A beautiful imagining of Santa Claus’ life and origin. Rich in folklore and magic it is a beautiful innocent story that helps children believe in something good. ( )

A cute series of explanations for Christmastime traditions with a mythological history of Santa Claus. Like Tolkien with his mythology for England, Baum devises a clever backstory for Claus, weaving in the beginnings of his toymaking, chimney-crawling, and more. Not a crazy yarn being spun here, but it’s fun to see Baum’s work to craft a coherent fantasy world narrative out of the Santa Claus legend. ( )

A fantastical and interesting take on the Santa Claus myth. ( )

Received from Early Readers program.
This is a Santa Claus origin story from the author of the OZ books L. Frank Baum. It is a very quaint little book and has some very sweet little fantasy elements. Would be a good little series of bedtime stories for young children leading up to Christmas. It is a little dated but not too much, and I enjoyed reading it. ( )

How did Santa come to be? How does he live forever? This wonderful book answers all these questions and more. Santa was a foundling raised by a nymph named Necile who loved him like her own. Throughout his life, Claus is befriended by many immortals who make his life better. When he decides to live among other mortals, Claus finds his true calling.

Growing up, I watched the cartoon by Rankin/Bass based on this short story and it quickly became one of my favorites. I found myself smiling throughout this story and decided that I will be purchasing a copy for my shelves. If you are looking for a quick endearing read about Santa and his origins...this is the book I highly recommend. ( )