The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus (1999) - Plot & Excerpts
Buku yang menyenangkan karena mendongengkan kisah hidup Santa Claus, mulai dari bayi hingga masa tuanya. Buku ini sendiri terdiri atas tiga bagian utama: masa kecil, masa dewasa dan masa tua.Di bagian masa kecil, dikisahkan tentang bagaimana bayi mungil Claus pertama kali ditemukan di tepi Hutan Burzee oleh Ak. Hutan ini sangat istimewa karena di kedalamannya tinggal makhluk-makhluk "abadi" seperti fairie, knook, ryl dan nymph. Di bagian ini juga dikisahkan kalau St. Nicholas bukan nama aslinya, tapi Neclaus yang artinya "putra kecil Necile". Dan karena Ibu angkatnya, Necile, lebih suka memanggilnya Claus maka anak ini lebih dikenal dengan nama Claus.Di bagian masa dewasa, dikisahkan bagaimana Claus dewasa memutuskan untuk tinggal di Lembah Tertawa dan mendedikasikan dirinya untuk membahagiakan anak-anak di dunia, niatan yang sangat luar biasa. Dikisahkan bagaimana Claus membuat mainan pertamanya dan membagikan mainan itu pada anak-anak di sekitar tempat tinggalnya. Di masa ini pula dikisahkan perjuangan Claus membagikan mainan buatannya ke sebanyak mungkin anak di bumi sampai pecah peperangan besar melawan kaum Awgwa yang jahat. Dan yang paling menyenangkan tentu saja awal dari perjalanan Claus tiap tahun di malam Natal.Di bagian masa tua, dikisahkan tentang bagiamana kondisi Claus yang melemah seiring pertambahan usianya. Di bagian ini saya hampir saja mau protes sama pengarangnya... mosok mo ceritain kisah meninggalnya Claus?? Tapi ternyata tidak, di bagian ini juga diceritakan kalau Claus menjadi bagian dari para makhluk abadi dan masih tetap mendedikasikan seluruh hidupnya untuk anak-anak di seluruh dunia!Tidak ada ilustrasi yang menghiasi buku ini, tapi itu bukan masalah karena dongeng yang dikisahkannya sangat menarik. Pembaca diajak berimajinasi untuk membayangkan aneka makhluk abadi dan Claus yang pembawaannya ceria :3Membaca buku ini benar-benar menggelitik rasa penasaran saya, masih adakah anak sekarang yang percaya akan keberadaan Santa Claus? Di masa kecil dulu, saya pernah mencoba bergadang di malam Natal dengan harapan dapat bertemu dengan Santa dan selalu gagal karena akhirnya pasti tertidur pulas :laughing:
This is really a fine children's book. Like any good children's literature, it is equally enjoyable for adults. Placing Santa Claus firmly in the pagan world of fairies, woodland spirits, and other such folktale powers, Baum reminds us that Santa - despite the relation to the Christian St. Nick - is clearly an embodyment of the pagan celebration of joy, light, and life that is and has always been a massive part of Christmas.The book presents a very likeble Santa Claus and is highly original. Most interesting, Baum's Santa Claus is a champion of children, because they are helpless, and particularly poor children because they are in need. This is why Santa gives away toys for free, to ease the hard burderns of life on the little ones. I find this a healthy antidote to the CEO-like Santa we see in contemporary films, who runs a factory with assembly lines, and probably denies the Elves workman's comp and health insurance! Baum's Santa is a true champion of the downtrodden. A Folk-hero, who is no mere giver of trinkets, but a champion of social justice, an enemy of exploitation, and a hardened ally of the poor and suffering.The only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is that it is infused with the early 20th century fascinating with fairys, which comes off today as rather odd. And the book has numerous odd elements. Even worse, Baum does not use the reindeer names we know so well, but odd names like "Flossie" and "Glossie." AND THEY DON'T EVEN FLY!!!Still, I recommend this book for the Holidays. Should I ever have children, I will one day read it to them!
What do You think about The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus (1999)?
NOTE: I searched on the Michael Hague edition (Signature Classics) of this title, and the accompanying volume came up on the search. My assumption, therefore, is that this is the Hague version, the review for which follows.A MAGICAL, SOPHISTICATED INTERPRETATION FOR BELIEVERS OF ALL AGES!THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS is a feast for lovers of folk tales. Lively illustrations, rendered with beautiful detail and entwined with narrative, are accompanied by a very interesting and innovative story which expands greatly on what the average person knows about Santa Claus. L. Frank Baum, of The Wizard of Oz fame, has no shortage of imagination when crafting his story about how Santa came to be. Part fairy tale, part folklore, and filled with illustrations, this story is not a picture book nor is it a bedtime story...it is 188 pages of sophisticated lore, and will lead to much interesting discussion if read aloud to your children (over multiple days, most certainly). Small children will have trouble with the sophisticated wordsmithing of this tale, but older children would benefit, especially if read aloud to by an emotive narrator (or parent!). A magical interpretation for believers of all ages!
—The Literacy Advocate
woooow...setelah baca bukunya saya di bawa kembali ke masa di mana saya masih kanak kanak...sebagai umat kristiani,saya sudah di perkenalkan sama sosok Santa oleh kedua orang tua saya.Tapi sosok Santa itu siapa???selama ini yg saya tahu adalah sosok Santa dgn jubah merah dgn jenggot putih tanpa tahu bagaimana sosok itu muncul pada awal mulanya,sejarah mengenai dirinya,asal usulnya....Dari kecil saya selalu penasaran soal ituDalam buku ini semua itu di ceritakan dgn detail dan masuk akal..saya sampai berpikir apakah Santa itu nyata atau cuman khayalan???sampai pada saat selesai membaca buku nya dan menulis review ini pun pikiran itu masih tetap ada...Begitu banyak informasi tentang Santa yg saya dapatkan...seperti nama Santa yg biasa kita kenal dgn Santa Clause melainkan Neclause...juga mengenai nama nama rusa kutubnya,ide tentang pohon natal,kaus kaki,dan banyak lagi...semuanya menarikkAku juga suka dgn banyak nya makhluk abadi yg muncul di dalam buku ini...Peri,Goblin,Nymph,DLLHonestly,the whole story is very fantastic and magnificent ♥ dan saya tidak sanggup mengungkapkan seluruh nya,karena sangat sulit mengekspresikan kepuasan saya setelah baca buku ini dalam bentuk tulisan :DDan jangan kira bacaan ini hanya di tujukan pada anak anak,petualangan Santa dan beberapa nilai moral yg di tunjuk kan olehnya bisa jg menjadi bacaan menarik bagi pembaca yang sudah dewasa :)
—Christopher Massikki
I always loved the odd, but enchanting stop motion animated movie of this, which I gotta say it was quite faithful to the book. It made me a little giddy when I realized that Claus in the book also was a little obsessed with carving wooden black cats to pass out to children. Written by the same author as the Wizard of Oz series and published in 1902 this book is a very sweet and extremely pagan telling of the origins of St Nick. There are nymphs, fairies, sprites and host of other immortals that foster and help Claus become a saint to all children. It was a darling book! I really enjoyed, but I am a sucker for a fairytale, all the more if the tale actually has real fairies. Oh and Claus doesn't eat meat and it is made clear that the reindeer's harnesses are made from leather procured from an elderly lion that died of natural causes, and that any leather or fur used for toys was also from animals that lived long happy lives and died naturally at ripe old ages.... Yep, Santa is a vegetarian that only uses cruelty free leather. I knew I liked that guy!
—Jennie
