3 h 36 minAudiobook4 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
This book suits readers who love Oz and want more of Baum's playful imagination, parents looking for old-fashioned tales to read aloud, and anyone curious about early American children's fiction. If you want dark, tightly plotted fantasy, it may feel gentle.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Baum wanted fairy tales for modern children
- Magic lives in everyday American life
- Each tale carries a whimsical moral
- How to read these tales today
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- 3 h 36 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- 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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Fiabe americane
by L. Frank Baum· 1901
What if magic lives among familiar objects and ordinary people, rather than beyond the walls of a distant castle?
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
Baum wanted fairy tales for modern children
Baum believed that children deserved wonder without heavy fear. In the years around the Oz books, he argued that the old European fairy tales, with their grim punishments, no longer suited young readers. He hoped to write stories that kept the delight of the old tales and left out the horror.
American Fairy Tales follows that hope. The stories are short, quick and easy to follow, which makes them good for reading aloud in one sitting. Each one sets up a small piece of magic, lets it cause trouble or wonder, and then settles to a close.
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What is American Fairy Tales about?
It is a collection of short, magical stories by L. Frank Baum. Many tales place a marvel in a familiar, modern setting, and most end with a light moral about behavior, kindness or foolishness.
Is American Fairy Tales connected to The Wizard of Oz?
Not directly. The stories do not continue the Oz books, but they share the same author, the same plain and playful voice, and the same love of everyday wonder.
When was American Fairy Tales published?
It appeared as a book in 1908. Baum, who died in 1919, wrote it after the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, aiming at modern children.
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.
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