''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' is a 1902

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, written by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

and illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark.

Setting

Plot

As a baby, Santa Claus is found in the Forest of Burzee by Ak, the Master Woodsman of the World (a supreme immortal) and placed in the care of the lioness Shiegra, but he thereupon is adopted by the Wood Nymph, Necile. Upon reaching young adulthood, Claus is introduced by Ak to human society, wherein he sees

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, brutality, poverty, child neglect, and child abuse. Because he cannot reside in Burzee as an adult, he settles in the nearby Laughing Valley of Hohaho, where the immortals regularly assist him, and Peter Knook gives him a little cat named Blinky. In the Laughing Valley, Claus becomes known for kindness toward children. On one occasion, his neighbors' son Weekum visits him; Claus, having made an image of Blinky to pass the time, presents him with the finished carving, calling it a "toy". Soon, the immortals begin assisting him in the production of other carvings: the Ryls coloring the toys with their infinite paint pots (the first toy was not colored). When he makes a clay figure reminiscent of Necile, he proclaims it a "dolly" to evade naming Necile to the children ("

doll A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...

" results when children shorten the name). Claus presents the first one to Bessie Blithesome, a local noblewoman, after consulting with Necile and the Queen of the Fairies about whether he should give toys to wealthy children. Later dolls resemble Bessie herself and, later still, counterfeit infant girls. The Awgwas, evil beings who can turn invisible, steal the toys that Claus is giving to the children because the toys are preventing the children from misbehaving. This leads to Claus making his journeys by night and descending through chimneys when he is unable to enter the locked doors. The Awgwas nonetheless prevent so many of Claus's deliveries that Ak declares

upon them after failing to get them to cease their attacks. With the aid of the Asiatic Dragons, the Three-Eyed

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

s of

Tartary Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...

, the Goozzle-

Goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...

s, and the Black Demons from Patalonia, the Awgwas believe their might superior to that of the immortals as they fight them in the war. The Awgwas and their allies are destroyed by their opponents with Ak killing the Awgwa King while the remaining Giants of Tartary retreated. Claus is not present for any of the battle. When it is concluded, Ak tells him simply "The Awgwas have perished". As his journeys continue, Claus is aided by two

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

named Glossie and Flossie, who pull his

sleigh A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners s ...

full of toys. With their aid, he reaches the dominions of the Gnome King, who wants toys for his children, but trades a string of sleigh bells for each toy given by Claus. In restriction of the deer's service to a single day annually, their supervisor Wil Knook decides upon Christmas Eve, two weeks away from the hearing, believing this will mean a year without taking the reindeer from their homes; but the Fairies retrieve the toys the Awgwas stole and bring them to Claus, allowing Claus's first Christmas to proceed in spite of Wil. As Claus continues giving gifts, he earns the title "Santa" (" Saint" in most

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...

). Claus sees stockings placed by the fire to dry as a good place for his surprises, but when he finds a family (sometimes taken to be Native Americans, or

caricatures A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

of the same) living in a tent with no fireplaces, he places the gifts on the branches of the trees just outside the tent. When Claus is in his sixties, the Immortals realize he is near the end of his life, and a council, headed by Ak (Master Woodsman of the World), Bo (Master Mariner of the World), and Kern (Master Husbandman of the World) gathers together the Gnome King, the Queen of the Water Spirits, the King of the Wind Demons, the King of the Ryls, the King of the Knooks, the King of the Sound Imps, the King of the Sleep Fays, the Fairy Queen, Queen Zurline of the Wood Nymphs, and the King of the Light Elves with the Princes Flash and Twilight, to decide the fate of Santa Claus. After much debate, he is granted

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

just as the Spirit of Death comes for him. At the end of the book, the immortal Santa Claus takes on four special deputies: Wisk the Fairy, Peter the Knook, Kilter the

Pixie A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas ar ...

, and Nuter the Ryl. Baum's short follow-up, " A Kidnapped Santa Claus", further develops his relationship with his deputies, who must work in his place when Claus is captured by five Daemons. Later, children's parents and various toy-making companies take part in gift-giving, and Santa Claus withdraws to his valley.

Adaptations

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

adaptation of the story was published by Tundra Publishing Ltd. in 1992 and illustrated by Mike Ploog. An animated movie was created by

Rankin-Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

(and was their last Animagic, or stop-motion, special) in 1985, followed by another animated version of Baum's book made by Mike Young Productions and directed by Glen Hill in 2000. The book also served as the basis for an

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series, ''Shōnen Santa no Daibôken'' ("Young Santa's Adventures") in 1994, and '' The Oz Kids'' video, ''Who Stole Santa?'' (1996).

Rankin-Bass production

The Rankin-Bass production first aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on December 17, 1985. The special truncates much of the story (it ran in a one-hour time slot) and simplifies some of the motivations, but its major alterations are setting up the hearing over the Mantle of Immortality as a frame story explaining just why Claus ( J. D. Roth/

Earl Hammond Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor, who has appeared in several films and television series. Career Earl Hammond began acting in radio at the age of 7, and continued ...

) deserves the mantle, although there is an edit that makes it difficult to realize that the scene in which Ak (

Alfred Drake Alfred Drake (October 7, 1914 – July 25, 1992) was an American actor and singer. Biography Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Broo ...

) calls the council when first finding the infant in the woods does not occur in the same time period as the main story. In addition, Shiegra accompanies Claus to the Laughing Valley, in which, unlike the book, it is always Winter. A similar compromise toward popular culture is Claus's now eight reindeer, albeit unnamed. Peter Knook, a rather crusty but amiable fellow, replaces most of the other Knooks, save the Protector (King) and two strangers, and declares "only on Christmas Eve" for the reindeer without any argument or explanation. One important new character, Tingler, a Sound Imp ( Robert McFadden) also accompanies Claus and gives him someone to talk to. When the show premiered, the book was not as easily available, and many Oz fans who only knew of the book were surprised to discover that Tingler was not one of Baum's creations, so true was the character to the author's spirit.

Earle Hyman Earle Hyman (born George Earle Plummer; October 11, 1926 – November 17, 2017) was an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his role on '' ThunderCats'' as the voice of Panthro and various other characters. He also ap ...

portrayed the King of the Awgwas, and Leslie Miller played Necile. Most of the other voices were performed by Peter Newman and

Lynne Lipton Lynne Lipton is an American film, stage, television and voice actress. She provided the voices of all female characters on the popular 1980s animated series '' ThunderCats'', until the second season, when Gerrianne Raphael joined the cast voi ...

Larry Kenney Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality. Early life Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947 in Pekin, Illinois, the son of George and Joyce Kenney. He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Jody. He graduat ...

was the Commander of the Wind Demons, who initially served as a

devil's advocate The (Latin for Devil's advocate) is a former official position within the Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith: one who "argued against the canonization (sainthood) of a candidate in order to uncover any character flaws or misrepresentat ...

to Ak at the fateful hearing, but soon became the Immortal most approving of giving the Mantle to Claus. Most of the Immortals' titles were changed to alleviate them all being kings and queens. Screenwriter Julian P. Gardner created a musical production number, "Big Surprise" as the children at Weekum's orphanage plead with Santa Claus for more toy cats. Other songs include the chorus "Babe in the Woods" and the powerful chant, "Ora e Sempre (Today and Forever)" representing the immortals.

Bernard Hoffer Bernard Hoffer (born October 14, 1934) is a Swiss-born American composer and conductor. He is best known for his work on American cartoons such as '' ThunderCats'' and ''SilverHawks''. He worked on several of Rankin/Bass' television series and ...

composed the music, as well as setting a quatrain by Baum inspired by Claus's famous laugh. The presentation of the Christmas tree is different; Claus, realizing his death is imminent, decorates a tree with ornaments and suggests it should be his memorial. This is the only Rankin-Bass Christmas special without a celebrity narrator. Originally broadcast on

, this special regularly aired on the Freeform cable network, as part of their annual "

25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...

", along with most of the other Rankin-Bass animated Christmas specials. As of 2018,

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

currently airs the special.

Mike Young production

The Mike Young production, which also uses an ampersand for the title, features

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and '' Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...

as "Nicholas", who plays a bigger part in this film than in the earlier version. Claus at his very oldest is portrayed by Jim Cummings. While the Rankin-Bass production made the sequence with the Awgwas a centerpiece, in this film, they become running villains, and the story is structured around the upcoming battle. Some of the more fairy tale-oriented names are changed—Bessie Blithesome becomes "Natalie" (

Kath Soucie Kath or KATH may refer to: * Kath (city), the historical capital of Khwarezm * Kath (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * KATH-TV, the NBC TV station in Juneau, Alaska * KATH (AM), a radio station in ...

) and Weekum becomes "Ethan" (

Brianne Siddall Brianne Siddall (born August 25, 1963 in Encino, California), also known under her stage names of Jetta E. Bumpy, Ian Hawk, Murray Blue, Jetta Bird, and Brianne Brozey, is an American voice actress. She is known for voicing Tommy Himi, Korom ...

). Neither version mentions Lerd by name. Here the Lord of Lerd is given the same voice,

Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...

, as the King of the Awgwas, now called Mogorb. LaMarche also plays an unidentified Bo, an argumentative figure at the film's climax, which is crosscut with the Spirit of Death's approach to Nicholas's house. Shiegra does not accompany Nicholas to Laughing Valley, but visits him at his home when she is near death to say goodbye, after which he creates a large monument in her honor. The Gnome King's exchange of gifts is replaced with Natalie at young adulthood returning her doll to Nicholas to make up in her own small way for all the toys stolen by the Awgwas: Nicholas proclaims that others should follow his example and give and receive gifts. The biggest change is the transformation of Wisk into a

Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ' ...

-designed long-tailed Pixie (

Carlos Alazraqui Carlos Jaime Alazraqui (born July 20, 1962) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Deputy James Garcia on '' Reno 911!'' and for his voice acting roles. His extensive ...

), introduced early in the film and serving as comic relief. He suggests the name "Necileloclaus", that Ak, narrating the story, changes to "Nicholas", rather than Baum's "Neclaus". A significant thematic change is Nicholas spreading information about the immortals far and wide, to the point he never coins the term "dolly", just mass-produces "Neciles".

Dixie Carter Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law'' (1999–2002). She was nomin ...

portrayed Necile and

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called '' Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...

played Ak, who chooses Christmas as the day of Claus's yearly rides for its significance, much to the delight of Wil Knook, for the same reasoning as in the book. Misha Segal provides a Celtic-inflected score, with song lyrics by

Harriet Schock Harriet Schock (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, teacher, author, and actress. She made three albums for a major label in the 1970s, scoring gold and platinum awards for her Grammy-nominated " Ain't No Way to Treat a La ...

''Oz Kids''

The kidnapping of Claus by the Awgwas is the basis of the '' Oz Kids'' video, "Who Stole Santa?", which appears to draw no material from "A Kidnapped Santa Claus". An adult version of

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

tells the life story of Santa based on the book to her children and her friends. (Note: the Awgwas are excised from Dorothy's tale.)

Graphic novel

The major change in Mike Ploog's graphic novel is placing the Gnome King in charge of nearly everyone (Baum's hierarchy placed only the "Great Creator" above the three Masters of the world) and making him resemble the

Nome King The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is introduced in Baum's third Oz book ''Ozma of Oz'' (1907). He also appears in many of the continuing sequel '' Oz'' novels also written by Baum. Although the c ...

as he appeared in ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is ...

'', a film for which Ploog was a conceptual artist. He also has a Knook and a Ryl serve as Claus's constant companions. The Gnome King has been omitted from most other adaptations, presumably to avoid confusion with the malevolent character in ''Return to Oz'', though an unidentified figure voiced by Peter Newman appears on the council over immortality in the Rankin-Bass version. Based on the lineup in the book, he could be only the Gnome King, Bo, or Kern, but his stature leads one to guess the Gnome King.

Anime

''Shōnen Santa no Daibôken'' ran for 24 episodes, airing between April 6 to September 21, 1996. The characters and cast include: * Claus:

Mifuyu Hiiragi is a Japanese voice actress who works for 81 Produce. She was formerly credited as and . Notable filmography * Dante in Romeo's Blue Skies (1995) * Rumiya in Magical Girl Pretty Sammy (1995) * Princess Fatora in El Hazard (1995) *Kenta in Bra ...

* Santa Claus:

Masato Yamanouchi was a Japanese voice actor. Yamanouchi died on April 7, 2003, due to complications from lung cancer. Filmography Television dramas *'' Akō Rōshi'' (1964) (Uesugi Tsunanori) *''Tokugawa Ieyasu'' (1983) (Ikoma Chikamasa) Television animatio ...

* Goozzle: Tomohiro Nishimura * Beezle:

Yuji Ueda Yuji or Yu Ji may refer to: * Yuji Naka, is a Japanese video game programmer, designer and producer * Yu Ji (painter), a Qing dynasty painter and calligrapher * Yūji, a common masculine Japanese given name * Consort Yu (Xiang Yu's wife) (虞姬; Y ...

* Blinky the cat:

Hekiru Shiina is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She debuted as a singer at the age of 17. Her first voice role was Tenshiko in ''K.O. Beast'' in 1992. Some of her major voice roles include Hikaru Shidou in '' Magic Knight Rayearth'', Alpha in ''Yokoha ...

* Mayrie:

Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...

* May:

Mika Kanai is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is attached to Ken Production. She is best known for her roles in ''Idol Tenshi Yokoso Yoko'' (as Yoko Tanaka), ''Tanoshii Moomin Ikka'' (as the Snork Maiden), '' Goldfish Warning!'' (as Wapiko), ''So ...

* Rye: Akio Otsuka * Ak: Tōru Shinagawa * Flossie (reindeer):

Naoki Tatsuta is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He is most known for the roles of Buta Gorilla (Kiteretsu Daihyakka), Daima Jin (High School! Kimengumi), Oolong (Dragon Ball), Dr. Escargon ( Kirby: Right Back at Ya!), Ashibe's Fath ...

* Glossie (reindeer):

Fumihiko Tachiki is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. Career Tachiki is known for his low voice. He serves as the narrator for ''Pride Fighting Championships'' and Dream. He and Toshiyuki Morikawa formed the band "2HEARTS" in 2003. Their song, "Ever Free", se ...

* Necile: Nobuko Shinokura * Peter the Knook: Hiroshi Masuoka * Shiegra (lion):

Urara Takano , known by her stage name is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Togane, Chiba. She is currently affiliated with and representative of REMAX. Her most prominent role has been in the '' Sakura Wars'' video game franchise, where s ...

* Zurline: Yo Inoue * King Awgwa: Takashi Matsuyama

Unproduced films

An animated feature film, a co-production between

Hyde Park Entertainment Hyde or Hydes may refer to: People *Hyde (surname) *Hyde (musician), Japanese musician from the bands L'Arc-en-Ciel and VAMPS American statutes *Hyde Amendment, an amendment that places well-defined limitations on Medicare spending on aborti ...

and

Toonz Entertainment Toonz is a 2D animation software program. The base application is currently managed by Dwango as open-source software under the name OpenToonz. An extended commercial variant for professional individuals and studios, Toonz Premium, is being de ...

as well as the Gang of 7 Animation, was planned for a 2010 holiday theatrical release. The script was written by Tom Tataranowicz and Mark Edward Edens with Tataranowicz also acting as director together with

Dick Sebast Richard Sebast is an American director, story director, animator, and television producer known for working at companies such as Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Marvel Entertainment, Marvel, MGM, and Universal Animation Studios. Career Dic ...

and Rich Arons. The movie would have been the first animated film for Hyde Park. Production was set to begin in November 2008 at the Toonz Animation Studio in India. Hyde Park Entertainment would have distributed the movie internationally and share domestic rights with G7. The story would have followed the establishment of Santa mythology depicting both the formative years as well as a battle against evil. The film was ultimately canceled.

''Winter's Knight''

In March 2014, Deadline Hollywood reported that an origin story of Santa Claus, ''Winter's Knight'', inspired by ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'', sold to Sony studios for $1 million. The script is written by Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig and is set to be directed by

Joachim Rønning Joachim Rønning (born 30 May 1972) is a Norwegian film director who previously worked in a partnership with Espen Sandberg, both of whom came from Sandefjord, Norway. As a directing team, they went under the name of Roenberg (a portmanteau of ...

and

Espen Sandberg Espen Sandberg (born 2 June 1971) is a Norwegian film director and advertising producer, well known to work with his childhood friend and director Joachim Rønning on several projects such as ''Bandidas'' (2006), '' Max Manus: Man of War'' (2008 ...

Sequel

''Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz''

The December 18, 1904 edition of Baum's short-running newspaper series ''

Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz ''Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz'' was a newspaper comic strip written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Walt McDougall, a political cartoonist for the ''Philadelphia North American''. ''Queer Visitors'' appeared in the ''North ...

'', entitled "How the Woggle-Bug and His Friends Visited Santa Claus," relating how the Scarecrow,

Tin Woodman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, also known as the Tin Man or—mistakenly—the "Tin Woodsman," is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book '' ...

Jack Pumpkinhead Jack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Land of Oz and appears in several of the classic children's series of Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The Classic Oz Books Jack first appeared as a main character in the second Oz ...

, and H. M. Woggle-Bug, T. E. make several toys based on themselves and the

Sawhorse In woodworking, a saw-horse or sawhorse (saw-buck, trestle, buck) is a trestle structure used to support a board or plank for sawing. A pair of sawhorses can support a plank, forming a scaffold. In certain circles, it is also known as a '' ...

. They bring them to Santa Claus in the Laughing Valley for distribution. Claus claims that there are not enough toys for all of the children, but he will make more for next year's visit. His reindeer and sleigh also win a race against

the Gump This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. '' Oz'' is made up of four divisions t ...

A Kidnapped Santa Claus

In 1904, a short story called " A Kidnapped Santa Claus", by Baum, appeared in ''

The Delineator ''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publis ...

'' magazine. It was illustrated by

Frederick Richardson Frederick Richardson (1862 – 15 January 1937) was an American illustrator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best remembered for his illustrations of works by L. Frank Baum. Life and career A native Chicagoan, Richards ...

, who had also illustrated Baum's ''

Queen Zixi of Ix ''Queen Zixi of Ix, or The Story of the Magic Cloak'', is a children's book written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Frederick Richardson. It was originally serialized in the early 20th-century American children's magazine ''St. Nicholas'' f ...

''. The story deals with Santa Claus's kidnapping by the Daemons of the caves, in an effort to thwart his yearly delivery of toys. However, Claus's assistants complete the task for him, and later attempt an unnecessary rescue.

''The Road to Oz''

In Baum's 1909 Oz book, ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank B ...

'', Santa Claus is one of guests of honor at

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum ...

's birthday party in the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of the L ...

. He brings along some Ryls and Knooks with him. They return to the Laughing Valley in giant soap bubbles created by The Wizard of Oz.

References

External links

*
Facsimile version of ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''
hosted by th
Kerlan Collection
at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Library. * *
A review on Santa Claus in the world of Oz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, The American children's novels American fantasy novels adapted into films 1902 American novels 1902 fantasy novels Books by L. Frank Baum Christmas children's books Christmas novels American novels adapted into television shows Santa Claus in fiction 1902 children's books Santa Claus's reindeer