L. Frank Baum 
Mother Goose in Prose (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: The life of L. Frank Baum, the father of Oz, a fall from success to disaster

First published in 1897, “Mother Goose in Prose” is a collection of twenty-two children’s stories based on
Mother Goose nursery rhymes. It was the first children’s book written by American author L. Frank Baum, best known for “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its sequels.



“Mother Goose in Prose” opens with an introduction by Baum that traces the history of
Mother Goose. The book’s last selection features a girl named Dorothy who can talk to animals—an anticipation of the
Oz books.