L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 with illustrator W.W. Denslow. The book, which Baum wrote for children, tells Dorothy Gale’s story. Dorothy lives with her aunt and uncle on a farm in Kansas when a cyclone sweeps their house away and drops Dorothy and her dog Toto in the magical land of Oz. The narrative continues along the famed Yellow Brick Road that goes from Munchkinland to the Emerald City, where the powerful Wizard of Oz lives. Dorothy steps away from the path to encounter creatures, people, and places that make up the world.

Baum structures the story as an episodic narrative. While all parts of the story are cohesive and tell a singular plot, the story is broken up into multiple episodes, either based on a chapter or an event arc. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, new episodes occur when Dorothy diverts from the Yellow Brick Road. When Dorothy and her friends return to the road, the narrative continues its path. The Yellow Brick Road serves as a throughline for the story.

Though the story is one continual narrative, each episode can be read apart from the rest of the text.