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An old green cloth cover with the title in red above a drawing of the Cowardly Lion.
Cover art: W. W. Denslow, 1900

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum

Estimated B1356 min · 40 parts · 86 words to learn

A cyclone carries Dorothy from Kansas to a strange land. The only way home is down a road of yellow bricks.

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About the book

L. Frank Baum's American fairy tale, published in 1900. A cyclone lifts Dorothy and her dog Toto out of grey Kansas and drops them in the Land of Oz. To get home she must follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and ask the great Wizard for help. On the way she meets a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin Woodman who wants a heart and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The book differs in many details from the 1939 film.

Reading it as a learner

The easiest full-length novel on the shelf, at an estimated B1: about 39,000 words in 24 short chapters and 40 parts. Baum wrote for children, so sentences are clear and the story moves in small, self-contained episodes. The vocabulary is concrete (fields, roads, rivers, castles), which makes new words easy to remember. If you have finished a few Short Reads and want your first complete book in English, start here.

Contents

  1. Chapter 1

    The Cyclone

    1. 1

  2. Chapter 2

    The Council with the Munchkins

    1. 1
    2. 2

  3. Chapter 3

    How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow

    1. 1
    2. 2

  4. Chapter 4

    The Road Through the Forest

    1. 1
    2. 2

  5. Chapter 5

    The Rescue of the Tin Woodman

    1. 1
    2. 2

  6. Chapter 6

    The Cowardly Lion

    1. 1
    2. 2

  7. Chapter 7

    The Journey to the Great Oz

    1. 1
    2. 2

  8. Chapter 8

    The Deadly Poppy Field

    1. 1
    2. 2

  9. Chapter 9

    The Queen of the Field Mice

    1. 1

  10. Chapter 10

    The Guardian of the Gate

    1. 1
    2. 2

  11. Chapter 11

    The Wonderful City of Oz

    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

  12. Chapter 12

    The Search for the Wicked Witch

    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

  13. Chapter 13

    The Rescue

    1. 1

  14. Chapter 14

    The Winged Monkeys

    1. 1
    2. 2

  15. Chapter 15

    The Discovery of Oz, the Terrible

    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

  16. Chapter 16

    The Magic Art of the Great Humbug

    1. 1

  17. Chapter 17

    How the Balloon Was Launched

    1. 1

  18. Chapter 18

    Away to the South

    1. 1

  19. Chapter 19

    Attacked by the Fighting Trees

    1. 1

  20. Chapter 20

    The Dainty China Country

    1. 1
    2. 2

  21. Chapter 21

    The Lion Becomes the King of Beasts

    1. 1

  22. Chapter 22

    The Country of the Quadlings

    1. 1

  23. Chapter 23

    Glinda The Good Witch Grants Dorothy’s Wish

    1. 1

  24. Chapter 24

    Home Again

    1. 1
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