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How did L. Frank Baum’s Oz books develop the story of Dorothy and her companions?

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children’s literature Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet, illustration of A.A. Milne's classic children's tale by Ernest H. Shepard.

In L. Frank Baum’s series of children’s literature, the story of Dorothy and her companions begins in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Dorothy, a levelheaded girl from Kansas, is transported to the Land of Oz by a cyclone. Along the yellow brick road, she is joined by the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, each seeking qualities they believe they lack—brains, a heart, and courage, respectively.123

Baum developed these characters through their shared trials, emphasizing the message that they already possessed the traits they sought. Following their journey and the defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West, the companions find their roles established: the Scarecrow becomes the ruler of the Emerald City, the Tin Woodman rules the Winkies, and the Cowardly Lion becomes king of the beasts. Baum continued to expand the world of Oz across 13 subsequent books, further developing the setting and its inhabitants, including the revelation in later entries that the rightful ruler of Oz is a girl, reinforcing the series' progressive and matriarchal themes.23