Saint Nicholas [Hardcover]

Ann Tompert (Author), Michael Garland (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2003 | Age Level: 6 and up

Fact and legend combine to tell the powerful tale of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, scholars, and sailors. As his story unfolds, the similarities between Nicholas, who was famous for his acts of charity, and the present-day Santa Claus become clear.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the third century, long before "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" became associated with the Christmas season, the man who would one day inspire that legend lived in the Mediterranean coastal town of Patara (in what is now Turkey). For this informative picture-book biography, Tompert (Saint Patrick) weaves together some of the most striking legends related to St. Nicholas. Becoming a bishop at such a tender age that he was called the Boy Bishop, Nicholas performed miracles in caring for his people, and his deeds were later to make him the patron saint of such diverse groups as women seeking husbands, students, sailors and more. Though this volume lacks a central compelling drama, Tompert employs a swift-moving chronology to emphasize Nicholas's purity, selflessness and faith. Departing from the style of his previous works, Garland's (Angel Cat; Leah's Pony) jewel-toned, mixed-media paintings mimic stone mosaic work; each element is composed of a mesh of tiny blocks. One quibble: the characters' expressions range chiefly from somber to distressed, and the heavy mood may prove off-putting to young readers. An author's note describes how Nicholas was viewed throughout history, including his modern evolution into Santa Claus. Ages 6-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Unlike the fact-based Saint Patrick (1998), the author's latest saint's biography draws from legend to create a picture-book portrait of Santa's fabled ancestor. After his parent's death from plague, the young saint goes to live with a bishop uncle, where he studies the priesthood and continues his family's tradition of charitable work. Brief, anecdotal text goes on to describe the legends that make Nicholas the patron of sailors, of young women seeking husbands, of students, and of all children. Engaging and simple, the text does include vocabulary and concepts, such as dowry, that younger readers will need help understanding. But Michael Garland's intriguing mixed-media illustrations help fill in the gaps. With the tiled look of mosaics, they extend the story's drama to sometimes-terrifying effect; a sky filled with looming, screeching skeletons depicts the plague, for example. Opening and closing author's notes briefly address the difference between fact and legend and explore the possible connections between Nicholas and Santa. Children interested in the lives of saints will find a good introduction here. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press; 1 edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156397844X
• ISBN-13: 978-1563978449
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate, but nothing special., March 2, 2001

By 

"a_mom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Nicholas (Hardcover)

I purchased this book to help explain the real Saint Nicholas (as opposed to Santa Claus) to my son. I vascilated quite a bit on whether to return the book or keep it.

The author's choice of content is a bit unusual for my needs. The book starts by explaining that Nicholas was born to older parents who were wealthy and charitable. Next it mentions the parents' death (with an illustration I'd rather have been skipped, more on that below) and Nicholas' continuation of his parents' charity. The book continues with some events of Saint Nicholas' life with nice detail: saving the three daughters from slavery, his entry into the priesthood, his intervention during the stormy voyage, his appointment as bishop, the legend of the schoolboys, and his suffering in Roman prison for his convictions. His adoption as patron saint of various groups is mentioned in context. In the Author's Note, written more for parents than children, the author mentions the connection between Saint Nicholas and our present day Santa Claus.

The style of the illustrations is very nice. A "pieced" stained glass effect, it suits the material very well. Most of the illustrations represent the text nicely. The one exception is the page where the death of Nicholas' parents from the plague is mentioned. Here we see a large black cloud filled with scary-looking skeletons that appear to lurch in the direction of the boy Nicholas. Nicholas looks frightened even though his uncle's arm is around him. Before it's next use, I will glue the pages together and just skip it entirely. The dealth of Nicholas' parents can easily be incorporated into the next page where the book speaks of Nicholas' being his parents' heir and continuing their charity.

The book does a nice job of covering the life of Saint Nicholas, but it's nothing special.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Real Saint Nicholas, December 1, 2005

By 

Miryam Shoresh (Adirondack Mountains, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Nicholas (Hardcover)

This story discusses the similarities between the real Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra, now Turkey, in the early 300's and "St. Nick" or Santa Claus. It focuses on telling about Saint Nicholas. It starts with his years as a child and the fact that his parents die from a plague, and that he is adopted by his uncle and receives a large sum of money from the estate of his parents. It tells of how he gave his money away to the poor, including to three daughters of a poor man who could not afford dowries for them so that the eldest had decided to sell herself into slavery and how St. Nicholas gives them three bags of gold. (Which begins the idea of Santa Claus going around giving gifts at night.) St. Nicholas then becomes a priest and sets sail as a passenger in a boat caught in a storm from which all safely survive. He lands at Myra and goes to the Cathedral to thank God for the rescue and is informed that he is now the Bishop of Myra. He rescues three kidnapped boys. He is then imprisoned by emperor Diocletian for being a Christian. When Diocletian dies and Constantine takes over and becomes a Christian St. Nicholas is freed. The book starts and end with the connection between St. Nicholas and Santa Claus.

There are several different views of the fact that there are ghost life spirits looking like they are after him, with his uncle protectively leading him away from them. But I think that if I was Saint Nicholas at a time when people didn't understand the plagues and so didn't know who would be felled by it next and my parents having already died from it, I would be pretty scared of the plague and very much feel like there was a ghost of death haunting me, too. I think that the picture is very realistic in depicting how St. Nicholas would have felt.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to read to our young children, February 19, 2003

By 

Guy Thellian (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Nicholas (Hardcover)

We found the book beautifully written and illustrated. It is legendary as well as factual, but his life is presented in a most touching and informative way.