The book is a re-narration of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Volkov's Magic Land series, as it was called, was translated into many languages and was popular with children all over the Eastern Bloc.

Volkov's version of Oz seems to be better known than Baum's in Russia, China, and the former East Germany.

[2] The following are notable differences between The Wizard of the Emerald City and the original book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: In 1959 a new edition of the book was published, significantly revised by the author.

Vladimirsky and became popular in the 1960s, leading to five sequels: These sequels were written by Volkov himself and are not based on Baum's plot elements, although we do encounter the powder of life, a character called Charlie Black similar to Cap'n Bill, intelligent foxes, and the use of a Sandboat similar to Johnny Dooit's, albeit with wheels.