[Book Review] The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

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.

4 STARS 

This was incredibly sweet! I haven't read the Wizard of Oz books by Baum, so I was going in hoping I'd like his writing style, and I did! The first 40ish pages were a bit slow and it took me a moment to get into it but once I did I found the story to be whimsical. 

The story itself was pretty simple and perfect for kids. The writing reminded me of a fairytale, and it definitely got me into the holiday spirit. I think reading this book to kids at night before bed throughout the month of Christmas is such a good idea because it definitely would get them excited for Christmas day. It's pretty short and I read it in one sitting so I am not going to give away too much of the plot because I don't want to spoil anything. I don't think I have read any books (or watched many movies) where we get the beginning of Santa's story, so it was kind of cool to get a different side of Santa, where he is more vulnerable.

 Like I said, I really enjoy the writing style. I was worried for a moment in the beginning because it seemed like there was a lot of name dropping and some info dropping, but as the story goes on it isn't super important to remember the name of each of the handful of the earth's caretakers. The writing definitely sweeps you off your feet and you're on this fun journey with Claus.

Overall, I think this is such a fun story and I highly recommend it. For me it is going on my list of books to buy so it can be a reading tradition because this is a Christmas classic I wish I had read earlier. If you have kids (maybe 6+?) I think it would be a great experience to read it to them and enjoy the magical and whimsical fairytale of Baum's The Life and Adventure of Santa Claus. 

Thanks for reading!