Life and Adventures of Santa ClausDownload Now...
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Customer Review: What a Wonderful Treat for Christmas!!!
This book has a rather peculiar history. Originally published in 1902, two years after Baum's success with The Wizard of Oz,the first printing contained 20 color illustrations. In the second printing, eight of the color illustrations were left out, replaced by numerous black and white marginal illustrations. So you can imagine the delight of Oz fans when they discover this lovely edition in full color readily available after so many years of black and white reprints of the original edition.
The book is in three sections: "Youth", "Manhood", and "Old Age". Santa was discovered as an infant abandoned in the Forest of Burzee. The nymphs, fairies and elves adopted him and under the tutelage of Ak, the Master Woodsman of the World, Claus is bought up to appreciate and understand that all living things are sacred and deserve respect. In the "Manhood" section Baum tells the reader how Claus began making toys and delivering them to the world. He had his problems though. The Awgwas, who are evil creatures and can't tolerate happiness, continue to plague Claus first by intercepting his toys during delivery and then kidnapping Claus himself. "Old Age" describes the immortals' decision to take certain actions so that Claus can continue to give to the world.
Numerous questions are answered here:
What is the reason for hanging stockings?
How and why did Santa enlist the help of reindeer?
Why does he slide down the chimney?
As in the Wizard of Oz a good number of the characters here are Baum's own creations. You'll meet the knooks and the ryls, for example. You'll also meet the Gnome King who is rather benign here, but, by the end of Ozma of Oz, becomes the arch enemy of that fairy kingdom.
Michael Hague's illustrations are glorious.In the "Illustrator's Note" he states that the illustrations took three times longer than he expected. Well, it certainly shows. This was a labor of love. The pictures are in two varieties, full color and two color. The endpapers show a snowy day in the woods, a small creature trudging through it with a sack on its back. This is indeed one of Mr. Hague's finest moments. I wish I could give this book a 10, 5 for the story and 5 for the pictures.
Customer Review: Wonderful Christmas VHS
I first watched this Christmas TV special when my children were small and found it interesting and fun. It brings a different view of how Santa Claus came to be with the help of Nature's creatures. It also has a great message for children that my children got the first time. I watch it every Christmas and enjoy it very much.It makes a nice change from the predictable, sugary shows you can get recently.
Customer Review: Cute fiction built around Santa Claus
I remember reading this book around fifth grade. I kind of liked it then, I think because of the whole fairies thing.
Basically the story follows the life of Claus, a baby adopted by fairies. (The story starts in fairy land and much of it involves the fairies and woodland spirits. If you are expecting traditional Christmas lore you will get that but not quite yet.) The fairies are immortal, but Claus will grow up and age. When he has grown to be a teenager the fairies set him up in a cottage in the woods. Apparently they are bringing him food and necessities, so his only job is to discover his purpose in life. He begins to make toys for children to cheer them up, and the story goes from there.
The entire host of fairies gets involved in toy production. Instead of making toys like the merry elves, they bring colors from flowers and other magical properties that Claus can include in his toys. This reads like a fairy tale and grdually Baum brings in elements from the Santa mythology. The transition from fairies and magic to Santa is what I liked most in the book.
I recently reread this book and liked it except for the whole toys making kids happy thing. Its not that I dislike kids or toys. Here Claus (obviously the future Santa Claus) makes toys for children and the toys are the panacea that makes their world perfect. With a small carved toy dog all of a sudden they are kind to siblings, respect their parents and are bursting with joy. If he passed out lifetime supplies of cocain and valium he couldn't make them happier. If I were to find that Baum had been commissioned by a department store to write this book as a special advertising section for holiday spending then that would explain alot. The huge emphasis on more toys=happy makes the book a little sick.
Overall this is a nifty twist on the Santa Claus myth. It reads well even in the summertime. The only drawback is the huge focus on happiness through toys. The only moral that I could extract from the story is that children NEED toys to be happy and this is soooo important that the entire world of fairy restructures itself around toys. Good story but it sometimes feels like good press for the toy department.
Product Description
A beautiful new edition of L. Frank Baum's Christmas classic with illustrations by Michael Hague
Every child knows about Santa Claus, the jolly man who brings gifts to all on Christmas. There are many stories that tell of his life, but the delightful version relayed in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is by far the most charming and original of all. Only L. Frank Baum, the man who created the wonderful land of Oz, could have told Santa's tale in such rich and imaginative detail.
Acclaimed children's artist Michael Hague has created strikingly beautiful illustrations for this wondrous holiday story. In delicate ink drawings and lush watercolor paintings he brings to life that most beloved of all childhood heroes, Santa Claus, in a gorgeous Christmas classic that will be cherished for years to come.
Customer Review: Classic that no one knows
I got this book for my parents on Christmas. They loved it. It describes the childhood and maturation of Santa Clause. The mythology is deep with fairies and fairy folk. The illustrations are through out the book as any good children's book. This is a classic children's story as it will grip the emotions of even adult readers. It makes one pine for the good and humane in the world. This is a great book.
Customer Review: Wonderful Christmas Classic
In this Book L. Frank Baum seeks to explain the origins of Santa Claus to children and he succeeds wonderfully. I read this book when I was much younger and really treasure the talent Baum has to tell a tale and explain where Santa Claus comes from and why he delivers those toys. Baum plays with traditional Santa myths as with most tellings Santa is an orphan or foundling adopted by others. Here Claus is adopted by the wood nymphs and raised to love the forest and all it's creatures. If there is one thing Baum asserts in this book is a love for nature, love and peace. He is taught to love the human race and another great message in this book is to do good in this world and leave it in better condition than we found it. besides that Baum explains how Claus learns to create toys and uses them to bring happiness to the children around him. Every thing is explained how the sleigh and reindeer were first used, how the first stockings were fillied, how Claus created the first christmas tree, and how he became immortal.
The book is not without a conflict as Baum created the Awgawas, creatures who seek to corrupt children through bad behavior. The creature try to destroy Claus only to earn the wrath of the immortals who befriend him. This battle in the book is noteworthy as supposedly insignificant weapons destroy their attackers.
This particular edition is beautifully painted by Hague. His nymphs are straight out of a style like the elves from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. His Santa is more like a cross between a Father Christmas and Saint Nicholas. He is jolly, and happy. Although I note he also looks a bit like Hague which is fine, why not, Hague sees the Santa in himself. This book is the most beautiful edition of Baum's Christmas classic and worth a read through out December.
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