Mother Goose in Prose

Published three years before the author achieved fame as the creator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this engaging volume, inspired by well-known nursery rhymes, added an exciting new dimension to old, much-loved verses. In 22 captivating fantasies, Baum tells about Old King Cole; The Man in the Moon; The Jolly Miller; Little Bo-Peep; Tom, the Piper's Son; The Woman Who Lived in a Shoe; Little Miss Muffet; The Cat and the Fiddle, and others. Twelve charming drawings by famed illustrator Maxfield Parrish enhance a unique collection that will delight Baum admirers, youngsters, and the young at heart.

Lyman Frank Baum was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator W. W. Denslow, of one of the most popular books in American children's literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, better known today as simply The Wizard of Oz. Born in Chittenango, New York, into a Protestant family of German origin, he was the seventh of nine children born to Cynthia Stanton and Benjamin Ward Baum, only five of whom survived into adulthood. He was named "Lyman" after his father's brother, but always disliked the name, and preferred to go by "Frank".