There are those stories, which can be told over and over again year after year. This is one of those.

Van Amsterdam baked the most delicious things, and everyone loved to visit his shop, especially when it came time to bake the Nikolaus cookies. He wasn't only great a baking. He was very fair as well and made sure that customers received exactly what they paid for. No more and no less. When an old woman entered his shop and excitedly announced she wanted a dozen cookies, she delight turned to anger as he gave her twelve. She claimed thirteen complete the dozen, and he wouldn't budge. What happened next turned his ideals upside down.

This story takes its inspiration from a legend during colonial New York, and the story telling lets that time period shine. It carries a traditional flair, flows wonderfully, and allows listeners to sink into the world. It makes for a lovely read-aloud and reminds of a fairy tale. There's a dusting of magic, an important lesson to be learned, and the importance of generosity beams bright. While it does center around the Saint Nikolaus celebration of December 6th, it does work very well for Christmas, too.

The illustrations are very well done and bring the historic scenes across with authentic atmosphere. There are tons of details worked in, which invite listeners to explore each image again and again on their own. The emotions and situations come across clearly as it balances right with the text.

This is one of those reads to put on the Christmas bookshelf and enjoy whenever the Holidays roll around. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

The story is delightful and the illustrations absolutely blew me away. A great story about the legend of the baker's dozen in the US. I highly recommend this for people of all ages and faiths. The story is about the spirit of giving more than anything religious. A beautiful folk tale that brings alive the spirit of the holidays.

Received for Review ( )

The story is delightful and the illustrations absolutely blew me away. A great story about the legend of the baker's dozen in the US. I highly recommend this for people of all ages and faiths. The story is about the spirit of giving more than anything religious. A beautiful folk tale that brings alive the spirit of the holidays. ( )

I loved this book. I have used the term baker's dozen many times, but never really thought about the origin. This story is a version of how that came to be from an old story out of the Dutch in old New York.

VanAmsterdam is a very honest baker who always makes sure he gives each customer exactly what he pays for, no more and no less. He makes the best St. Nicholas cookies and is always extremely busy. One day, an old woman comes and asks for a dozen cookies, when he gives her twelve, she asks for thirteen saying that there are thirteen in a dozen. When he refuses to give in, she leaves disgruntled, and leaves him with bad luck. Unfortunately as he has more and more issues with his baking, he loses all his customers. He does not know what to do. Eventually the spirit of St. Nicholas helps him learn the joys of giving more than is expected.

The illustrations are amazing. They are true to the period, very bright and colourful and tell the story almost by themselves. They show the village, the people, the wonderful cookies, St. Nicolas and more. They are wonderful.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this book reads like a fairytale. There is the evil witch/villian, the villager who has bad luck caused by the villian, the wish or assistance of a greater being (fairy godmother, St. Nicholas etc) and a happy ending. The message that being generous and giving more than expected is a good one and very easy to see in the story.

This will be added to my holiday library for sure. I also can't wait to try the recipe for the cookies that is included at the end of the story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )