The Legend of Saint Nicholas

The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi

Why is Santa Claus also called St. Nick?  That was something I never understood growing up.  This biography by Demi will definitely satisfy your curiosity!  Known for her richly detailed and brightly colored illustrations influenced by Eastern themes, this book is a feast for the eyes as well.

The book starts with baby Nicholas, born in 280 AD in what is now  Turkey.  On the day he was born he "stood up in his bath and prayed to God!"   Nicholas is a very devoted Christian who is upset with suffering in the world and devotes his life to easing sorrow.  Appointed the youngest bishop ever, Nicholas goes on to become the patron saint of many (including butchers and prisoners!) but most importantly, children.  His life story is full of miracles relating to children, and because of that his feast day on December 6th was cause for great celebration.  This led to giving gifts in St. Nicholas' name during the Christmas season.  Sinter Klaas, as he was known to the Dutch, came to New Amsterdam (now New York) and over time Sinter Klass was transformed into Santa Claus.  The endpages are decorated with images of how Santa Claus is represented in different countries.

This book is appropriate for elementary school-aged children.  It's a biography -- not a fuzzy storybook.   For the younger ones, be aware that there is a wicked man in the story who kidnaps and kills three little boys, soaks them in brine and intends to serve them as food.  However, Nicholas comes to their rescues and returns the boys to life.   It's only four sentences and one illustration of a man wrestling with a child... but something I wanted to make you aware of.  I read this to my 4-year old and I cringed as I read it, not quite sure how she would react.  But I suppose if you regularly read fairy tales to your kids, it's no worse than that. 

Learn More:

• Demi has also written books on other historical figures such as Ghandi, Buddha, Dalai Lama, Genghis Khan, Muhammad, King Tut, Mother Teresa, and Jesus (among others).  The text for her book on Jesus is passages taken directly from the Bible and so is definitely for older children -- or even adults -- but wow, so beautiful!  Actually, she's written/illustrated over 100 books, many of which are Asian folk tales.  

• St. Nicholas:  Discovering the Truth About Santa Claus -- Learn more about Saint Nicholas and how his feast day is celebrated all over the world.  Locate St. Nicholas churches, find classroom lesson plans, crafts, games -- everything and anything about St. Nicholas!! 

• Use The Legend of Saint Nicholas for a social studies lesson.  Follow Nicholas' journeys using the map in the front of the book or on a globe.  Identify where the Santas are from on the endpages.  The Santa holding the beer stein is pretty obvious (Germany) as is the Santa with the bagpipes or a shamrock.  But others are a bit tricky!! 
  

• Official NORAD Santa Tracker:  Follow Santa's journey across the globe on Christmas Eve with NORAD -- yes, the military organization that tracks airspace also helps out Santa! 

• Contrary to popular belief, the modern image of Santa Claus was not created for Coca-Cola advertisements. 

• Christmas Traditions Around the World:  pretty self-explanatory!
  

Free-Range Kids

Free-Range Kids:  Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry by Lenore Skenazy

How many of you spent hours playing outside unsupervised when you were a kid?  Made a dirt bike path in that big vacant lot?  Walked to school by yourself?  Ran down to the grocery store to get some milk for your mom?  Were dropped off at the mall to hang out with friends?  Played along the stream in the nature preserve down the street?  Yep, I see you nodding your heads.  A lot of great childhood memories, I'm sure.

Now, how many of you would let your own child do these things?

That's what I thought.

We've all been freaked out by abduction stories we've seen on the news, and safety "warnings" we've seen forwarded around in emails.  There are parents who won't even let their preteens play basketball in their own driveway unsupervised.  Parents who won't let their kids walk to school when it's a half a block away from their house.  What is this world coming to?  What is so different today than from when we were kids that parents have begun being paranoid the way they have?

Free-Range Kids is written by Lenore Skenazy.  You may be more familiar with her by the name the media gave her:  "America's Worst Mom".  You know who she is -- that mother who let her nine-year old son ride the subway in New York?  I see you nodding your head again.

In her book, Lenore shares some really eye-opening information that may make you re-think your own parenting philosophy, as it did mine.  Did you know that according to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, violent crime in America has been falling since it peaked in the '90s, and children today are statistically as safe from violent crime as when we parents were growing up in the '70s-'90s?  Childhood abductions have not increased -- they're just talked about more thanks to sensationalistic TV news headlines and round-the-clock news channels.

Lenore states that "the problem is that we parents feel that childhood is more dangerous for our kids than it was for us" and in the book looks at where those fears come from and why they're difficult to give up.  Personally, after reading this book, I felt a tremendous weight lifted off of my chest.  I've since started taking baby steps towards being a free-range parent. 

Whether or not you agree with free-range parenting, I think it would benefit all parents to read this book.  After all, we're all trying to do the same thing:  "Raising happy, responsible, independent young people is parenting's goal."  And that's coming from America's Worst Mom.

Learn More:

• Free-Range Kids Blog:  "At Free Range, we believe in safe kids. We believe in helmets, car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school age children go outside, they need a security detail."  Chime in with your thoughts!  This is the author's blog. 

• Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods:  You've heard about this guy too.  Louv claims that  "the child in nature is an endangered species".  Lenore also mentioned him several times in her book -- children are suffering from what he calls nature-deficit disorder, and part of the reason why is they don't get much time outdoors -- much less unsupervised time -- because people are so paranoid about their kids being hurt / abducted.  His website has resources such as Nature Activities for Kids and Families, Books and Websites, and tons of other great stuff.
  

• A great Baby Blues comic about free-range kids!