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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the first fantasy written by an American to enjoy an immediate success upon publication. So powerful was its effect on the American imagination, so charming its invitation to children of all ages to look for the element of wonder in the world around them that L. Frank Baum was forced by demand to create book after book about Dorothy and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and Glinda the Good Witch. -
Tarzan of the Apes (1914) Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan of the Apes is the first in a series of books about the popular man who was raised by and lived among the apes. With its universal themes of honesty, heroism, and bravery, the series has never lost popularity. Countless Tarzan adaptations have been filmed for television and the silver screen, including an animated version currently in production. -
The Great Gatsby (1925) F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the more influential writers. The Great Gatsby is a portrait of the Jazz Age in all its decadence and excess. Exploring the themes of class, wealth, and social status through the story of the self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald takes a cynical look at the pursuit of wealth among a group of people for whom pleasure is the goal. Depicting some of Fitzgerald’s most abiding obsessions—money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings.