Many legends exist about St. Nicholas, the once beloved Bishop of Myra, and he is well known for his pious and often secretive gift giving. The two books that I will recommend today are not historical accounts of St. Nicholas’ charity, but they do unite in the common thread of his virtuous generosity.
The Miracle of Saint Nicholas by Gloria Whelan
The Miracle of Saint Nicholas is wonderfully fitting to be read during Advent. While we are “in the waiting”, it can feel like God is not present even though He is actually preparing us for His Coming. This story about a young Russian boy, Alexi, who walks by the abandoned church of St. Nicholas. He listens as his grandmother tells him of times past when the church was filled with people celebrating the Divine Liturgy, and he has a dream that it can be so again.
God enters Alexi’s dream by leaving the church door open, and resourceful Alexi goes to work cleaning up the church. When the villagers get wind of his Alexi’s wish, they contribute in profound ways to make the dream come true.
A nice discussion could be had with children about inviting God into their hopes and desires. Alexi prayed, and when he saw the opportunity to act, act he did which inspired the rest of the town to re-awaken their buried faith. How can we us our resourcefulness and our hands and feet to collaborate with God’s Divine Will? In simpler terms, you can ask children to often think about the question, “What does Our Lord want to do in this moment?” and then be Our Lord’s hands and feet in the world just as St. Nicholas was.
The Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard
The Baker’s Dozen is a delightful tale about a baker who learns about the virtue of generosity through experiencing difficulty. This book could be used in at least a couple of themes.
Fairness versus Generosity
The story focuses on fairness versus generosity, on giving people what they deserve verses treating others better than they deserve. This can lead to great discussions about what true charity towards neighbor means. After reading this book, I often challenge my students to find a way to “out do” themselves with their generosity towards another person. How can they not only be fair but be better than fair? Children have such great ideas: allowing someone to go ahead of them on the slide, cleaning up a sibling’s plate after dinner, etc. Then, encourage the children to put these ideas into action and see what happens.
The illustrations in this book are anything but simple. They are full of details that make one feel like they are leaping back in time to a medieval Dutch village, rich in sensory information.
Mathematic Grouping: What’s in a name?
The Baker’s Dozen could be used with children in a mathematical context analyzing why groups of things have certain names in mathematics. Depending on the ages of your children and students, you could ask, “What does a ‘dozen’ mean? What is a ‘pair’? What is a ‘trio’? When do we use these mathematical descriptions? Show me a ‘baker’s dozen’. If a ‘baker’s dozen’ is a dozen plus one, what could be a new name for a ‘pair plus one’? What is a ‘google’ in mathematics? What is a good name for a ‘google plus one’? Why do you think Google is called that?” The picture below could be used in finding mathematical groupings; for instance, “‘Do you see a trio of keys?’ or ‘Find a pair of something.'”
The illustrations are so rich and wonderful that younger children might like playing “I Spy” with some of them. For instance, “I spy with my little eye a mouse.” A comparison could be made between the illustrations of when the baker was prosperous versus when he was destitute. Maybe a Venn diagram would be appropriate!
Towards the back of the book, the author, Aaron Shepard lists his homepage where you can find more information about the book and even a reader’s theater script for acting out the story with your children/students. The book also has a recipe for St. Nicholas Cookies. These cookies sound delicious or if you might want to try my own recipe, please check out https://hideawayhearts.com/2023/12/06/st-nicholas-feast-day/ !
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