Dorothy is a young girl who lives with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and dog, Toto, on a farm on the Kansas prairie. One day, she and Toto are caught up in a cyclone that deposits them and the farmhouse into Munchkin Country in the magical Land of Oz. The falling house has killed the Wicked Witch of the East, the evil ruler of the Munchkins. The Good Witch of the North arrives with three grateful Munchkins and gives Dorothy the magical silver shoes that once belonged to the Wicked Witch. The Good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way she can return home is to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her. One of the best-known stories in American literature. The Library of Congress has declared it "America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale."

Lyman Frank Baum, born May 15, 1856 in Chittenango, New York and died on May 6, 1919 in Los Angeles, was an American writer. His best-known work is the children's classic The Wizard of Oz as well as 13 serial novels set in the magical world of Oz.