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Books : The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (Signet Classics)
Product Description: Taking the beloved symbol of merriment out of his conventional trappings and into the world of imaginative folklore, Baum gives Santa Claus an exciting life. After growing up in an enchanted forest with elves and wood nymphs, evil Awgwas, and the master woodsman Ak, Claus makes his first toy, ventures out on Christmas Eve, chooses his reindeer, and starts climbing down chimneys.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A Cute Retelling of the Legend of Santa Claus
L. Frank Baum is most well known for his Oz books (he wrote 13 of them!), and this book fits into the same genre. Baum's retelling of Claus' story is written at about a 10 year old's reading level, so don't expect anything deep. Although this would normally turn me away, it's a cute and original story that gives a delightful explanation of Santa's background. With this story Baum creates his own tale of where Santa Claus came from, why he started making toys, the obstacles he faced, and how many other Christmas traditions were created. This is an easy read that I'd recommend especially around Christmas to rouse your holiday spirit. Then you can even use some of this info on Santa's background to entertain children and friends.
Rating: - Beautiful reimagining of the legend.
L. Frank Baum was one of the great fantasy writers of the early 20th century -- in fact, were it not for Tolkien, I'd be tempted to call him the greatest in 100 years. His Oz books created a beautiful, vibrant land that still draws readers a century later. This book, his twist on the legend of Santa Claus, is part of that wonderful tapestry he wove.
Forget all of the Santa Claus legends you've read before -- there's no North Pole, no elves, no Bergermeistermeisterberger -- the story starts with a baby found in the woods by the fairy Necile. She raises him as her son, Claus (or "Ni-claus," meaning "Little Claus"), until the child begins to wonder about his own people. Shown the dangers of the human world by the great Ak, Claus decides to venture forth amongst the mortals regardless.
Claus gets a lot of credit in this story, from inventing the first toy to inspiring a war amongst immortals to retrieve them, and all of it is done in Baum's clear, clean style that is as easy to read today as it was in his time. It might not be the best book for a small child, who may ask questions trying to reconcile this unique version of Santa with the one he knows, but for an older child who understands that the spirit of Santa Claus is what's important it is a wonderful book. I re-read it every December.
Rating: - 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.
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