Santa: My Life & Times – An Illustrated Autobiography

Every child knows about Santa Claus. They know his beard and his reindeer, his magical powers and his workshop home. They know he’s jolly and married and prone to booming exclamations and bending the laws of physics to his will. But, despite all that, no one really seems to know how he came to be Santa.

Well, jolly ol’ Saint Nick is rectifying that problem himself, sharing the surprising and heartwarming origins of his unique position in history in Santa: My Life & Times. The reader meets the young Nicholas, his loving parents, and his encounters with a world steeped in magic and mythos, a world with grand plans for a kind young boy pure of heart.

Building a new mythology for not only Santa but also his powers and those characters most associated with him is no easy feat. Green cherrypicks elements from other mythologies, yet manages to weave a tale that feels wholly his. Elves and reindeer, sorcerers and hobgoblins… it all somehow fits in Green’s capable hands.

But what truly brings this story to life is the artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz. Every image feels like a Christmas card, or like art you’d associate with Currier and Ives or Norman Rockwell. Awash in warm colors, even the coldest winds and snowiest nights are bright and eye-catching.

Santa: My Life & Times may not be everyone’s cup of Christmas cocoa, but it is wonderfully unique, bringing Santa in your home in an inventive, magical, and optimistic way.