A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig is a tale of how Santa Claus came to be. It’s a very quick read and has a lot of nuggets of wisdom spread throughout.
Nicholas is poor. His mother has died from a bear attack and his dad cuts firewood. One day, his dad decides to go on an adventure in hopes of bringing back riches, leaving Nicholas with his Aunt Carlotta. She is mean, makes Nicholas sleep outside, and barely feeds him. Nicholas runs away and runs into a reindeer who accompanies him on his journey. He decides to try and find the land of elves. He soon meets the elves who tell him “An impossibility is just a possibility you don’t understand yet.” “To see something, you have to believe.”
He runs into his dad in the north who fell in with the wrong crowd. They ended up kidnapping an elf child as proof they exist to take to a king for money. When Nicholas finds out, he tells his dad, “Being good is better than being rich.” “Nothing is as wonderful as doing the right thing.”
His dad does do the right thing, and in the end, sacrifices his life for his son’s to save the elf boy. Nicholas ends up staying with the elves, on a quest to find his life’s journey. “The easiest way to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”
“The only way you can make something impossible and real is…with the right magic and belief inside you.”
Great book for boys especially. Kids who love Santa Claus, whether they believe or not, will love this book. There is no religion in this book, focusing instead on the story of how Santa came to be. I love the emphasis on finding your purpose as Nikolas strives to do so, and when he does, he stops aging. This can apply to us all. Highly recommended for all. If you are interested, you can purchase