<P> In a letter to his brother Harry, Baum wrote that the book's publisher George M. Hill predicted a sale of about 250,000 copies . In spite of this favorable conjecture, Hill did not initially predict that the book would be phenomenally successful . He agreed to publish the book only when the manager of the Chicago Grand Opera House Fred R. Hamlin committed to making The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into a musical stage play to publicize the novel . The play The Wizard of Oz debuted on June 16, 1902 . It was revised to suit adult preferences and was crafted as a "musical extravaganza", with the costumes modeled after Denslow's drawings . Hill's publishing company became bankrupt in 1901, so Baum and Denslow agreed to have the Indianapolis - based Bobbs - Merrill Company resume publishing the novel . </P> <P> Baum's son Harry Neal told the Chicago Tribune in 1944 that L. Frank told his children "whimsical stories before they became material for his books". Harry called his father the "swellest man I knew", a man who was able to give a decent reason as to why black birds cooked in a pie could afterwards get out and sing . </P> <P> By 1938, more than one million copies of the book had been printed . Less than two decades later in 1956, the sales of his novel had grown to three million copies in print . </P> <P> Dorothy is a young girl who lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry and her little dog Toto on a farm in the Kansas prairie . One day, Dorothy and Toto are caught up in a cyclone that deposits her farmhouse into Munchkin Country in the magical Land of Oz . The falling house has killed the Wicked Witch of the East, the evil ruler of the Munchkins . The Good Witch of the North arrives with three grateful Munchkins and gives Dorothy the magical Silver Shoes that once belonged to the Wicked Witch . The Good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way she can return home is to go to the Emerald City and ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her . As Dorothy embarks on her journey, the Good Witch of the North kisses her on the forehead, giving her magical protection from harm . </P>

Story and plot of the wizard of oz