This Christmas, I'm reading the Penguin Christmas Classics. Just like last year, I'll use a special rating system to give you an even better idea what this story is about and if it's for you.
CHRISTMAS FEELS: ★★★★★/5
ROMANCE FEELS: ★/5
CHARACTERS: ★★★★★/5
HUMOUR: ★★★★/5
ORIGINALITY: ★★★★★/5
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is written by one the most well known children's author; the man who created the world of Oz. L. Frank Baum is a household name, but I had never read any of his stories before. This book chronicles the life of Santa from his birth to the iconic figure we know today. How does one become Santa Claus? Is he human or some sort of God? L. Frank Baum is able to answer all those questions for readers in a way that both appeals to young children and adults.
As a non-American, I never really grew up with the idea that Santa Claus was real, but reading this book made me wish that I did. L. Frank Baum is so creative and original with his take on Santa and somehow, even though it involves magic and fairies, it seems to make so much sense. As a child, I would have believed this whole story and as an adult, I just fell in love with the easy way of reading it and the creativity on every single page. Baum knows how to entice an audience and how to keep throwing in unexpected plot turns.
This book is the definition of Christmas in my opinion; there is Santa, snow, reindeers, happy children, magic, toys, forgiveness, love,... Absolutely everything you can expect from a traditional Christmas story. There is no romance technically, but the love Santa has for making children happy is more beautiful than any romance storyline could be.
I absolutely adore this book and I can't wait to make it a tradition and read this story every single year - and urge everyone I know to do the same. If you read this, I guarantee you'll feel like Christmas has really started.