Books with title Dot and Tot of Merryland by L. Frank Baum, Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends

Her real name is Evangeline Josephine Freeland -- but she has had the nickname Dot since before she can remember, and never calls herself anything else. Dot has free run of Roselawn, a country estate her father bought in hopes the outdoor life will restore her health. And run freely is exactly what she does, day after day, with ever greater spring to her steps, and with ever greater appetite. One morning, finishing her breakfast and scampering out upon the Lawn, Dot notices a tiny path leading through a high, thick hedge. "I'll explore!" she says to herself, and scoots herself through . . . to behold a tiny vine-covered cottage, and, on the path leading to it, a little boy with a broad-brimmed straw hat. The boy is the gardener's son, Tot -- who proves a wonderful playmate from the start . . . and a fine partner in adventures: for the two are swept away on a boat, and find themselves casting up in a strange place they never knew existed -- Merryland!

Her real name is Evangeline Josephine Freeland -- but she has had the nickname Dot since before she can remember, and never calls herself anything else. Dot has free run of Roselawn, a country estate her father bought in hopes the outdoor life will restore her health. And run freely is exactly what she does, day after day, with ever greater spring to her steps, and with ever greater appetite. One morning, finishing her breakfast and scampering out upon the Lawn, Dot notices a tiny path leading through a high, thick hedge. "I'll explore!" she says to herself, and scoots herself through . . . to behold a tiny vine-covered cottage, and, on the path leading to it, a little boy with a broad-brimmed straw hat. The boy is the gardener's son, Tot -- who proves a wonderful playmate from the start . . . and a fine partner in adventures: for the two are swept away on a boat, and find themselves casting up in a strange place they never knew existed -- Merryland!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been translated into more than forty languages, and of course, served as the basis for one of history's most popular films, The Wizard of Oz, first released in 1939. Ozma of Oz is the third "Oz" book, published in 1907. In this story, Dorothy is shipwrecked in a wondrous land on her way to Australia. The land is not Oz, however, but another magical land that has a perilous Deadly Desert and also many marvelous things. Ozma of Oz introduces wonderful new characters like Tik-Tok the wind-up man, and the Hungry Tiger -- yet another adventurous delight.

Trot is the young daughter of a California schooner captain. She is accompanied by Captain Bill -- an old sailor with a wooden leg who was her father's captain. Trot meets Button-Bright, a boy using a magic umbrella to travel from his home in Philadelphia. Trot, Button, and Captain Bill decide to travel with the umbrella, which takes them to a literal island in the sky. Sky Island is divided in half, one side pink, and the other blue, and the blues and pinks are at war. Trot, Button, and Captain Bill are imprisoned, and must somehow escape and end the conflict so they can return home.

The story begins when the Scarecrow goes to search for his family roots and discovers that he is the Long Lost Emperor of the Silver Island -- and how he was rescued and brought back to Oz by Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion. Really! In another life, the Scarecrow was the Long Lost Emperor of the Silver Island. . . . Maybe he was. Who knows? Maybe not. But in retrospect, this is the first Oz book that actually shows us death, albeit of a peculiar sort: before the Scarecrow was reincarnated as the fluff-headed fellow we all know and love, he was the Emperor of Silver Island. Which was underground. -- Exactly beneath that cornfield where Dorothy first found him. But there are pictures of the place and the pictures don't look dark enough to be set in a kingdom made of caves. . . . Hrrrm.

Dorothy's adventures begin when she tries to help a stranger find the road he is seeking. On the way, they encounter the boy Button Bright, get lost, and find themselves in Oz. Once in Oz they encounter a variety of new characters, good, bad, and amusing, as they try to reach the Emerald City in time for Ozma's birthday. L. Frank Baum is best known for his "Oz" books, starting with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum wrote a total of fourteen Oz books during his lifetime, plus a collection of stories.

American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum, the creator of Oz, is exactly what its title describes. The European fairy tale tradition is so strong that few associate "fairy tale" with American stories and storytellers, despite the rich and enduring output of their most successful creator, L. Frank Baum. Most are familiar with "tall tales" and characters like Paul Bunyan and John Henry -- these are of course fairy tales as well, of a peculiarly American stamp. But just as Alice fell down the rabbit hole chasing after the White Rabbit, so were Dorothy and Toto carried from their Kansas farm by the Tornada. With stories ranging from "The King of the Polar Bears" to "The Capture of Father Time," this book is bound to please readers of all ages.

The Tin Woodman sat on his glittering tin throne in the handsome tin hall of his splendid tin castle in the Winkie Country of the Land of Oz. The Emperor of the Winkies and his old friend the Scarecrow of Oz welcome their inquisitive visitor: Woot, the Wanderer, from faraway Gillikin Country. Soon tales are being told, and memories are flowing . . . And before they know it, with Woot and the lovely Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow undertake an astonishing quest, in search of the Tin Man's lost love, Nimmee Amee -- from the days before he was metal!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been translated into more than forty languages, and of course, served as the basis for one of history's most popular films, The Wizard of Oz, first released in 1939. Ozma of Oz is the third "Oz" book, published in 1907. In this story, Dorothy is shipwrecked in a wondrous land on her way to Australia. The land is not Oz, however, but another magical land that has a perilous Deadly Desert and also many marvelous things. Ozma of Oz introduces wonderful new characters like Tik-Tok the wind-up man, and the Hungry Tiger -- yet another adventurous delight. Ozma of Oz is the first Oz book where the majority of the action takes place outside of the Land of Oz. Only the final two chapters take place in Oz itself.

It is the nature of children to scorn realities, which crowd into their lives all too quickly with advancing years. Childhood is the time for fables, for dreams, for joy. These stories are not true; they could not be true and be so marvelous. No one is expected to believe them; they were meant to excite laughter and to gladden the heart. Perhaps some of those big, grown-up people will poke fun of us -- at you for reading these nonsense tales of the Magical Monarch and at me for writing them. Never mind. Many of the big folk are still children -- even as you and I. We cannot measure a child by a standard of size or age. The big folk who are children will be our comrades; the others we need not consider at all, for they are self-exiled from our domain. - L. Frank Baum June, 1903

A hundred maids of honors gather before Glinda, the good Sorceress -- to greet Queen Ozma and her dear friend Dorothy! As pleasant visits do, in the Land of Oz, this one leads to adventure. For they learn about a puzzling matter that must, of course, be looked into -- for Ozma knows her duty to her people! Somewhere in Oz, she learns, are a strange people named the Skeezers . . . And the Skeezers have just declared war on another strange people -- the Flatheads!