Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a 1900 children's novel written by American author L. Frank Baum. Since its first publication in 1900, it has been adapted many times: for film, television, theatre, books, comics, games, and other media. Many of the television programs cited in this list are not strict adaptions of "The Wizard of Oz"; rather, they have reinterpreted aspects of the book, such as characters and plot, to create sequels, prequels or side-plots, which are inspired by Baum's original text. There are over 40 canonical Oz books, including 14 by Baum,
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz own reward." After Baum's death in 1919, Baum's publishers delegated the creation of more sequels to Ruth Plumly Thompson who wrote 21. An original "Oz" book was published every Christmas between 1913 and 1942. By 1956, five million copies of the "Oz" books had been published in the English language, while hundreds of thousands had been published in eight foreign languages. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" has been adapted to other media numerous times, most famously in "The Wizard of Oz", the 1939 film starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr. Until this version, the book had