From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Tin Woodman
A gentle metal woodman • Seeking a loving heart
A tenderhearted tin woodchopper who longs for a heart so he can love again.
Who is Tin Woodman?
The Tin Woodman is a gentle woodchopper made of shiny tin. Dorothy and the Scarecrow find him stuck in the forest after rain rusted his joints, and they oil him until he can move again. He joins them hoping the Wizard will give him a heart, though he is one of the kindest travelers of all, building a raft and protecting tiny creatures.
Tin Woodman is a character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.
What is Tin Woodman like?
- gentle
- kind
- hardworking
Tin Woodman’s story
The Tin Woodman was once an ordinary man who chopped wood. He fell in love with a Munchkin girl, but the Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his axe, which cut off his body parts one at a time. A tinsmith replaced each part with tin, but he never got a new heart. Dorothy and the Scarecrow find him rusted still, and oil brings him back to life.
He is so careful not to hurt anyone that he cries over a beetle he steps on, and he saves the Queen of the Field Mice from a wildcat. The Queen later sends her mice to rescue the Lion. He builds a raft, chops down the tree for the ravine and fights the wolves, killing forty with his axe.
The Wizard gives him a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, and he feels it is the best gift of all. After the Witch is gone, the Winkies ask him to be their ruler, and he agrees.
“I should much rather have a heart.”
A moment to remember
When a wildcat chases a little gray mouse, the Tin Woodman rushes to help, and the mouse turns out to be the Queen of the Field Mice.
Family and friends
- Dorothy Gale: oiled his joints and became his friend
- Scarecrow: first friend on the road
- Cowardly Lion: traveling companion
- The Wicked Witch of the West: her wolves faced his axe
Talk about it
The Tin Woodman wanted a heart, but he was kind all along. What is something kind you did for someone this week?
Questions about Tin Woodman
- What does the Tin Woodman want from the Wizard?
- He wants a heart. He believes he cannot truly love or feel without one.
- Why is the Tin Woodman made of tin in the book?
- The Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his axe so it cut off his body parts one at a time. A tinsmith replaced each part with tin.
- What happens to the Tin Woodman at the end of the story?
- He becomes the ruler of the Winkies, the people who lived under the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda’s Winged Monkeys carry him there.
Read the story in
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Ages 6–9, 72 pages
