Lesson Plans for K-12

recommended for GRADES 4-6

The Marvelous World of OZ
Jennifer Hinson (Stehlik Intermediate School – Houston, TX)
Susan Neuman (Glen Grove School – Glenview, IL)

Notes on the Core Map

To write fairy stories for children, to amuse them, to divert restless children, sick children, to keep them out of mischief on rainy days, seems of greater importance than to write grown-up novels.
-L. Frank Baum

The genre of fantasy is one that takes each reader on a journey in another land with mysterious creatures. In the story of The Wizard of OZ, Dorothy has to travel through OZ to get to the Emerald City. When the story was written, L. Frank Baum drew the first map of OZ.¹ In this original drawing; Baum reversed east and west, going an extra step in creating this fictional land. In subsequent editions of the story, a different map was used, drawn by William Wallace Denslow. In those maps, the directions were reversed. The map discussed for these purposes is called “The Marvelous World of OZ,” interpreted from Baum’s map, taken from An Atlas of Fantasy by Jeremiah B. Post.

The map shows the Land of OZ as if it were a real place, and is inscribed, “published by the International Wizard of OZ Club.” It is the setting for the OZ series, which consists of 15 books. The map is divided into four separate countries. Within these countries, there are rivers, forests, lakes, towns, and the entire Land of OZ is surrounded by desert. In addition, various places of importance, such as “where Dorothy landed,” are noted. Also, pictures are used to note different locations, like Glinda’s Palace or Scarecrow’s Tower. Emerald City is located in the center of the Land of OZ, and is by far the most detailed portion of the map.

The orientation of the map has different views. Some points on the map are shown from a bird’s-eye view with only the town name. Other important locations are shown from the front as if you are viewing a town from the front. For example, The Emerald City is shown as a huge palace.

Two major map elements are missing from the map: a scale and legend. This is the case in several other science fiction and fantasy maps (The Lord of the Rings).² It is left up to the reader to determine distance and some symbols are left to the reader to interpret. All is explained when the stories are read, because the directions are often used and the stories often include a journey from one location on the map to another.

Baum was born in Chittenango, New York in 1856. He was born with a defective heart and spent much time indoors.³ When speaking about his writing as an adult, mentioned of the importance of children’s literature, perhaps because he wished he had had fantasy stories to read when he was young. Baum wrote many children’s books. He based many of his characters on people he knew as a child.⁴

Baum’s story of The Wizard of OZ, was immortalized with the release of the movie in 1939.
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¹J. B. Post, An Atlas of Fantasy (New York: Ballatine Books, 1973).

²J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1955).

³Michael Patrick Hearn, The Annotated Wizard of Oz (New York: Clarkson N. Potter Inc, 1973), 12.

⁴Hearn, The Annotated Wizard of Oz, introduction.