206 pp. Red cloth, white and black titles, image of Santa Claus carrying a sack of toys and climbing into a chimney on front board. Illustrations by Mary Cowles Clark. An origin story of Santa Claus, by the author of the Oz series. "Originally published in 1902, this fantasy imagines that Santa Claus was once a human foundling adopted by woodland fairies, who grows up surrounded by elves, Knooks, Ryls, and other "immortals" of the natural world. Santa Claus, as a baby, 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 thereupon adopted by the Wood Nymph, Necile. Upon reaching young adulthood, Claus is introduced by Ak to human society, wherein he sees poverty and difficulties. 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 Necile gives him a little cat named Blinky. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a classic children's book, written by L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
