Fifth Grade
Worksheets
L. Frank Baum: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
One evening in 1899, a father was telling his children and their friends a story. It was about a young girl. Her name was Dorothy. She lived in Kansas. A tornado came and swept up Dorothy's house while she was in it! When the house came down out of the sky, it landed in a magical place. Dorothy met a talking scarecrow there. She met a tin woodsman. She met a not-very-brave lion. She met little people who were called "Munchkins."
One of the children who was listening asked the name of the magical land. The storyteller couldn't think of a name. There was a filing cabinet in the room. The cabinet had drawers that were labeled. The first drawer was labeled "A-N." The second drawer gave him an idea. It was labeled "O-Z." The storyteller named L. Frank Baum called his magical land "Oz."
L. Frank Baum was born on May 15, 1856. His full name was Lyman Frank Baum. He didn't like his first name and always went by Frank. He was a frail, sickly child. He had to spend a lot of his childhood in bed. He liked to daydream. He started writing at an early age. He had a knack for storytelling. For a time, he owned a general store. Children would gather there in the afternoons, begging him to tell them a story.
