The Marvelous Land of Oz was apparently written for children and it takes the form of a long fairy story about nonhuman creatures as well as humans, experiencing a wide range of exciting adventures within a never-never-land framework. But L. Frank Baum seems to have intended this sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) to be a great deal more than a wonder tale for the very young. With its action-packed storyline, the book, rich in ideas and humor, contains many elements that can recommend it now—at the end of the millennium—to teenagers and even adult readers, to say nothing of scholars interested in critical analysis of literary works.

There are, for example, a number of social concerns that remain timely, even allowing for "a century of progress" since the book was written. These concerns involve matters of social policy, competing claims...