3 h 36 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if magic lives among familiar objects and ordinary people, rather than beyond the walls of a distant castle?
In American Fairy Tales, L. Frank Baum brings wonder close to home. This collection of short magical stories turns toward everyday American life, with its familiar objects and habits, instead of faraway kingdoms. The author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz offers playful marvels for readers who want enchantment without the weight of heavy fear.
The stories explore greed, vanity, cruelty and foolishness, showing how these faults can bring their own trouble. Kindness and good sense offer another path. Baum keeps the lessons light and often funny, making each separate tale a small encounter with magic and a chance to look differently at ordinary life.
What you’ll discover
- Wonder close to home Discover magic in a world of ordinary people, familiar objects and everyday American habits.
- Morals with a smile Explore lessons about human faults through playful stories that keep their teaching light.
- Kindness and good sense See how these simple qualities can set things right when foolishness brings trouble.
- Enchantment without heavy fear Enter Baum's gentler approach to fairy tales, away from grim punishments and distant castles.
- One small marvel at a time Read each tale on its own and give its particular wonder room to linger.
Who will love it
Perfect for fans of the Oz books, for readers who like short tales with a sly sense of humor, and for anyone who enjoys magic mixed with ordinary streets, shops and kitchens.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two girls face visitors from the world of fancy
- Magic goods bring trouble to the people who use them
- Sudden fortunes test greed and pride
- A boy with a lasso catches Father Time
- Meddling immortals learn how little they understand
- Animals and a mandarin show promises and cruelty
Who’s who
- MarthaA young girl alone in a big Chicago house who opens an old chest in the attic and finds bandits inside.
- Jane Gladys BrownA sensible girl who gets a book from an angry book agent and must deal with the animals that leap from its pages.
- JimA twelve-year-old cowboy's son from Arizona who is skilled with a lasso and loves a joke.
- The boy king of QuokA ten-year-old ruler who inherits an empty palace and would rather marry the armorer's daughter than the highest bidder.
- PopopoA kindhearted knook, guardian of birds, who is bored with immortal life and tries to help people he does not understand.
- KeoA fat, laughing young hippopotamus whose careless promise to a village man puts his life at risk.
- Claribel SuddsA rich young Boston woman with little sense who wants to go on the stage and buys magic bonbons.
- Tanko-MankieA mischievous yellow ryl who breathes life into a wax dummy in a store window and then flies away.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 3 h 36 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Fiabe americane in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Fiabe americane
by L. Frank Baum · 1901
Martha opens an attic chest, and three Italian bandits climb out.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if three Italian bandits climbed out of a box in your attic? In American Fairy Tales, L.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two girls face visitors from the world of fancy
Two tales follow girls left alone at home, and both receive callers who should not exist. In The Box of Robbers, Martha is locked in a big Chicago house while the maid visits a friend. In The Girl Who Owned a Bear, Jane Gladys sits sewing a pillow for Papa's birthday when a stranger walks into the room.
Martha finds a heavy chest in the attic, sent long ago by her Uncle Walter, and tries keys from a basket until one turns. Out climb Victor, Luigi and Beni, three proud Italian bandits who are horrified to hear that robbing is naughty. They decide to rob her own house, despite her efforts to suggest honest work. Jane Gladys is handed a book by an angry book agent, and the animals in its pictures leap out. There is a clown with an undrawn back, a donkey with legs of unequal length and a leopard without claws.
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What is American Fairy Tales about?
It is a collection of twelve short tales by L. Frank Baum. Settings range from Chicago and Boston to the Congo River and an imaginary kingdom, with wizards, ryls, talking animals and magic objects causing comic trouble.
Is American Fairy Tales connected to the Oz books?
These tales have their own playful humor and magical adventures. The tales are separate stories, so you can read them without knowing anything about Oz.
What are knooks and ryls?
In these tales, knooks and ryls are immortal fairy folk with magical powers. Knooks guard birds, and ryls are playful sprites who sometimes cause mischief, like Tanko-Mankie in The Dummy That Lived.
The author
L. Frank Baum
1856–1919 · American children's fantasy writer
L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) was an American author of children’s books. He was born in Chittenango, New York, and later lived in South Dakota, Chicago, and California. He published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 and wrote thirteen further Oz novels. He died in Hollywood, California.
More by L. Frank Baum
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