Amazon.com Review
This fictional story based on a young African American boy in New York City is grounded in history (co-writer Christopher Moore is the Commissioner of New York City Landmarks) and decorated with the whimsy of imagination and magic. When Terrence was seven years old, he was forced to spend Saturdays riding alongside his grandfather, a Metro bus driver, through the streets of the city. At first Terrence is resentful, but then he begins to listen to his grandfather's stories--the stories of the settling of New York, how the city belongs to all people of all races. Driving down St. Nicholas Avenue, his grandfather begins the story of "Santa & Pete." He tells how St. Nicholas was imprisoned as a spy during the Inquisition, but was eventually rescued by Pete, a former slave in Spain under the Moors. The duo found their way to New York and began the long-standing tradition of giving gifts to the needy. When Terrence eventually discovers his connection to Pete, the story suggests that all who celebrate Christmas can be the rescuers and helpers of St. Nicholas.
--Gail Hudson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
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.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
