Here are 100 books that The Autobiography of Santa Claus fans have personally recommended if you like
The Autobiography of Santa Claus.
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For decades, I both worked as a psychiatrist and volunteered as Santa. A fun idea came to me back then on an exhausted Christmas morning. During my training. I had heard stories, some real, some apocryphal, of involuntary hospitalizations of patients with delusions of being either Jesus or Santa. But what might happen if a patient with similarities to Jesus were hospitalized concurrently with a patient with similarities to Santa? Would they be friends? enemies? frenemies? And to what extent might these two really be Jesus and Santa? The final story—December on 5C4—re-enacts Jewish myths, Christian tales, and Santa legends as these two characters plot a shared escape!
I love this book because I believe it to be the first popular novelization of the life of Santa Claus. It was written in 1902 by the venerable Frank Baum. Though mostly a children’s novel, the character of Santa is given some internal development. His thoughts, emotions, and motivations are shared as he grows from an orphaned child into a beloved legend.
As a cat lover, I adore how Santa’s first-ever toy is a carving he makes of his pet cat out of boredom… The theme of the book is simple but universal: “For a generous deed lives longer than a great battle or a king's decree or a scholar's essay because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature and endures through many generations.”
Written by the fascinating author of The Wizard of Oz, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus tells the captivating story of Claus, a child found and raised in the magical Forest of Burzee by a wood-nymph. Among the imortals, Claus grows an innocent youth, until the day when he discovers the misery that rules the human world and hovers, like a shadow, above the heads of the children. Now, in the attempt of easing human suffering, he, with the help of his imortal friends, will have to face the forces of evil and of resignation, in order to bring…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I believe that laughter is the best way into a person’s heart and also into their head. Life is beautiful, but it is also incredibly fragile. Satire and humor are effective ways to raise the level of awareness of destructive behaviors and/or controversial topics that are otherwise difficult or unpleasant to address. I think satire and humor make it easier to hold up a mirror and look critically at our own beliefs and our actions.
I loved the book because it went in a direction, humorously describing the teen-age years of Jesus Christ, that no book had gone before.
Not only is the storyline clever and the dialogue sharp and humorous, but it also forces you to think critically about the origin stories that are handed down through centuries and millennia.
The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years - except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in this divinely hilarious, yet heartfelt work 'reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams' (Philadelphia Inquirer). Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes, Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the…
For decades, I both worked as a psychiatrist and volunteered as Santa. A fun idea came to me back then on an exhausted Christmas morning. During my training. I had heard stories, some real, some apocryphal, of involuntary hospitalizations of patients with delusions of being either Jesus or Santa. But what might happen if a patient with similarities to Jesus were hospitalized concurrently with a patient with similarities to Santa? Would they be friends? enemies? frenemies? And to what extent might these two really be Jesus and Santa? The final story—December on 5C4—re-enacts Jewish myths, Christian tales, and Santa legends as these two characters plot a shared escape!
I love both books in this duology—this one and its sequel, The Road to Cana. Renowned author Anne Rice not only depicts the life of Jesus as a child and young adult, but she also uses a first-person point of view.
This bold narrative choice connects us readers very deeply with Jesus as a character. We are immersed in the inner life of his thoughts, feelings and motivations, and so we get to share in his internal conflicts. The Jesus in these novels is a complex protagonist who experiences human emotions and drives but also must grapple with divine powers and perceptions. It is a coming-of-age story in which Jesus must reconcile his dual identities as both a human being and a divine entity.
'[W]hen I found Rice's work I absolutely loved how she took that genre and (...) made [it] feel so contemporary and relevant' Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes
'[Rice wrote] in the great tradition of the gothic' Ramsey Campbell, bestselling author of The Hungry Moon
In Israel, in the turbulent first century, a baby is born to a humble Jewish family - but to a great destiny. His is an uneasy childhood, as he begins to come to terms with his extraordinary powers, and the whispered mysteries surrounding his birth.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
For decades, I both worked as a psychiatrist and volunteered as Santa. A fun idea came to me back then on an exhausted Christmas morning. During my training. I had heard stories, some real, some apocryphal, of involuntary hospitalizations of patients with delusions of being either Jesus or Santa. But what might happen if a patient with similarities to Jesus were hospitalized concurrently with a patient with similarities to Santa? Would they be friends? enemies? frenemies? And to what extent might these two really be Jesus and Santa? The final story—December on 5C4—re-enacts Jewish myths, Christian tales, and Santa legends as these two characters plot a shared escape!
This is the lively memoir of a real-life professional Santa Claus! I have volunteered as Santa Claus myself many times, and it is such a great honor, privilege, and responsibility. When you wear the coat and hat, you become the most famous celebrity in the world! Everyone waves and declares their love!
This author is a fantastic Santa Claus who also runs a wheelchair ministry in which he repairs mobility assistance devices for the disabled. He details his path to becoming a Santa and his many touching adventures in the big chair. I appreciate his insight on how we adults can learn valuable lessons about faith and trust by watching children as they interact with Santa Claus, an exemplar of unconditional love and the spirit of Christmas.
Tom Brokaw said it best about the author: This Santa "can only be described as the real thing." With warmth, humor, and wonder, Ed Butchart shares his stories as a professional Santa Claus in The Red Suit Diaries. Deftly combining his Santa persona with his passion for God, Butchart reveals himself as a once-hardened Marine who found Jesus and began to serve others in unusual ways. Readers who open The Red Suit Diaries will find themselves transfixed-from Santa's day job refurbishing medical equipment for the disabled, to the sweetest of secrets whispered in Santa's ear and written in letters, and…
When I was a child, my father and older brother read Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge comic books. I received them as hand-me-downs and was enchanted by the astonishing adventures of Uncle Scrooge McDuck and his nephews. These illustrated tales of lost civilizations touched a special chord in me that transcended mere enjoyment. Later, I learned that Scrooge’s creator was Carl Barks, a comic artist who was heavily inspired by H. Rider Haggard. It is now clear that Carl Barks inculcated in me, when I was eight years old, my Victorian/Edwardian adventure literary tastes. But it was twenty years later that my literary tastes finally became dedicated to turn-of-the-19th-century literary styles and themes.
To my mind, this is the finest of all Christmas stories. Written by Seabury Quinn in 1938, it successfully combines two supremely different sorts of Christmas stories. One style is religious and involves the Nativity and the infant Jesus. The other type, of course, is tales of Santa Claus, often explaining his origin.
I cannot recall any fiction that combines these two motifs, a type of story that is sadly missing from our culture except for this book, which blends the true meaning of Christmas with the Santa Claus narrative and does it to perfection.
Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, for almost two centuries, has been the touchstone Christmas tale, successfully engendering joy and rebirth in countless readers and viewers. Yet, nowhere in that short novel is Jesus or his birth mentioned, no iconic Nativity moments or words mentioned at all. Quinn quite simply brought together the Nativity and…
Drawing upon the original Christian legends that coalesced over centuries into the familiar, jolly form of Saint Nicholas, pulp fiction pioneer Seabury Quinn weaves a spellbinding new origin for this most beloved of children’s icons in his classic novella Roads.“I have not tried to paint the portrait of a man, but merely to present a personality and hazard a guess as to the motivation that makes Santa Claus the wondrous figure he is — a figure who more than any other exemplifies the beauty of selflessness.” — Seabury Quinn
I write funny picture books. Since some of my best memories include reading to my kids while they were plopped in my lap, giggling at silly, fun picture books, I want to bring that same joy to families everywhere. I’m in awe of clever humor, and I’m especially fond of wordplay, puns, and jokes. Of all the holidays, Christmas is my favorite. The tree, the décor, and the traditions bring so much merriment. When my kids were young, reading Christmas books was a huge part of our holiday. Once Upon a Christmas gave me the chance to write a humorous, fun, and festive story that families can enjoy together.
This book is part of the Click, Clack series and just humorous as the others. The snow and lights and Duck in a Santa hat on the cover create a festive winter scene, full of Christmas spirit. The text is sparse and easy to read. The story also has a bit of rhyme in it which is always a favorite for me. The rhyme makes the story energetic at just the right time. The repetition of “Ho! Ho! Uh-oh!” and “unstuck duck” are fun to read. The accumulation of animals adds craziness and chaos which further heightens the humor. The ending is perfect with everyone joyfully gathered around the tree.
Santa comes to the barnyard in this holiday addition to the award-winning Click, Clack series from the New York Times bestselling and Caldecott winning team who brought you Click, Clack, Moo and Click, Clack, Peep!
It's the night before Christmas and all through the farm, not a creature is stirring, not even a...duck?
Farmer Brown is busy decorating his home in preparation for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve! All seems calm in the barnyard, but Farmer Brown isn't the only one who is getting ready...
Ho
Ho
OH NO!
Once again, Duck has gotten the whole barnyard STUCK in quite…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
When our two boys hit their difficult years around age seven or eight and the other kids at school were starting to doubt Santa Claus, they began to ask questions about how he operated. Luckily I had answers, which became, eventually, The Christmas Chronicles. Now that I was outed as a Santa supporter, I started doing Christmas readings here and there, including every year on a radio holiday show for Access Utah, a PBS affiliate. That’s given me the delightful task of seeking out all kinds of Yuletide literature. These are a few of my favorites.
Yes, that J.R.R. Tolkien. Each year he took a break from Middle-earth to write and illustrate incredible letters from Father Christmas to his and Edith’s four children, John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla. Being Tolkien, he created an entire polar world and history in the letters, which feature elves, goblins—who launch a major attack one year—and Father Christmas’s great assistant and companion, North Polar Bear. Here is a high Yuletide adventure from the fantasy Master, himself. And somehow reading it makes you feel more creative yourself.
This beautiful, deluxe slipcased edition of Tolkien's famous illustrated letters from Father Christmas to his children includes for the first time every available letter, picture and envelope that he sent them, reproduced in glorious colour. The perfect Christmas gift for Tolkien lovers of all ages.
This classic festive book of Tolkien's amazing Father Christmas letters written to his children between the 1920s and the 1940s has been reworked into a sumptuous, new deluxe edition. It contains brand new high-quality digital reproductions of his wonderful letters and pictures, including a number of them that have never been printed before, a revised…
I write funny picture books. Since some of my best memories include reading to my kids while they were plopped in my lap, giggling at silly, fun picture books, I want to bring that same joy to families everywhere. I’m in awe of clever humor, and I’m especially fond of wordplay, puns, and jokes. Of all the holidays, Christmas is my favorite. The tree, the décor, and the traditions bring so much merriment. When my kids were young, reading Christmas books was a huge part of our holiday. Once Upon a Christmas gave me the chance to write a humorous, fun, and festive story that families can enjoy together.
This book pulled me in right from the start. When duck knows that he needs to tell Santa what he wants or else it’ll be another year of socks and underwear, we get it because we all know that no one wants socks and underwear for Christmas. Duck’s little tune, “Jingle Quack, Jingle Quack” is so cute and fitting. After Duck is mistaken for Santa, the requests pour in, and they are over-the-top funny and reminiscent of any kid’s Christmas list. I find myself reading them over and over again, smiling every time. In the end, I love that I’m left believing Duck was set up to be Santa’s helper after all.
Nicholas Duck loves Christmas, and he is happy to try on the new Santa hat that's mysteriously delivered to his house. But when his friends see him and immediately launch into their Christmas lists, he doesn't know what to do . . . until he runs into Santa himself.
I read every single day without fail. So I have read a lot of books over the years. I am always so impressed with- and love- a good, twisty, surprise ending. From children’s books to middle grade to adult… surprise me at the end, and I’m in! (Extra points for making me cry a little bit!) If you, too, love a good twist at the end of a story, give these books a try!
Just try to read this book to a child around the holidays and not cry! I go to this book when I feel too wrapped up in the busyness of the holiday season and forget what it is really about. The story and the illustrations are beautiful. But it is the message that has me blinking back tears every time.
The little boy’s lost reindeer’s bell from Santa appearing magically under his tree, ringing its beautiful sound Christmas morning, is just the first reason it’s so wonderful. But then VanAllsburg says that the grownups cannot hear it ring! How can that be? Because we grown-ups, sadly, have lost the magic of Christmas. (I read this to get the magic back!)
Discover The Polar Express, a true Christmas classic. "Magical" Guardian "Evocative and atmospheric" Sunday Times "A thrilling tale" Independent All aboard the Polar Express to the North Pole! Follow one boy's journey to receive a very special gift from Santa himself: a bell that only true believers in Father Christmas can hear ring. Discover the beloved Christmas classic that inspired the blockbuster family favourite movie starring Tom Hanks.
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I have written poetry since I was a little boy. Rhyme came naturally to me, and I found it to be a world to escape to. This led me to songwriting and touring in bands, and it grew into my vocation as a jingle writer in Australia. Eventually, I wrote the jingle that won the World’s Best Jingle award in Hollywood, and this, in part, inspired me to move to New York City from Australia. The other driving force was getting my first book, How To Steal From Banks—an autobiography—published in America. Writing and rhyming are deeply embedded in my soul and cells.
Liberty DeVitto—former drummer for Billy Joel and many other legendary artists—is himself a humble soul and loves to shine a light on his gratitude for being able to do a job that he dearly loves and that millions would line up to do. Like Santa Claus, Liberty is grateful for what he gets to do and takes the responsibility very seriously.
Love, Santa Claus mirrors Liberty’s view of his position in the world while telling a beautiful Christmas story in rhyming verse.
Love, Santa Claus is a love letter to spiritual enlightenment and servant-hearted contentment. Follow Santa through his annual rituals and see the legendary icon of Christmas in a whole new way.