Books: Little Wizard Stories Of Oz By L. Frank Baum

The stories were part of a project, by Baum and his publisher Reilly & Britton, to revitalize and continue the series of Oz books that Baum had written up to that date.  The story collection effectively constitutes a fifteenth Oz book by Baum.

Baum had attempted to end the Oz series with the sixth book, The Emerald City of Oz (1910).  In the final chapter of that book, he sealed off the Land of Oz from the outside world.  He began a new series of books with The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912).  Also, he reacted to his 1911 bankruptcy by increasing his literary output.  He produced five books that year, his greatest output since 1907.  Baum tried to launch two other juvenile novel series in 1911, with The Daring Twins, released under his own name, and The Flying Girl, under his Edith Van Dyne pseudonym.

None of the new series was as successful as the previous Baum and Van Dyne series, the Oz books and Aunt Jane’s Nieces.  Both the Flying Girl and Daring Twins series ended with their second volumes, The Flying Girl and Her Chum and Phoebe Daring, both published in 1912.  Disappointing sales through 1911 and 1912 convinced Baum and Reilly & Britton that a return to Oz was needed.  Baum wrote The Patchwork Girl of Oz for a 1913 release, and in the same year, his publisher issued the six Little Wizard stories in individual booklets at a cost of $0.15 each.  The goal was to reach the youngest beginning readers and create in them an interest in the larger Oz canon, as part of a promotion of L. Frank Baum and all of his books.