Jinjur, commander of the Army of Revolt, grows uneasy after the Scarecrow escapes the Emerald City, and she calls on old Mombi for help. Meanwhile the travelers lose their way in a field of whirling sunflowers that seem to hold mocking faces. Tip, the Pumpkinhead, the Saw-Horse, and the Tin Woodman must work out how to press on.

Their trouble deepens when the Saw-Horse breaks a leg in a rabbit hole, leaving the group stranded in open country. Then a strange visitor arrives, bowing politely and offering a calling card. The Scarecrow's questions about the stranger's name reveal a character who is not quite what he seems.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

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The travelers reach the City of the Winkies and expect a warm welcome from an old friend, but the palace is not receiving visitors this morning. The Scarecrow is eager to see the Tin Woodman again, and the servants explain that their ruler is currently being polished.

When the Emperor finally bursts into the room, the reunion is warm and a little messy. Tip, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the Saw-Horse all get a chance to make an impression, and the Scarecrow hears news from home that calls for a plan.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Pertinent Links

• Read the original work

Tip, the Scarecrow, the Pumpkinhead and the Saw-Horse come through a river crossing soaked and scattered. Pieces must be dried, stitched and fished out of the water before the group can continue on the road toward the Tin Woodman.

Along the way the Scarecrow recalls old adventures on these same meadows, from stinging bees to winged monkeys. Jack frets about his pumpkin head while the Saw-Horse and Jack keep bickering, and the night brings an unexpected question about hunger and rest.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Pertinent Links

• Read the original work

The Emerald City has fallen, and the Scarecrow, still calmly tossing quoits in the palace courtyard, must decide what to do about it. His Royal Army is nowhere to be found, and the Pumpkinhead is worried about his own fate in a city full of unfamiliar visitors.

Tip has his own problems, and a stubborn wooden steed may be the only way out. With a clothesline, a lot of nerve, and a plan drawn up in a corner of the courtyard, the escape begins at the palace gate.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Pertinent Links

• Read the original work

Tip, hungry and far from his friends Jack and the Saw-Horse, meets a striking girl by the roadside who hands him her lunch basket and then strides off without explaining herself. She calls herself General Jinjur, and she has a surprising plan that involves a secret war.

Tip trails the General through the forest toward a clearing full of young women in colorful uniforms. Their leader has grand ambitions for the Emerald City, and the Guardian at the gate is hardly ready for what is coming, so listeners will want to hear how the day unfolds.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Jack Pumpkinhead meets the Scarecrow King of the Emerald City, a ruler who wears a heavy golden crown over a face painted on a sack of straw. Neither of them can understand the other at first, and the two are forced to find a go-between to bridge the gap.

A sharp-tongued young guest named Jellia Jamb is summoned to interpret, and her answers quickly turn the conversation mischievous. The Scarecrow and Jack trade wise and foolish remarks about brains, hearts, and who was made by whom, and both learn that talking is harder than it sounds.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Tip and his pumpkin-headed companion face a cross ferryman and a swift river before they race along the road of yellow brick on the wooden Saw-Horse. The journey grows faster, and wilder, than anyone planned, and soon the travelers are split apart on the road.

Jack finds himself alone at the gleaming green walls of the Emerald City, where a round Guardian of the Gates asks questions no one can quite answer. Green spectacles, a soldier with long whiskers, and a palace full of gems await him, and the Scarecrow is waiting just beyond the throne room door.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The Saw-Horse opens his eyes for the first time and discovers that he has no neck, no knee-joints, and no ears. Tip, who has brought him to life, must work out how to steer a creature that cannot hear a shouted command or understand why a hole in the ground means stop.

Jack Pumpkinhead offers a few surprisingly sensible remarks from the roadside as Tip whittles, bores, and hammers his way toward a working steed. The party sets off along a yellow brick road toward the Emerald City, and the day ends beside a grassy mound under the trees.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Tip and the Pumpkinhead trudge along a road toward the edge of a wood, where Jack's wooden joints begin to show their weakness. A fall from an old sawhorse leaves the boy worried that his creation has been ruined, and the two trade puzzled questions about what makes something truly alive.

Jack's cheerful logic about horses and wood leads Tip to a bold idea. Tip, who has only watched old Mombi work her spell from behind a hedge, pulls out the pepper box of magic powder and decides to test what he remembers.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Tip has had enough of living with Mombi, and he decides that becoming a marble statue is a fate he will not accept. Under cover of night he slips out of the witch's cottage with bread, cheese, and a mysterious pepper-box, then makes a detour back to the cow-stable to rescue his pumpkin-headed companion, Jack.

Once the two are on the road, the sun rising behind them, Tip tries to explain the strange, colored lands of Oz to a very confused Jack. Their talk turns to the Emerald City, a Tin Woodman, and a Scarecrow who has become king, and it leaves Jack newly convinced that he is Tip's son.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Tip finds his handiwork walking and grinning in the road, but the boy's pleasure turns quickly to alarm when old Mombi returns from her visit to a crooked wizard. She has brought home a pepper-box of mysterious powder and a new plan to test it.

Mombi's experiment brings the pumpkin-headed man to life, and the witch's temper turns on the boy who has been spying on her. Late in the night, Tip sits in her dim kitchen beside a bubbling black kettle, wondering what she intends for him.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

In the Gillikin Country, north of the Land of Oz, a boy named Tip lives with the old woman Mombi, whose strange magic keeps the neighbors wary. Tip does as little work as he can get away with, and he has one plan in mind for his guardian.

Tip has a clever idea for a prank: a carved pumpkin face, a wooden body, and a set of borrowed clothes. He builds a tall figure from saplings and bark, and as he dresses it, he begins to see just how lifelike it can become.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Before the story begins, L. Frank Baum explains where this sequel came from. Years after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, children kept writing to him, asking for more about the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.

He recalls a young reader named Dorothy who traveled a long way to make her request in person. Baum describes how a promise made to her, and to a thousand letter-writing children, led him to finally keep his word.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy comes running across the gray Kansas prairie, and Aunt Em, who has been watering the cabbages, looks up in disbelief. Their reunion is full of tears, kisses, and a question that seems impossible to answer. This final chapter brings L. Frank Baum's classic journey back to where it began.

Listen as Dorothy tries to explain where she has been and who has come home with her. The homecoming is short, warm, and simple, and it closes the adventure in the most familiar place of all. Hear how the story ends on the farm where it all started.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy and her companions are freshened up before they are led into the throne room of Glinda, the Good Witch, who sits upon a throne of rubies. Dorothy explains her long journey and her longing to return to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Kansas.

Glinda offers help, but only in exchange for the Golden Cap, and she has plans for the Winged Monkeys that touch each traveler's deepest hope. The chapter is a warm, bittersweet farewell full of gentle humor and tender goodbyes.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Past the gloomy forest, the travelers face a steep hill covered in heavy rocks, and a voice warns them to turn back. The guardians of this hill have a strange and startling way of defending it, one that sends even the bravest traveler tumbling. Their party must decide how to get across before the hill claims them too.

Dorothy and her companions finally reach a land painted in bright red, where fields of grain ripple beside cheerful bridges. A friendly farmer's wife offers them a generous meal, and directions point them toward a famous castle. Listen as the group draws closer to the Good Witch they have traveled so far to meet.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The travelers wade through a muddy, grass-choked country before entering a forest of towering old trees. The Lion declares it the loveliest place he has ever seen, though the Scarecrow is not so sure about its gloomy air.

When the group stumbles upon a great meeting of beasts, they learn that a monstrous creature has been terrorizing the forest. The Lion is asked to step in, and his bold plan for the fight turns on a clever observation about his foe.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The travelers climb a wall and look down on a bright valley where every house, cow, and person is made of painted china. Dorothy and her companions must find a careful way across a land where one stumble could shatter a whole village.

Each small encounter tests their gentleness, from a startled milkmaid to a princess who would rather not be chased. The chapter asks what it means to be fragile, and to whom, as the friends pick their way toward the far side.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy and her friends leave the Emerald City behind and set out toward the Land of the South, full of hope and good cheer. The Lion marvels at the fresh country air, Toto chases butterflies, and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman look forward to helping Dorothy find her way home.

Their path leads into a dense forest where the trees seem to have decided that travelers are not welcome. Each traveler must find a way past branches that bend and grab, and the group discovers that the forest has more than one kind of trouble waiting for them. Listeners will hear how the friends handle this strange obstacle together.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

With Oz gone and the Emerald City in new hands, Dorothy faces the loss of her chance to fly home. The Tin Woodman asks for help mourning his old friend, and the Scarecrow, now ruling the city, begins to think hard about where Dorothy can turn next.

The Winged Monkeys have no path across the desert, so the travelers turn to a soldier with green whiskers for advice. He points them toward a distant Witch who may know the way, and the companions decide that the road south is worth the risk.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy waits three long days in the Emerald City with no word from Oz, while her friends settle into quiet contentment with the discoveries they have made about themselves. On the fourth day the Wizard finally summons her with a plan to cross the desert and reach home.

Oz proposes an unusual escape: a balloon of stitched green silk, filled with hot air rather than gas. Dorothy sews the strips together, the Wizard glues the bag airtight, and the whole city gathers in front of the Palace to watch the launch, which does not go quite as anyone intended.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The Scarecrow sets off for the Throne Room, eager to collect the brains he has wanted all along. Dorothy and her companions wait anxiously while each friend in turn faces the Wizard, who must open up his head, his chest, and his own bag of tricks to grant their wishes.

Each friend leaves the Throne Room changed, and the results seem too good to question. Yet the Wizard, alone at last by his window, admits a worry of his own. This chapter reveals the truth behind the great Oz and asks whether anyone can really be sent home.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The four travelers return to the Emerald City expecting a hero's welcome and a reward, but the Great Oz keeps them waiting day after day. Their patience wears thin, and they finally send a bold message that rattles the Wizard himself.

When the friends are at last admitted to the Throne Room, they face a booming voice, a fearsome roar, and a sudden tumble of a screen. What they uncover behind that curtain changes everything they believed about the mighty ruler of the Emerald City.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The travelers are lost in the endless fields of scarlet poppies and yellow daisies, far from the Emerald City, and their spirits are sinking. Dorothy must decide what to do when the sun offers no clue about which way is east. A small gray friend may hold the answer, if the travelers can recall what the little whistle is for.

Dorothy turns to the Golden Cap, whose secret charm has been hidden in its lining all along. Listeners will hear a strange tale of mischief, a lost love, and a bargain struck long ago. Baum's storytelling makes this chapter a lighthearted detour into the history of the flying creatures who serve the Cap's owner.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

With the Wicked Witch gone, Dorothy frees the Cowardly Lion and tells the yellow Winkies they are no longer slaves. The people celebrate with feasting and dancing, but Dorothy and her friends still long for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.

Dorothy sets out with a band of Winkies to bring their companions back. Along the way they find the battered Tin Woodman on a rocky plain, and the chapter follows a careful repair in the Yellow Castle and a tree that stands in the way of a rescue.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy and her friends set out westward across grassy fields toward the Wicked Witch of the West, though the Guardian of the Gates warns them she may not be easily destroyed. Along the way, the Witch sends wolves, crows, and bees after the travelers, and each attack tests the courage and cleverness of the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Lion.

The Witch's most dangerous weapon is still to come, and it leaves Dorothy in a place where she must rely on her wits. Listen for how a small girl, a loyal dog, and a few unlikely friends face a powerful enemy who has never been challenged before.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy and her companions step into the Emerald City, where every street, shop, and window glows green, and the townspeople stare at the strangers with wide eyes. Behind the palace gates, a soldier with a green beard promises an audience with the Great Oz, but only one visitor at a time may enter.

Each friend is led to a lavish room, and each waits anxiously for a summons from the mysterious ruler. When the sound of a bell calls them to the Throne Room, they discover that Oz appears in a surprising form each time, and every meeting brings a new demand.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The travelers wake from the poppy field and find their way back to the road of yellow brick, leaving the dark forest behind. The Lion, once again himself, reflects on how mice and flowers have humbled him, and the group sets off toward the green glow on the horizon.

Along the way they pass painted green farmhouses and wary townsfolk, and one farmhouse family welcomes them for the night. Over supper, a injured farmer describes the Great Oz, a wizard who has never been seen face to face, and the friends begin to wonder what he will ask of them.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and Dorothy have traveled far from the river, and now a fierce yellow Wildcat bounds across the grass chasing a small gray field mouse. The Tin Woodman must decide whether to step in, and his choice brings an unexpected new friend into the group.

Tiny mice come to the travelers' aid in a surprising way, and a clever plan is hatched to rescue a sleeping companion. Listen to see how a wooden truck, a great many pieces of string, and a very determined little Queen come together.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy and her friends wake refreshed and hopeful, but their raft is swept off course by a swift river, leaving the Scarecrow stranded far behind. The travelers must find a way back to the road of yellow brick before the current carries them farther from the Emerald City.

Along the riverbank, the land grows lovelier with birdsong, blossoms, and fruit trees, until the flowers become a vast meadow of scarlet poppies. Dorothy and her companions soon discover that the sweet-smelling blooms hold a danger none of them expected, and they must decide quickly what to do next.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy and her companions spend a night camped beneath a great tree, where the Scarecrow gathers nuts and the Lion vows not to eat any deer. Morning brings them to the edge of a deep, rocky ditch that seems to end their journey before it has truly begun.

Their way forward depends on ingenuity, courage, and a fallen tree. Along the road of yellow brick, the travelers learn about a fearsome forest creature, and they must decide quickly how to cross a wider gulf before anything catches up to them.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman push deeper into a dark, silent forest where unseen growls send shivers through the company. When a great Lion bursts out of the trees, the travelers must decide whether their new road can survive a beast who is much more frightened than fierce.

The chapter pairs a startling encounter with quiet, funny conversation about courage, hearts, and brains. Listeners will hear how each traveler's wish for Oz's help takes shape, and how a small dog earns a surprising new friend along the way.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy, Toto, and the Scarecrow wake to sunshine in the forest and set out to find water. Along the way they hear a strange groan, and following it leads them to a motionless figure frozen beside a half-chopped tree, its axe raised high.

Their new discovery is a man made entirely of tin, rusted in place for a year. As Dorothy and the Scarecrow work to free him, he begins to tell a sad story about why he wants what he wants, and the three travelers start to wonder about the choices ahead.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The yellow brick road grows rough and lonesome, and the Scarecrow keeps tumbling into its gaps while Dorothy helps him up and they both laugh. Over lunch by a quiet brook, Dorothy tells him about gray Kansas, and he wonders aloud why anyone would leave a beautiful land for it.

Then the Scarecrow shares how he was made in a cornfield, and what the old crow told him about brains. As evening falls, the travelers wander into a dark forest where the trees close over the road, and they must trust the Scarecrow’s sharp sight to find shelter.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy sets out on the yellow brick road in her silver shoes, leaving the Munchkin country behind her after a night of dancing and a friendly supper with the rich farmer Boq. The land is tidy and blue-trimmed, and the people bow to her as though she were someone important.

Along the road she meets a Scarecrow perched on a pole above a cornfield, and he winks at her before climbing down to join her. He has no brains, he says, and he wonders whether the Great Oz might give him some. Toto is not sure about this new traveling companion.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

A cyclone has set Dorothy’s house down in a bright, unfamiliar land, and the moment she steps outside she meets a band of small, oddly dressed people with tinkling hats. They greet her as a hero, but Dorothy is certain there has been a mistake. Their celebration reveals a strange new world she never knew existed.

Soon Dorothy learns that the Land of Oz has witches, some good and some wicked, and a mysterious Wizard waiting in a distant city. Her journey home seems to depend on a road few have ever traveled. Listen in as a frightened girl and her small dog take their first steps toward the unknown.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Dorothy lives on the gray Kansas prairie with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, where even the grass has faded to the color of ash. Her only bright spot is Toto, a small black dog whose merry eyes keep her laughing when the rest of the farm seems to have forgotten how.

One gray afternoon the sky turns darker than usual, and the wind begins to whistle from two directions at once. Uncle Henry hurries off to the sheds, Aunt Em rushes for the cellar, and Dorothy must decide whether to follow before the old farmhouse begins to move.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Before the journey begins, the author speaks directly to you about the fairy tales that have carried children through the ages. He looks back on the winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen and asks what stories should look like for children today.

He explains why the old tales of genies, dwarfs, and frightening morals are giving way to something gentler. This introduction sets the promise of the book: wonder and joy, with the heartaches and nightmares left out.

About This Production

This episode is part of a faithful reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.