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 "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"s publication in 1900, it received little critical analysis from scholars of children's literature. According to Ruth Berman of "Science Fiction Studies", the lists of suggested reading published for juvenile readers never contained Baum's work. The lack of interest stemmed from the scholars' misgivings about fantasy, as well as to their belief that lengthy series had little literary merit. It has frequently come under fire over the years. In 1957, the director of Detroit's libraries banned "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" for having "no value" for children of his day, for supporting "negativism", and for bringing