Saint Nicholas, Part One: Reading Materials

I want to thank Mary Ellen for asking me to guest write on this wonderful Christmas blog. I'm very honored to share the same webspace with these other talented special moms.

The Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra is celebrated on December 6. It's hard to piece together what is the real story of St. Nicholas and what is legend, as his stories have grown and expanded over time. What we do know is that he was born in Lycia in Asia Minor and became a bishop and died in Myra, modern day Turkey, in 345 A.D. And during that lifespan he was a holy man, converted many people, was generous to the poor, and many miracles were performed through him, both when he was living and after his death. And because of those miracles, his patronage grew. Patron Saints Index provides a long list, but for most of us we know and love St. Nicholas because he is the patron of children, students, and the poor and known as the Christmas saint.

For me, the first stop in celebrating a beloved saint is gathering images and books about the saint. Having a few of these helps me make sure that I will be teaching my son something about St. Nicholas. It's almost like clockwork that something happens during the Advent season that means less or no time or energy to do all my planned Advent and Christmas family traditions, new and old. But no matter how crazy life can get, I can always find time to read a book. And displaying a holycard or statue or ornament can start discussions about the saint at any time of the day.

I have several books to mention, organized by age level for comprehension, but within that category anyone older would also be pleased with the book. I have included the books from Cay Gibson's Catholic Mosaic. For me, I can never have enough of St. Nicholas--he's one of the biggest highlights of Advent, and his presence is felt all the way through Christmas. These books are held in a place of honor with our other Advent and Christmas books and loved throughout both liturgical seasons.

For Younger Children:

 Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegmeyer, illustrated by Chris Ellison. (Included in Catholic Mosaic.) The illustrations show St. Nicholas resembling our modern Santa Claus. The story is short and sweet, focusing only on how the story of St. Nicholas and the dowry for the three daughters, which is the origin of why we hang out our stockings or place out our shoes on the eve of his feast.

The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale retold by Aaron Shepard, illustrated by Wendy Edelson. Unfortunately, this book is out-of-print. Check your library to see if this title is available, as I'm not encouraging you to pay exorbitant amounts to own this book. As our family's celebration of St. Nicholas centers on making the Dutch spice cookies, speculaas, this book with the delightful illustrations of the decorated cookies is very appealing. The illustrations are a wonderful guide to decorating a lovely design of this saintly bishop. You can also read the story here and other goodies shared by the author, including a play and pictures to print.

Don't be confused by this book with the same title by Heather Forest. It's a nice story, but it doesn't incorporate St. Nicholas for this feast day, just the cookies. It is interesting to compare the books..

 Country Angel Christmas by Tomie dePaola. St. Nicholas is portrayed as the rotund and jolly image of Santa Claus. I love how Elizabeth Foss explains how she uses this book for discussions about St. Nicholas. The way dePaola incorporate the busy angels in preparing for Christmas is a little reflection of our own homes and hearts.

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For Older Children:

Saint Nicholas

The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi (also included in Catholic Mosaic). This book has become my favorite picture book on St. Nicholas. The gilded illustrations are just gorgeous. Demi really takes the time to present the true whole, accurate picture of St. Nicholas, from birth until death, includes some legends and miracles and then introduces some customs stemming about this saint. Unlike some other picture books, it really shows Nicholas working through God's grace in his life. The author shows Nicholas to be a holy bishop, a historical figure, a man who truly loved God, and how he showed his love by helping those on earth, both while living and then in heaven. It's not a legend nor a feel-good Santa story, but a witness, that is both inspiring and beautiful for children.

Some stories presented in this book are legends, such as standing in the tub as a newborn, and refusing to nurse as a toddler on fast days, preferring to pray. There is one miracle where St. Nicholas restores to life three schoolboys who were cut up and brined. It is usually included in the picture books because this is why he is the patron saint of children and schoolchildren. I think the image can be scary. Demi treats it lightly, so this makes it easier to present to the younger children.

 The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas by Marianna Mayer. This is also included in Catholic Mosaic. Marianna Mayer combines classical depictions of St. Nicholas in art and provides the legends around this saint. The pictures are wonderful. The text is lengthy and a bit wordy, probably too much for one sitting, especially if you have some wiggly children. I recommend this being read in small chunks. A picture IS worth a thousand words, and the younger children will enjoy looking at this lovely book.

The Miracle of Saint Nicholas by Gloria Whelan, illustrated by Judith Brown is one other book recommended in Catholic Mosaic. is one other book recommended in Catholic Mosaic. This book gives a glimpse of the devotion to St. Nicholas and use of icons by the Russians. It's a beautiful story of family and villagers coming together restoring their church and icon of St. Nicholas after having to live their faith in the underground.

 Saint Nicholasby Regine Schindler and Bro. Kenneth, illustrated by Carola Schaade is an English book (out of print) that explains Father Christmas as St. Nicholas. It's written as if a family member, Uncle Rex, is telling the story to his nieces and nephews. Very thorough in relating infomration about St. Nicholas, but a bit wordy for younger ones.

Two other picture books I'll briefly mention. These illustrate Saint Nicholas as the gift giver, especially in European traditions. These are perfect books if you are trying to illustrate St. Nicholas and Santa Claus as one and the same. Both are out of print, but not hard to find used copies. A Gift from Saint Nicholas, adapted by Carole Kismaric, Illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak. This one has one of the best illustrations of Nicholas as bishop, but also as gift-giver. The second has a similar title The Gift from Saint Nicholasby Dorothea Lachner.

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Chapter Books:

 St. Nicholas the Wonder Workerby Anne E. Neuberger I've been eyeing this book for so long, it was out of print when I finally bought it. It is divided into two parts. Part I covers the life of St. Nicholas the Bishop, and each chapter an episode from his life. Part II is the Life of Nicholas the Spirit, touching on different tales from all over the world.

The Twenty Miracles of Saint Nicholasby Bernarda Bryson is an older book, printed in 1960. I found a copy in my library and just found the book delightful. These are all the old legends, not watered down. There's even one entitled "Saint Nicolas and the Prophet Mohammed". Older children and adults will find this book quite interesting.

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Coffee Table and Resource Books:

The Real St. Nicholas: Tales of Generosity and Hope from Around the Worldby Louise Carus. This contains a wonderful collection of folktales from around the world, legends, recipes and stories for breads and cookies related to his feast, with wonderful glossy pages and pictures. A unique and delightful book.

St. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmasby Joe Wheeler and Jim Rosenthal. The is a large, thick and heavy book, full of glossy pages and full color images of St. Nicholas and retells the story of Nicholas in word from his life to his influence all over the world, and his transformation over the years. This would probably be THE reference book on St. Nicholas.

Just a little addendum: This list of books is by no way complete. St. Nicholas Center has tried to include all books written on St. Nicholas, for all ages, in and out of print. Reserve a large chunk of time to check them all out.

Posted by Jennifer G. Miller

Comments

[Alice Gunther]

Jenn, you've done it again! This post is beautiful and so full of wonder to add delight and holiness to our Advent and Christmas season. What a joy it is to find this here!

[Love2learn Mom]

Wow! Excellent book list! Thanks!

[Christine]

Thank you, Jenn! This is an incredible list of books. I hadn't realized that so many books had been written about St. Nicholas. Don't forget to visit http://www.stnicholascenter.org for some wonderful ideas to accompany this book list.

[Suzanne]

Jenn-wonderful compilation of all-things St. Nicholas. thanks.

[Jennifer]

I have looked at all of this on amazon the last few days, trying to decide. Your list is wonderful. Thank you!

[Our Magnum Opus]

Oh Jenn! Printing, printing...

We always read 'The Bakers Dozen', in fact we shaped a cookie cutter to match the one in the book, and bake our gingerbread cookies. And I can't even read 'The Miracle of St. Nicholas' without crying. Now there are so many more books to want!

[Katherine in TX]

These books are wonderful. I ordered the titles I didn't have and am so excited to read them to the kids for his feast. Thank you!