The author L. Frank BAUM is best known for his series of books about the magical land of Oz, which began with the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote fourteen novels in the Oz series, as well as many other works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. BAUM was born in Chittenango, New York in 1856 and died in 1919. He is remembered as one of the most influential authors of children's literature.