Who would ever guess that the beloved legend of Santa Claus involves a seldom-told tale of faith and friendship between two men -- one white and one black? Long ago, Santa Claus had an African partner named Pete and together they brought the spirit of Christmas to America's first settlers. These two forever changed the way families celebrate the holiday. But through the years, Pete's contribution was forgotten.
Now Santa & Pete restores the legacy in delightful style and delivers an inspiring message of hope and harmony among people. The story starts with a bus driver who takes his grandson along on Saturdays as he travels a historical route in New York City. What unfolds is a series of wonderful adventures that culminate on Christmas Eve, when the bus gets stuck in a snowstorm. That's when the grandfather's running genealogy lesson, based on author Christopher Moore's own family history, arrives at its final destination: the story of Santa and Pete.
A truly magical tale, Santa & Pete will take you and your family back to the heart of Christmas.
Editorial Reviews
"This heartwarming holiday story is a welcome addition to the small roster of tales that relate an ethnically based story for a general readership. Welcome, too, is the strong prose and sure craftsmanship that keeps sentimentality at arm's length while spinning an absorbing narrative. The African American narrator, Terence, looks back on the winter of 1959, when he was a boy and accompanied his grandfather, a bus driver, on his Saturday route, receiving from the old gentleman a capsule history of old New York and an introduction to his African American heritage. Harkening back to the time when the city was New Amsterdam, grandfather tells the story of Pete, born a slave in Spain and a worker in a Seville prison during the Inquisition, when the real St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop, was imprisoned there. According to grandfather, Pete became Santa's sidekick and they sailed for the New World. The story of their adventures, delivered with humor and easily assimilated historical details, is inspirational in the best sense, grounded in truths of human nature and ethical conduct. In a genre where a blatant tug on the heartstrings often takes the place of substance, this affecting and illuminating story is a standout." --Publishers Weekly
"Santa & Pete is a magical novel of Christmas, of family, and of harmony among all. Christopher Moore and Pamela Johnson have gifted us with the opportunity to create a whole new Christmas tradition while holding tight to the spirit of the holiday season." --Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box, Timepiece, and The Letter
About the Author
Christopher Moore is a teacher, a historian, and a commissioner at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. A specialist in early American history, he wrote and produced the History Channel's award-winning television special "The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery."
Pamela Johnson, a journalist who has worked in television, newspapers, and magazines for sixteen years.
