Ruth Plumly Thompson (27 July 1891 - 6 April 1976) was an American writer of children's stories, best known for writing many novels placed in Oz, the fictional land of L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While in high school she sold her first fairy tale to St. Nicholas Magazine to which she continued contributing, along with The Smart Set. wizard In 1914 she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger, writing a weekly children's column for the newspaper. Thompson's contributions to the Oz series are lively and imaginative, featuring a wide range of colorful and unusual characters.