i have a friend (liz smart) whose mother died when she was 16.
her favorite memory of her mom, was reading The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by Julie Lane together in the days leading up to Christmas each year.
(Here is a link on Amazon, but it's paperback... here is a link on Barnes and Noble... this is the right book, but i think it may be out of print...)
this year, she gifted a copy of this book to our family...
making us promise to carry on the tradition.
and... I LOVE THIS BOOK. i LOVE it.
it tells how he starts making toys, how he gets his red suit, how he gets his reindeer.
nicholas is a sweet, jolly boy who remains positive even when he's sent to live with a grumpy woodcarver.
his kindness and generousity, despite his tragic life, makes him beloved by all.
i have cried a few times as i've read...
I LOVE THIS BOOK.
it is probably my FAVORITE thing about Christmas this year.how have i not heard of this book? it should be a complete Christmas Classic!!
i tell the kids they have 5 minutes for brushed teeth and pjs... then i'm going to start reading.
we light our pine scented candle, sing a few Christmas songs and then i read a chapter (or 3).
when we finish this book, i want to read them the real Dickens, A Christmas Carol...
How i love this season!!
Hey Jen, I looked at the Amazon link, but it says that book is by Amelia Houghton, not Julie Lane?? And at Barnes and Noble....$246! Eek! It MUST be out of print. :( So sad.
ReplyDeleteDoes yours start like this, "Have you heard of the great forest of Burzee? Nurse used to sing of it when I was child."?
ReplyDeleteThe Amazon link is the book that I love... IN PAPERBACK. My book printing says the author is Julie Lane but this comment explains that this is a fake name.
ReplyDeleteMy mother, Amelia Catherine Houghton, used the pen name Julie Lane when she wrote the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. She died in 1989 after a long and satisfying career as a public school administrator and teacher. The illustrator, Hokie, was my father, who died in 1961. Hokie was the pet name that Amy gave him. I am so happy (and, of course, my mother and father would also be) to see that people from all over the U.S. have enjoyed mom's book as much as her own family and all of the children that listened to the story around Christmas time when it was broadcast over the school's intercom (my brother Tony was a principal, his wife was a principal, and six Houghton's were in the Dade County public school system. If you have any questions about the book's origin, background on the "Plot," etc. please email me at houghtonjy2k@hotmail.com and I will be very happy to respond. Five stars...I'm proud of my mother and father and I give it 10 stars. Jon Houghton Pinecrest, Florida