, but also the first fairy tales written by young Frank.

From the age of seventeen, the writer was seriously interested in philately and tried to publish his own magazine dedicated to this topic. He later worked as a bookstore manager. His next hobby was breeding purebred chickens. Baum even dedicated a book to this topic - it was published just when the guy turned twenty. However, later he lost interest in chickens and became interested in theater.

Baum's personal life

After spending some time with the traveling theater, Lyman Frank Baum, at the age of twenty-five, met the beautiful Maud, and a year later they got married. The parents of Frank's beloved were not very fond of their dreamy son-in-law, but his father's wealth forced them to agree to this marriage.

Frank and Maude had four sons, whom Baum loved very much and often told bedtime stories of his own composition.

Over time, he began to record them, and soon published them - this is how Baum’s writing career began.

Successful writing career

After the success of the first children's book, a couple of years later Baum wrote a sequel, Father Goose: His Book. However, as he watched his own children grow up, he realized that it was necessary to compose a fairy tale for older children who were no longer interested in reading about the adventures of geese in the barnyard. This is how the idea arose to write about the girl Dorothy, who accidentally found herself in the fairy-tale land of Oz.

In 1900, the debut tale of the cycle about the land of Oz was published. This work instantly gained popularity, and tens of thousands of children began to read Dorothy’s exciting adventures. On the wave of success, the author published a fairy tale about Santa Claus, and two years later - its continuation. However, readers were still waiting for a new book from him about a fairyland, and in 1904 another fairy tale from the “Land of Oz” cycle was born.

Baum's last years

Trying to move away from the theme of Oz, Baum wrote other fairy tales, but readers were not so interested in them. Later, the writer completely switched to writing books about a magical land. In total, Baum dedicated fourteen books to her, the last two of which were published after the death of the writer, who died in 1919 from heart problems. It is noteworthy that the Oz series was so popular that even after the death of its creator, other writers began to publish numerous sequels. Of course, they were inferior to the original.

Summary of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

The main character of the most popular first part and most of the remaining books in the series was the orphan Dorothy (Volkov renamed her Ellie).

In the first book, a girl with her faithful dog Toto is carried away to the land of Oz by a powerful hurricane. Trying to return home, at the prompting of the good sorceress, Dorothy heads to the Emerald City to Oz, who rules there. Along the way, the girl makes friends with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. They all need something from the wizard, and he promises to fulfill their requests if his friends rid the country of the evil witch. Having overcome many problems, each hero gets what he wants.

The plot of the story “The Wonderful Land of Oz”

In the second book, the main character is the servant of the evil witch Mombi Tip. One day, a boy runs away from her, taking with him a magic powder that can breathe life into inanimate objects. Having reached the Emerald City, he helps the Scarecrow escape from there, as the city is captured by an army of militant maidens with knitting needles led by Ginger. Together they ask the Tin Woodman and Glinda (the good witch) for help. It turns out that they need to find the true ruler of the city - the disappeared Princess Ozma. After a while, it turns out that Tip is Ozma, bewitched by the witch Mombi. Having returned to their true appearance, the princess and her friends regain their power.

The plot of "Ozma of Oz", "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz", "Journey to Oz", and also "The Emerald City of Oz"

Girly Dorothy appears again in the third book. Here she, together with the chicken Billina, finds herself in a magical land. The girl learns with horror the tragic history of the Yves royal family. Trying to help them, she almost lost her own head. However, having met Princess Ozma (who came to the aid of the royal family in the company of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman), Dorothy manages to lift the spell from the Eve family and return home.

In the fourth book, as a result of an earthquake, Dorothy, her cousin Jeb and the decrepit horse Jim find themselves in a magical land of glass cities. Here they meet the wizard Oz and the kitten Eureka. To get out of this not at all friendly country, the heroes have to overcome a lot. The journey ends again in the land of Oz, where good old friends await the girl, who help her and her companions return home.

In the fifth book of the series, Princess Ozma had a birthday, where she really wanted to see Dorothy. To do this, she confused all the roads, and the girl, showing the way to a tramp named Shaggy, herself got lost and after numerous wanderings and adventures she ended up in the land of Oz to Ozma.

In the sixth story of the "Land of Oz" series, due to problems on the farm, Dorothy's family moves to live in the Magic Land. However, trouble looms over the Emerald City - an evil king who is building an underground passage is trying to capture it.

Other stories about Baum's Magic Land

Baum intended to end the epic with "The Emerald City of Oz." After which he tried to write fairy tales about other heroes. But young readers wanted to continue the adventures of their favorite characters. Ultimately, at the insistence of readers and publishers, Baum continued the series. In subsequent years, six more stories were published: “The Patchwork of Oz,” “Tik-Tok of Oz,” “The Scarecrow of Oz,” “Rinkitink of Oz,” “The Lost Princess of Oz,” “The Tin Woodman of Oz.” Oz." After the writer’s death, his heirs published manuscripts of two more stories from the Oz universe: “The Magic of Oz” and “Glinda of Oz.”

In most of the latest books, the author’s fatigue with this topic was already felt, but young readers from all over the world asked him for new fairy tales, and the writer could not refuse them. It is noteworthy that even today some children write letters to the writer, despite the fact that Lyman Frank Baum died long ago.

Books about Santa Claus

Although Baum gained worldwide fame and name thanks to the never-ending epic about the land of Oz, he also wrote other fairy tales. So, after the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the writer composed a wonderful, good Christmas tale, “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.” In it, he talked about the fate of a kind boy raised by a lioness and the nymph Nekil, about how and why he became Santa Claus and how he received immortality.

The children also really liked this fairy tale. Apparently, Baum himself was closer to the story of Santa Claus than to the land of Oz, and he soon published the book “The Kidnapped Santa Claus.” In it, he talks about Klaus' main enemies and their attempts to disrupt Christmas. Later, the plot of this book was often used for many films.

Over his rather long life, Lyman Frank Baum wrote more than two dozen books. These books were received differently by the public. It was his fairy tales that brought him the greatest popularity. And although the author repeatedly tried to write on other topics, and very successfully, for his readers he will forever remain the court chronicler of the country of Oz.

In the second Oz book, readers will meet a boy named Tip. With the help of a magic powder, he revives Jack the Pumpkin, the wooden Goat and the Flyer, and the whole company goes to help Bolvasha - after all, the impostor Kovrizhka has encroached on his throne in the Emerald City, and she is helped by the old witch Mombi. Who is destined to rule the land of Oz? Is the real heir of the former rulers still alive? And here’s what the author of the book, Lyman Frank Baum, writes: “After the publication of “The Great Wizard of Oz,” I began to receive letters from children. They really liked the book, and they all asked for continuation of the adventures of Goofy and the Tin Woodman. At first I accepted these cute ones , although very serious letters for ordinary compliments, months and years passed, and the flow of them did not dry up. In the end, I promised one little girl, whose name, of course, was Dorothy and who came to me with her request in person, that I would certainly. I’ll write a sequel when I receive a thousand letters from a thousand little girls who miss the Tin Woodman and the Tin Man. Either this Dorothy turned out to be a sorceress and waved her magic wand, or the theatrical production of “The Great Wizard of Oz” won our heroes new fans and, most importantly, fans, but since then I have received many more than a thousand letters. I apologize for not immediately fulfilling my promise, Dorothy! But here it is, the long-awaited new book about the country of Oz." For primary school age.

Plot

The main character is a boy named Tip, who, for as long as he could remember, was under the tutelage of the old witch Mombi from the country of the Gillikins. Tip didn't like the old woman, just like she didn't like him, and one day he decided to play a joke on her. He made a man out of wood and attached a pumpkin head to him, carving out eyes, a nose, and an ever-smiling mouth on it, and named the man Jack Pumpkinhead. Having placed the resulting scarecrow near the road along which the witch was returning home, Tip hid, anticipating how funny Mombi would be scared. But the old woman was not frightened by Jack Pumpkinhead, and, moreover, she decided to try the effect of the Powder of Life on him, which she had just bought from a sorcerer friend. By sprinkling this powder on Jack, Mombi revived him. The guy was immediately locked in the house by her. As punishment for the prank, she decided to turn the boy into a statue, and leave Jack Pumpkinhead to serve herself in his place. But Tip, not wanting to wait for a sad fate, ran away at night, when Mombi was fast asleep, and took Jack with him.

Leaving Mombi's house, Tip took with him the witch's basket with the Powder of Life in it. The boy decided to go to the Emerald City. On the way, it turned out that Pumpkinhead Jack had difficulty moving on his articulated legs, and Tip had to revive wooden goats with Powder, which served as a good horse for Jack. Having ordered the Living Goats with Pumpkinhead sitting on them to gallop, Tip fell far behind them and lost sight of them.

  • Audio plays for children based on the works of L. F. Baum

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The girl Dorothy lived with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in the Kansas steppe. Uncle Henry was a farmer, and Aunt Em ran the farm. Hurricanes often raged in these places, and the family took refuge in the cellar. One day Dorothy got confused, did not have time to go down to the cellar, and a hurricane picked up the house and carried it along with Dorothy and the dog Toto to God knows where. The house landed in the magical land of Oz, in the part of it where the Munchkins lived, and so successfully that it crushed the evil sorceress who ruled in these parts. The munchkins were very grateful to the girl, but could not help her return to her native Kansas. On the advice of the good sorceress of the North, Dorothy goes to the Emerald City to the great sage and wizard Oz, who, she is convinced, will certainly help to be with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em again. Putting on the silver shoes of the deceased evil sorceress, Dorothy sets off for the Emerald City along the road paved with yellow brick. Soon she meets the Scarecrow, who was scaring the crows in the corn field, and they go to the Emerald City together, since the Scarecrow wants to ask the great Oz for some brains.

Then they find a rusty Tin Woodman in the forest, unable to move. Having lubricated him with oil from an oil can left in the hut of this strange creature, Dorothy brings him back to life again. The Tin Woodman asks him to take him with him to the Emerald City: he wants to ask the great Oz for a heart, because, as it seems to him, without a heart he cannot truly love.

Soon Lev joins the squad, assuring his new friends that he is a terrible coward and he needs to ask the great Oz for some courage. Having gone through many trials, the friends arrive in the Emerald City, but the great Oz, appearing before each of them in a new guise, sets a condition: he will fulfill their requests if they kill the last evil sorceress in the land of Oz, who lives in the West, pushing around timid and intimidated Migu-nami.

Friends hit the road again. The evil sorceress, noticing their approach, tries in a variety of ways to destroy the uninvited guests, but the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion show a lot of intelligence, courage and desire to protect. Dorothy wins, and only when the sorceress summons the Flying Monkeys does she manage to gain the upper hand. Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion are captured. The iron woodcutter is thrown onto sharp stones, and straw is poured out of the Scarecrow. But the evil sorceress of the West was not happy for long. Driven to despair by her bullying, Dorothy splashes her with water from a bucket, and, to her surprise, the old woman begins to melt, and soon only a dirty puddle remains.

Friends return to the Emerald City and demand what they promised. The Great Oz hesitates, and then it turns out that he is not a magician or a sage, but a very ordinary deceiver. At one time, he was a circus performer in America, but, like Dorothy, he was carried by a hurricane to the land of Oz, where he managed to deceive gullible local residents and convince them that he was a powerful wizard. However, he fulfills the requests of Dorothy's friends: he fills the Scarecrow's head with sawdust, which makes him experience a surge of wisdom, inserts a scarlet silk heart into the Tin Woodman's chest and gives the Coward -to Leo to drink some potion from a bottle, assuring that now the King of Beasts will feel brave.

It is more difficult to fulfill Dorothy's request. After much deliberation, Oz decides to make a big balloon and fly back to America with the girl. However, at the last moment, Dorothy rushes to catch the runaway Toto, and Oz flies away alone. Friends go for advice to the good sorceress Glinda, who rules the southern country of the Quod-lings. On the way, they have to withstand a battle with the Warring Trees, go through a porcelain country and meet the very unpleasant Shooting Heads, and the Coward The lion Lion deals with a giant spider that kept the forest inhabitants at bay.

Glinda explains that the silver shoes Dorothy took from the evil witch in the country of Munchkins can take her anywhere, including to Kansas. Dorothy says goodbye to her friends. The Scarecrow becomes the ruler of the Emerald City. The Tin Woodman is the ruler of the Migunovs, and the Cowardly Lion, as befits him, is the king of the forest dwellers. Soon Dorothy and Toto find themselves in their native Kansas, but without the silver shoes: they got lost along the way.