The Wicked Years facts for kids

The Wicked Years is a series of fantasy novels written by Gregory Maguire. These books offer a fresh and different look at the magical land of Oz, which you might know from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or the famous 1939 movie.

Unlike the original Oz stories, these books are written for older readers, like teenagers and adults. They explore a version of Oz that faces many challenges, including how different groups of people and talking animals get along. Some characters you might know as heroes in the original Wizard of Oz stories are shown in a new light here, sometimes even as villains or just regular people.

The first book in the series, Wicked, became a very popular musical that opened on Broadway.

The Novels: A New Look at Oz

There are four books in The Wicked Years series. Each one tells a part of the story from a different character's point of view.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

The first novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, was published in 1995. It tells the life story of the famous villain from Baum's books, who is named "Elphaba" in this series.

The book shows Elphaba's life through the eyes of people who knew her. She starts as an outsider who wants to make the world a better place, even though she has a strange allergy to water. The novel was a big hit and was later turned into a very successful musical. The musical first opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003.

Son of a Witch

A sequel to Wicked, called Son of a Witch, came out in 2005. This book focuses on Elphaba's son, Liir.

The story is told from Liir's perspective. He is trying to find his half-sister, Nor, and along the way, he tries to finish some of the important work his mother, Elphaba, had started. This book begins shortly after the events of Wicked.

A Lion Among Men

The third novel, A Lion Among Men, was published in 2008. The main character in this book is the Cowardly Lion, who is called 'Brrr'.

The story shares Brrr's life, from when he was a cub to the present time in the book. It also tells the story of an old wise woman named Yackle, who was first introduced in Wicked. Their stories connect with events from Wicked and Son of a Witch, and the timeline moves about eight years past Son of a Witch. A Lion Among Men was the first book to use the title "Wicked Years" for the series.

Out of Oz

The fourth and final book in the series, Out of Oz, was released in 2011. It starts right after A Lion Among Men ends.

This book mainly follows Liir's daughter, Rain. The story involves exciting events, like the Emerald City planning an attack on Munchkinland, and the Cowardly Lion trying to escape danger. Even young Dorothy makes an appearance in this final book.

The Grimmerie: A Book of Magic

The Grimmerie is a special fictional book of spells in The Wicked Years universe. The word "Grimmerie" is a mix of "Grimoire" (a book of magic spells) and "gramarye" (old word for magic).

In both the novels and the musical, the Grimmerie is written in a language that people in Oz cannot understand. In the books, it's because the book came from Earth and is written in English. In the musical, it's said to be written in a "lost language of spells." There is also a real-life book called The Grimmerie, published in 2005, which shares behind-the-scenes details about the musical.

In the novels, the Grimmerie contains information about many things, including:

• Details about supernatural creatures like angels.
• Sections on "Evil Particulars," which are like demons.
• Ways to make water unsafe or to make people too calm.
• Drawings of tools and weapons that Elphaba thought were too awful to use.

It also has some interesting recipes and spells:

• A recipe for "apples with black skin and white flesh" that causes great greed.
• A recipe to overthrow a government, suggesting spells for different ways to cause trouble or remove leaders.
• Spells to use the hidden power of matter.
• Spells to change time.
• A spell called "On the Administration of Dragons." This page is very important in Son of a Witch.
• Spells to help animals that normally stay on the ground learn to fly.
• Notes on how to stay awake, which Elphaba uses to make a strong insomnia potion.
• A spell to find hidden messages or even people who are hiding. The back of the dragon spell page has the second part of this spell.
• A spell called "To Call Winter on Water," which Glinda uses in Out of Oz to freeze enemy warships.

In the musical, the Grimmerie is very important for Elphaba's magical abilities. It has many spells written in a strange language that help her perform magic throughout the show. The spells in the musical are much less dark than those described in the novels.