Munchkins

The Munchkins
Oz books character
W. W. Denslow's depiction of Munchkins, from the first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
First appearance	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Created by	L. Frank Baum

The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). They are described as only wearing shades of blue clothing, as blue is the Munchkins' favorite color, and the predominating color that officially represents the eastern quadrant in the Land of Oz. They and the non-Munchkin Witch, the Good Witch of the North who accompanies them upon Dorothy Gale's first arrival to Oz, are described as being the same height as Dorothy, who is hinted to be no older than twelve-years-old.

The following is an excerpt from chapter two of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, titled The Council with the Munchkins, in which Dorothy first meets three Munchkins and the Good Witch of the North:

she noticed coming down toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.

Baum apparently did not mean that only Munchkins are short in stature (as depicted in the iconic 1939 film), but that this is the norm for all of the adult humans of Oz. In a scene later in the book, the Guardian of the Gates, the first inhabitant of the Emerald City met by Dorothy and apparently representative of its citizens, is "a little man about the same size as the Munchkins." Still later, the Quadlings of the southern land are described as "short and fat." The Tin Woodman is also of Munchkin descent but is of average adult height.

In W. W. Denslow's illustrations for The Wonderful Wizard (approved by Baum), the only Oz humans depicted as remarkably taller than Dorothy are the Soldier with the Green Whiskers and Glinda.