"In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child," says L. Frank Baum's delightful Santa Claus. These words also expressed the credo of the wonderfully imaginative creator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Taking the beloved symbol of a merry Christmas out of his conventional trappings and into the world of imaginative folklore, Baum gave Santa Claus an exciting life that evokes all the charm, warmth, and fantasy that made his Oz stories American classics. We discover the boy Claus growing up in an enchanted forest with a whole cast of mythical creatures--elves and wood nymphs, evil Awgwas, and the master woodsman Ak. We see how Claus makes his first toy and find out why he goes down chimneys, how he chooses his reindeer and what its like when he ventures out on Christmas--where, as Max Apple points out, he delivers a powerful message: "Have some fun, even in the middle of winter. A toy delivered by a stranger in the middle of the night may almost be enough to convince you that the invisible world, every once in a while, is on your side."
About the Author
Lyman Frank Baum was born in 1856 in Chittenango in the state of New York. Educated mostly at home due to ill health, he was encouraged by his wealthy father to pursue his early interests in journalism and playwriting. He started his first magazine aged 15, had his own theater at 24 and worked for many newspapers and periodicals before turning to children's fiction. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, was his third bestselling book in as many years, and launched the hugely successful series of ‘Oz’ titles. Baum continued writing for the rest of his life and died in 1919 with over one hundred books to his name.
