1900年，《綠野仙蹤》（The Wonderful Wizard of Oz）在芝加哥出版問世，獲得廣大迴響。兩年後，被改編成百老匯舞台劇，亦大獲成功。作家鮑姆（L. Frank Baum, 1856–1919）遂於隔年開始陸續出版續作，在二十年間，一共創作了十四本系列故事。鮑姆辭世之後，由女作家Ruth P. Thompson接棒創作，另外也有其他作家的個別創作，於是講述奧茲國故事的創作，至少多達四十餘本。

《綠野仙蹤》被翻譯成各種語言，廣被改編成舞台劇、電影、動畫等。作者秉持著寫作「現代童話」的信念，希望降低童話故事的道德意味，給予孩子們歡樂時光與趣味的想像。因此創作出這本充滿想像力、情節詼諧卻不失純真的幻想故事。跟著桃樂絲一起冒險，與腦袋只有草的稻草人、沒有心的錫人、膽小怯懦的獅子邂逅，學習如何在困境與艱難中，堅持自己的夢想，最後面對自己的缺陷，尋回內心遺失的一角。

本書為《綠野仙蹤》的完整故事版本，採用英漢雙語編排，並穿插原著彩色插圖，不論是文學欣賞或是英語閱讀，都是最佳讀本。

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, later known as The Wizard of Oz, is one of the most famous modern American children's novels. It tells the story of Dorothy, who is carried by a cyclone to the land of Oz. There, she is befriended by the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.
 
In an introduction to this novel, the author points out the spirit of this modern fairy tale: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out."