Parents' Guide to

Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King: The Guardians, Book 1

By Michael Berry, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Early days of Santa Claus are busy but not wholly engaging.

Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King: The Guardians, Book 1 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 7+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 7+

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
age 7+

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (1):

This book purports to tell the origin story of the young man who would become Santa Claus; unfortunately, Nicholas is rarely the center of the narrative's attention. Narrated from a peculiarly detached point of view, the story feels busy without being completely engaging. The near-omniscient point-of-view shifts willy-nilly between a wide range of supporting -- and less interesting -- characters.

Many plot threads will undoubtedly be taken up in the series' subsequent volumes, but, for the moment, the sequence, for all its whimsy and invention, feels a little sketchy and disjointed. William Joyce's black-and-white illustrations add visual magic and a sense of coherence to the story.

Book Details

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