L Frank Baum

The magic of Oz L Frank Baum

Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919) was an American author widely known for his children's books. Baum was born Chittenango, New-York into a devout Methodiste family He had German, Scots-Irish, and English ancestry, and was the seventh of nine children of Cynthia Ann and Benjamin Ward Baum, only five of whom survived into adulthood. "Lyman" is the name of his father's brother, but he always disliked it and preferred his middle name "Frank". American Fairy Tales is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories published in 1901. The stories, as critics have noted, lack the high-fantasy aspect of the best of Baum's work, in Oz or out. With ironic or nonsensical morals attached to their ends, their tone is more satirical, glib, and tongue-in-cheek than is usual in children's stories; the serialization in newspapers for adult readers was appropriate for the materials. "The Magic Bon Bons" was the most popular of the tales, judging by number of reprints.