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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Holiday Book for All Ages, Jan 7 2004
Claus, a young baby discovered by a a wood-nymph named Necile, becomes the first human to ever be raised in an enchanted forest, by all types of mythical creatures, including elves and wood nymphs, Ak, the master woodsman, and the evil Awgwas. During his time with the mythical creatures, Claus adopts a love for making toys, and making children happy. He soon decides to deliver toys to all of the children in the land, and is quickly given the name Santa Claus, as he is now known as a Saint, and someone who brought happiness to all.Baum has done a fantastic job in creating and describing a magical world, such as the one in which Claus resides. Filled with information about how Santa Claus chooses his reindeer, why he goes down chimneys, how he makes his toys, etc., this book is sure to please. Readers young and old will find themselves believing the magic that is Santa Claus. A must-have book for all. Erika Sorocco
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Santa Claus like you've never seen, Dec 17 2002
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.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
It made my teeth hurt, April 25 2002
After reading only five pages of this small children's novel by the reknowned fantasy writer Frank L. Baum, I felt only one thing: the need to make a dentist's appointment. Baum crafts a sugary tale without anything to really distinguish it, and it's the literary equivalent of eating a mountain of candy and not brushing your teeth. This is the story of Santa Claus -- here portrayed as a human baby adopted by a wood-nymph named Necile in the human-free forest of Burzee. The baby is the first and only mortal adopted by immortals, and is given the name Neclaus, or Claus. For several years he leads a pretty idyllic life, and all the immortals just adore him. But then Claus takes an interest in human beings, and ends up leaving so he can "make thousands of little children happy." So he ends up making various beautiful gifts for children both rich and poor. However, plotting his downfall are the hideous Angwas, since "one of the principal sports of the Awgwas was to inspire angry passions in the hearts of little children." So Claus and his little friends have to resist the Angwas so that little kids can have toys... This is not a Santa Claus story based in any way in fact; rather, this is a tale suited to the mass-produced, plastic Santa Claus images that pop up every Christmas. The sugar level is mind-blowing. The idea of the bad guys, whose sole focus is making kiddies misbehave, is incredibly bad. The forest of Burzee is almost hilarious, with its inhabitants living in a sort of immortal hippie commune, with the kind of uninterrupted, continuous bliss that can only be found in certain controlled substances. The characters have no real personalities: either they're sickening good or hideously bad. It feels less like Baum is telling a story than Making A Point, with the characters as his means of Making That Point. But even if the Angwas evil, they're not really evil -- instead they have a vague I-know-it-when-I-see-it badness, which mainly seems to consist of depriving the poor wittle kiddies of their toys and make them misbehave. Their idea of a hideous act is to steal and then hide toys (Oh horrors!) and they hate the good guys because... well, because they DO. Baum's idea of war is outrageously bad, and it's hard to take seriously because Baum takes care to tell you that it's impossible for the bad guys to win. Claus himself is so good and noble that he is literally impossible to connect with, as are all his various nymph, Knook, Fairy, Ryl friends. The children that Claus befriends read like Shirley Temple parodies; lines like "I wants a tat" are too common to contemplate. The dialogue in general reads like a screenplay written by a first grader. If you can read lines like "I will overwhelm them with our evil powers!" without giggling helplessly, then you are a stronger reader than I. I don't recommend this book for anyone over the age of eight who still retains full brain function, and I definitely don't recommend it for diabetics.
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