The yellow brick road is a central element in the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by American author L. Frank Baum. The road also appears in the several sequel Oz books such as The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) and The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913).
Dorothy and her companions befriend the Cowardly Lion, while traveling on the yellow brick road--illustration by W. W. Denslow (1900).
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their home by a cyclone. Upon her arrival in the magical world of Oz, she learns she cannot return home until she has destroyed the Wicked Witch of the West.
The Wicked Witch melts. First edition illustration by W. W. Denslow.
The Winged Monkeys transport Dorothy.
L. Frank Baum circa 1911
Dorothy meeting the Cowardly Lion (Denslow, 1900)